Learning Japanese

[Andromeda18_]

Learning a new language is not one of my strong suits, I had to work my a** of just to pass two mandatory french classes in junior high and immediatly after learning I passed the class the whole thing just leaked out one ear and to this day remember only one line
Je mappelle monseur Jonathan.

You don't even remember that line very well. :p It's "m'appelle" and "monsieur". Ah, ah!
I wasn't too crazy about French when I was in high school either, mostly due to a pushy teacher who kept forcing me to speak in French in front of the whole class and that made me feel very embarassed. I was actually very good at it but by the time I was through with it I hated it like hell. The funny thing is that 1 or 2 years later I took up French again, on my own, and right now I really like it. Now I can read books by French authors in their original language, there's a huge variety of manga available to me that wouldn't be otherwise, etc, etc, and it's going to be very handy this September when I go to Paris. I don't like going to another country and not understanding what people are saying. That and the French aren't too fond of speaking English, or so I was told. In a general way I like speaking French because I like speaking different languages. I wouldn't mind knowing all the languages in the world. At the moment I have about a third of Europe, a third of Africa and almost all of America covered what with knowing Portuguese, English, French and Spanish but learning all of the languages in the world is an impossible task. At the moment I want to focus on Japanese then later learn Korean and/or German.

Well stated *nods* oh yeah, I love your new avatar and your sig! ^_~.

Thanks! I thought of going with Blue from Wolf's Rain as my new avatar but then Youko's strong personality just won me over.

J'ai mange ton chat!

I dislike taking French :p ... I wanted to take Japanese, but, alas, it isn't offered. I tried to drop it so I could save my brain cells for picking up Japanese on my own, but my councellor basically told me that collages would think I was shit unless I kept going. You know, the whole "not enough language = bad college = bad job = cardboard box house" :p .

I think learning French or any other language is important not just for college but for life. It might not seem like it at first but while learning another language you also learn something about another culture and that is a good thing. Knowing other cultures will turn you into a more open-minded person, it will put things into perspective, it will make you truly see the world around you. Also if you're thinking of visiting other countries you can't expect people there to speak your language, it's your (our) obligation to learn their language even if only a bit.