When I was a kid, I loved eating breakfast cereal (especially Corn Chex, Rice Chex, and Rice Krispies), and I loved reading the cereal boxes while I was doing it. I would read every item on a box, even though…
To improve my conversational skills, I am on a tear to try to finish all available Pimsleur Japanese lessons as quickly as possible, as these are by far the most valuable self-help resource I have encountered to aid my speaking…
Things I am learning to say through my Pimsleur lessons today: “Can I buy stamps at the station kiosk?” “No, but you can buy them at the post office.” I am also practicing writing American names in Japanese. I find…
I have a new Japanese conversation partner. Her name is Akiko, and I found her through one of various sites where you can search for someone who will teach you his/her language in exchange for your teaching your…
This week much of the snow around New York City has melted. I don’t remember ever seeing such persistent piles. The Snow Is Conceding Defeat Today was 63 degrees. I went running in shorts! In February! I know this, uh,…
This morning I took my portable Japanese Pimsleur lessons and headed east, first to a store called Katagiri and then to Japan Society. Japanese Beer Truck, Upper West Side Today For February it was a freakishly warm day, so all…
Today I met another conversation partner from Japan, Koji, at a local café. He is in his twenties and works for a Japanese financial firm with offices in New York City. I found him to be quite a good teacher.…
Today was the 600th day of this language project. In 600 days, I have never spent less than half an hour studying whatever foreign language I was working on, and on the overwhelming majority of days I have studied two hours…
Last night Reiko Sassa, director of the Toyota Language Center at Japan Society, let me sit in on a class! They have a gazillion classes; this one was level 3b. Where I Went to School Today It was tremendous fun.…
I investigated visiting a private Japanese club the other day. I thought it would be very interesting. Unfortunately, I would say the exchange resulted in a miscommunication, since the outcome was that I was told by e-mail, “Please don’t…
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