My friends tell me my Japanese has gotten better in the past year, but I don't know if that will be apparent to my friends in Osaka. I've been working on the standard version, not the Osaka dialect. So, I wonder how much I'll understand or be able to communicate. I'll practice what I know and what I found on that website, but I'm still not confident.
I'm supposed to have my testimony (statement of how I became a Christian) memorized IN JAPANESE and be ready to give it when I visit churches in Tokyo. *deep sigh* It's possible, but quite intimidating. Thankfully, my boyfriend (who is from Kanto region, the home of the standard dialect) is more than willing to translate it for me. He said he'll go over it with me so I can be sure to understand what I'm saying.
I leave for Japan on Tuesday. It's a long flight...like 14 hours...I hope I can make a friend on the plane. That's a long time to be silent. It made me a little crazy by the end of the flight last time.
You can never out-give a Japanese person! That's one reason why choosing what gifts to bring for people is hard. But I do have one advantage: since I'm still a student, and a foreigner, they don't expect much from me. The people who have it hard are people like Roy-san, who is Japanese but grew up in the US. When he goes to Japan, people often expect him to understand and follow all the social rules and be able to speak fluent Japanese.
About Me
- Amanda
- "'To give His people the knowledge of salvation By the forgiveness of sins, Because of the tender mercy of our God, With which the Sunrise from on high will visit us, To shine upon those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, To guide our feet into the way of peace.'" Luke 1:77-79 (NASB)