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2025 Japanese Thoughts

Having visited Japan in 2024, I have a somewhat better idea of my capability in Japanese. Some of the situations I bumbled into were:

• Explaining at length to a man that we were looking for the Nozomi bullet train in Kyoto station, only to find it was right behind him
• Having an asthma attack and ending up in an ambulance, whereupon I had to explain to paramedics, doctors and nurses (none of whom spoke English) my travel history, medical problem and allergies (I made a joke to a nurse and she laughed a bit, rode that high for the rest of the night)
• Getting completely lost and going to a police box to find where a bus stop was (he asked me why I was able to speak Japanese which was a good confidence booster!

So needless to say it was a trial by fire. I talked to a LOT of people, for things as basic as asking if shops had a bathroom, all the way up to navigating a hospital visit and filling out a patient form that I'm sure didn't actually matter that much, but was extremely difficult to understand. It did however make me realise how quickly conversation gets complicated, and how little I really know of Japanese.

This coming year, therefore, I have a few aims. Firstly I want to finish Quartet II and move on to an even tougher textbook. I plan on taking THE JLPT N5 and N4, and also to get back on a Wanikani subscription and learn some damn kanji. I'll finish Cardcaptor Sakura and move onto a tougher anime to watch, and even read some manga. All going smoothly, I may actually be able to say with a shred of confidence that I'm bilingual. Maybe.