March 23 2008, Near Tokyo Station, Olympus u830
This was taken on a trip to the imperial palace to see the cherry blossoms- we were a little early (in season I mean) but managed to see quite a few blossoms and on the way there we walked past this mini tulip festival with brilliant coloured tulips lined up.
It is hard to beleive that in less than four months I will be back in Japan. I wouldn`t say I am nervous about going back, in fact I am extremely excited. That said, my Japanese has been going down hill fast lately- Shun doesn`t understand me half the time (okay maybe not half of the time but 10 or 20 % of the time) and I am sure it is because apart from his Japanaese I am not hearing it anywhere anymore. It is different to the year I spent home when finishing uni because I had lots of Japanese friends and was still studying at uni and talking to Shun on the phone almost every night helped. He told me today that now he understand my English more than my Japanese most of the time….
I need to start watching Japanese TV again & studying again (EEK!) and ringing Japanese friends on the phone. I can not believe how bad it has gotten…I know if I played back to myself a tape of me speaking Japanese I would cringe in horror at how bad it has gotten. It is funny though, when I am speaking it, I don`t really notice my mistakes much until I see the confused look on Shun`s face.
I am really stoked that his English is improving (and that he understands my English!) but my Japanese is worrying me. I am trying to think of ways I could improve while I am still here (apart from speaking to Shun because obviously I do enough of that!)…so if anybody has any suggestions please let me know. I better try and get my act together before I head back otherwise I will be confusing all the natives!!!
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I am just a twenty something Aussie girl living in Chiba, Japan with my Japanese husband trying to make sense of the crazy Japanese world we live in! We welcomed our first son in December 2009 (Noah) and a second son in January 2011, 2 months premature (Shion). I am working hard at raising them to be confident, bilingual, happy kids!
I like the pretty flower!!
Don’t stress out about your Japanese too much! You’ve been out of the environment so long that its natural its a little rusty. I’d say once it gets to September or October you’ll be comfortably back on your feet. We have amazing brains
Good job to Shunpei too!!
I “lose” my Japanese on a regular basis (haha). When I was home over Xmas, not speaking it for nearly a whole month, I found myself quite tongue-tied when I came back. But I also used to lose it often over the weekend, if I spent a lot of time hanging out with non-Japanese friends. But, don’t worry – it comes back!! I don’t think you have any real need for concern. Once you get back to Japan, you will find yourself back to the same level in a few days for sure.
and that is really a gorgeous shot.
Fab, fab Photo Lulu!!!
Yeah, nothing to worry about! It’s just because your not hearing it or speaking it so much! You’ll be back up to scratch within 2-3 weeks once you get back to Japan. It is pretty exciting! It’s fantastic that Shun understands you in English now too! It’s will be great for when you have kids! I used to wish the Japanese people around me could understand English when I got the shits so I could just blurt out how I felt instead of getting frustrated trying to communicate whilst angry! Great photo too!
Lulu, I’ve lost a lot of my Japanese since having kids and also since they increased the number of foreigners who work in my office. Now we have 5 native teachers, most of whom do not speak/do not want to speak much Japanese. At home, I really prefer to make it an English environment for the sake of Ailin. It is hard to believe that I passed 2-kyuu a few years ago! I am nowhere near that level now.
I think you will be fine once you get back to Japan and start having reasons to use it and read it more. No need to be worried about it, but you can listen to Japanese podcasts to help you get used to it again.
Good luck and see you in a few months!
Great picture. I love how vibrant the colours turn out on your camera!
I wouldn’t worry about losing Japanese, like everyone said you’ll pick it up again in a jiff when you get back. Might be a bit ‘ehhh?’ on the new cool words so I’ll let you know that arafou refers to a woman who is around forty agewise. They are the new IT age group apparently.
I recommend cramming your head full of as much ENGLISH as you possibly can. Mine is deteriorating fast…
Sweetie, I know many women married and living in Tokyo for over 20 years but do not speak a word of Japanese because they talk in English with their husbands and kids and only mix with internationol community…You are very good girl and I really admire you!
Loved & leaved Japan