Dinner at Machiko San's

I pretty much have the best Japanese teacher ever! Not to brag, but there aren’t too many people that get weekly hour and a half private lessons. Now you might be saying, that’s not an arguable reason why she’s the best Japanese teacher ever. Well, I know that’s not a good point to argue. What makes her such a good teacher is that she made a board and writes the latest stuff she has taught me on it. Then the next morning at church, she makes an announcement to the congregation, telling them what I should know and encourages them to speak to me using the phrases that I “know.”

This is very helpful for the non English speaking members because they know what I’m learning. It’s hard to go up to someone and try to speak your native language with someone who is in the process of learning it because you don’t know how much they know, if any…and often times the end result is that person leaving an awkward encounter with a foreigner. I feel so blessed that Machiko san is willing to go the extra mile and share what I know, it has and will continue to help pick up Japanese quicker and in a more natural way.

Last Sunday, me and a bunch of young people were invited over to my teachers house where we all made dinner together. This was awesome in two…no three ways. She was able to teach me words that are used in the kitchen, like: Cut, wash, cook, mix, pot, pan, etc. It was pretty much like a Japanese lab. The second awesomness way was that I learned how to make a new meal, a delicious meal at that. It was pretty much Teriyaki beef and rice with salad and soup. The third way it was awesome was because a bunch of us friends got to hang out, cook and eat a meal together.

I feel like I learn so much in each class, but that doesn’t mean that I can speak a lot of Japanese right. In order for me to do my part, I need to spend more time outside of class working on remembering what I’ve learned. Today was my 6th class, so there are many things all scrambled in my brain. If we sit down in class and she teaches me something new, I am able to understand and we can have a little conversation using what we have learned, and a few things from past weeks. But I am still rollin’ with my training wheels…well, more like a tricycle.

PEACE!