Why I'm studying Japanese

"Can you speak Japanese?"

This is the first question I'm asked, without fail, every time I inform someone of my ancestry. (My mother is Japanese and my father is German, hence my name: Mia, shortened from Mikayo, Leimkuhler.) Until now, I've always had to shrug and reply that no, sadly, I do not, and neither does my mom. My grandma has forgotten most of her Japanese and my grandpa uses it once a week when he calls his older sister, しげのさん, who lives in Japan and is pushing 100 years old. My family is a prime example of that fundamental truth of learning and retaining a language: use it or lose it.

I'm taking Japanese as a way to reconnect with that side of my ancestry, with my family. I've already started emailing my mother little words and phrases in ひらがな and she's thrilled to be able to wake up that part of her brain that recognizes the characters and remembers what the words mean. My next step will be to send my grandparents a postcard written entirely in ひらがな. It probably won't be too exciting or informative content-wise (I can tell them what my name is and where I'm from, which I'm guessing/hoping they know and remember), but I'm sure they'll be thrilled to see that I'm tackling the language that generations of なかむらs have spoken.

In less sentimental rationale, I'm taking Japanese because I love learning languages. After conquering Spanish in high school and French here at Columbia, I thought I'd take on something very distant, in terms of both geography and grammar, from the romance languages. It's certainly a challenge, but it's very rewarding. It makes me smile to think that I'll graduate this May with fluency in French, working recognition of spoken and written Spanish, and a basic understanding of Japanese.

ありがとうございます！

じょこしょうかい

はじめまして。わたしはみあです。にほんじんとどいつじんのはーふです。California の　San Francisco からきました。コロンビアだいがくのがくせいです。よねんせいです。さんじゅっさいです。どうぞよろしくおねがいします。