Why I Chose Japanese

My decision to study Japanese actually began before I got to Columbia. At my high school, there were only three languages offered. There was a language requirement, just like here at Columbia, and after finishing my freshmen year of Spanish, I realized I had no interest in the language. The other two languages offered were French and Japanese. So I decided to test out Japanese, for I had much more of an interest in Japanese culture than French. After I finished high school, I decided I wanted to continue studying Japanese. Unfortunately, I was unable to get into a Japanese class here at Columbia until the second semester of my sophomore year.

I am excited to develop a level of comfort with Japanese that I can have conversations in the language. Even if the conversations are simple, it still is a great thrill to me to be able to communicate in a language other than English. What I have found difficult thus far in the year is remembering what we covered last semester. I have always had trouble memorizing vocabulary, so I am trying my best to regain the vocabulary I had at the end of the year last year.