Five months are up! Exactly five months ago, I landed by plane in Tokyo Haneda. Crazy! Just crazy!
My last post ended with my arrival at my host family. A lot has happened since then.
Completion of the conversation course
April 5, 2022 - Start the Conversation 5 course and thus the last module of my conversation class series at Kudan Language Institute. We start the first two weeks with four of us. Three of my fellow students from the Conversation 4 module will also join the five modules. After a short time, it crystallizes that one friend is transferring to the intensive course to focus on her job search, and after another three weeks, my French classmate is also leaving to accept an internship offer. Four becomes two, and the classes become more intensive. My language skills have improved rapidly, and I learn an incredible amount daily. I enjoy every minute I can spend at school.
After class, I meet up with friends, go for a walk, or go to sports. Finally, I can meet Vicky again, too. Some readers who followed my blog from 2015 to 2016 will remember her. Vicky started Japanese language classes with me at Bauhaus University in Weimar in 2013 and was my anchor when I first came to Japan in 2015. We kept chatting when it came to life in Japan. But we finally get to live and spend time together here this time!
Tea Ceremony Classes
Starting April 14, I will participate in a tea ceremony class offered through my language school. "Urasenke" is the name of the style I am performing. The course takes place weekly, after class, and I am learning quickly. I am having incredible fun experiencing this deliberate art of serving tea and trying it out for myself. From my 5th lesson, I used the time between the end of the language class and the beginning of the tea ceremony to change into yukata (the Japanese summer kimono).
The course, which the language school organizes, lasts eight weeks. I decided to continue taking lessons with my teacher even after the end of the course, and after the basic knowledge, to learn the subtle tricks and uniquenesses.
New friends and experiences
In addition to the additional activities offered by the language school, there are always opportunities for me to meet up with my Japanese friends. Events include a kimono walk through Asakusa or a day in the garden of Meiji Shrine with fun and games.
I enjoy meeting new people and sharing experiences with them.
Besides all the new people I'm meeting, I finally have the chance to see some friends I've gotten to know and appreciate through Instagram. Dani from Canada, Nicole from Italy, and many others supported me during my waiting time in Germany and were there for me.
In addition to courses, the language school always organizes exchange events, which are valuable opportunities to speak Japanese suitable for everyday life. During a hiking trip to Mt. Takao, a mountain on the border of Yamanashi Prefecture, I meet two Japanese who are just as enthusiastic about hiking as I am. With their hiking group, I go in June to the Kinpou-san, a mountain in the Japanese Alps, from which Mt. Fuji can be seen. A magical experience!
From Conversation Course to Intensive Course
As June ends, so does my conversation course. Passed with a good score, it's off to the intensive course for me. 中級Ⅱ JLPTN2 前半 (Chokyu 2, maehan) is the first part of the JLPT N2 level course. Besides new classmates, I have new teachers and new books. Exciting and exhausting at the same time.
Going to language school in Tokyo and learning Japanese again intensively and under guidance for one year and three months was the best decision I could have made! I know an incredible amount every day and can immediately apply what I have learned in everyday life. The lessons at Kudan Language Institute are close to reality, and the teachers always give us hints and tools to make our Japanese sound authentic and not like a textbook. I am incredibly grateful for that!
In my next post, I would like to introduce you to my workplace for the coming year. Some of you may have noticed that my initial nine months have turned into two years. Plans are taking shape and will be discussed in more detail in the upcoming post.
Until then, stay healthy and have a good time!
Your Tanja
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