Minasan, I can't believe the semester is almost over. The speech and interview went more smoothly than I anticipated. I thought the speech was a great opportunity to improve our public speaking skills. While skits helped us improve our conversational skills, the speech helped improve fluency and natural flow. It was much easier to be creative because we didn't have to act anything out or incorporate someone else into the speech. It was interesting to see what everyone decided to talk about and I thought it served as a great culmination point for the class. As for the interview, it was really nerve wracking to speak one-on-one to Sato-sensee with Kawai-sensee listening and taking notes in the back. It really didn't seem like I was in there for 15 minutes, probably because I was really nervous and focused on paying attention to everything Sato-sensee said. But again, it was good practice to be put in a situation where we had to talk/respond on the spot. Practicing with Hama-san/ other classmates helped prepare me.
This semester's Japanese class was alot of fun. It was definitely hard work but I think it was worth all the effort. I know that my parents are really impressed with how much I've learned in such a short amount of time. They think it's because I have a knack for languages....but while I love learning new languages, I also think my ability to catch on quickly was in large part due to the structure and material of the class and my classmates too. While there was a lot to absorb every day, I always looked forward to coming to class. Sato-sensee was pretty patient with us I thought and now we've progressed so much. My classmates were/are AMAZING and I probably learned just as much from them as I did in the class. Study sessions at Clemons and lunches were fun of course. I'll miss our class next semester...=( Keep in touch guys...but in the meantime I will see most of you for our last study session on Saturday!
