Konnichiwa listeners!
Welcome to the new section of our blog, The Mail Bag. This is where we’ll share stories from our listeners about their endeavors with Japanese. We hope stories from fellow students can help motivate and inspire you to learn Japanese with JapanesePod101.com or give you that extra needed push and renewed sense of strength when you think it’s impossible to get become more proficient in Japanese!
This week we’d like to introduce you to Jalees, the winner of the Mail Bag Contest and recipient of a free 1 year Premium subscription. She had this to say about her Japanese studies:
“My Japanese story is as simple as this. I felt like my brain was MELTING!
Why, you may ask? Well to make a long story short, I’m a stay-at-home-HOMESCHOOLING-mom of 5! I home school my children from pre-K up to seventh grade. Before I decided to home school, I was a biology major in university. So I was used to my brain functioning at a pretty intense level ( I hope ). As of today, I’ve been on hiatus from school for about five years 🙁 I only need 4 more classes to graduate. Last year, after 8 years of ABC’s and 123’s over and over and OVER again, I thought I was going to lose my mind!
One night as my husband and I were watching an old Japanese movie, I realized that I could actually understand some without reading the subs! The idea just came to me out of the blue….I”M GOING TO LEARN JAPANESE! I’ve always loved Japan and Japanese culture since I was very young. I watched anime, read manga, and watched all the old samurai movies and without realizing it I must have picked up on some of the language! I don’t know why I only realized this last year but better late than never, I guess.
I started searching the web for free sites where I could learn for free because in this economy, I don’t have the money to pay for classes and with 5 children, and all of their activities, I definitely don’t have the time to go to a class!
So first I started learning from some videos that someone posted on Youtube, Let’s Learn Japanese Basic I, and I went through that whole series. Soon after that, my sister gave me her old ipod. I eventually learned about podcasts and searched for a podcast that taught Japanese and guess who popped up?
Japanesepod101.com (*^_^*)
I subscribed, listened to the the first lesson, and I’ve been hooked ever since! I cannot express in words how much you all have literally saved my sanity! Itsumo doumo arigatou gozaimashita!
This past November marked my 1 year anniversary of studying Japanese. My study time became, and still is, my sanctuary! I began to feel more relaxed and calm and a happiness that I had been missing from not being in school myself.
Last year is the first time I’ve been through the entire first half of the Newbie Series with Naomi-sensei and Eric-sensei, and the first half of the Beginner Series with Peter-sensei and Naomi-sensei. I enjoyed them both immensely and learned so much that I’ve started teaching my 4 year old some Japanese! He has a very good ear for the sounds and he loves the fact that he knows something that his older brothers and sisters don’t. I hope to continue on with you all and when my husband and I finally make it to Japan, I hope to be able to communicate with everyone in fluent Japanese.Thank you all so much and I can’t wait to see what I’ll learn in 2009!”
Wow, that’s truly amazing. Jalees uses her Japanese studies as stress relief of sorts! We’re happy she has a hobby that she can enjoy while taking care of her kids at home yet still connects her to another country and culture.
The Mailbag is an ongoing project, so please share your stories! You may send these to contactus@japanesepod101.com with the subject line: “Mailbag Story.” Our favorite stories will win one month of free premium service and be posted here to be shared with others!
Until next time, Ganbatte Kudasai!
