クリスマス！

私はたいわんにかえりました。ニューヨークからたいぺいまで二十時間ぐらいかかりました。少し大変でした。えいがを八本見て、たのしかったです。「Cowboys and Aliens」 と「Stupid, Crazy, Love」や「Contagion」を見ました。

クリスマスブレイクはとてもよかったです。私はとてもたべものを食べました。おいしかったです。たいぺい１０１にいきました！

We visited family all throughout the country and ate all sorts of fantastic food, which I will present in the coming days! Stay posted!

さくぶん

山田さん、

はじめまして。私はプリンストン大学の四年生です。専攻は工学です。工学はおもしろくて、いいです。大学生のせんかつはいそがしいですが、たのしいてす。月曜日から金曜日までじゅぎょうがあって、しゅくだいをします。週末はひまなので、好きです。

山田さん、今日本はどうですか。日本のたべものの中で何が一番おいしいですか。テレビとえいがとどちらの方が好きですか。

では、明日はテストがあります。よろしくおねがいします。

ホワン

となりのトトロ

先週の週末、となりのトトロをみて、よかったです。私は大好きです。したにはえがあります。

でも、トトロは何ですか。「チンチラ」ですか。

くさかべさつき　と　くさかべめいは　新しいうちに　いますが、へやはとても古くて、かおいです。でも、おもしろい友達にあります。トトロです！さつきちゃんとめいちゃんのお母さんは病院にいて、ざんねんです。友達のトトロとあそんで、たのしいです。

「となりのトトロ」は　私の　一番宮崎のえいがです。

If you haven't seen it yet, DO SO NOW!!! みてくれませんか。

ありがとう 台湾！

台湾 (たいわん) の aid effort was brought to my attention during 日本の struggles through the tsunami/nuclear fallout disaster. Despite the size of the country (only 20 million people or so), it managed to be the single largest donation source in the world, a feat that 日本人 recognized in a message of thanks spread through local 新聞 (しんぶん). The message is below:

It goes to show the close ties many 台湾人 feel towards 日本 (though unfortunately not all) and the great good that can come out of this compassion. As 日本 continues to recover from this serious blow, I (and many other 台湾人) wish  the very best!

Original article here.

Cycle 2: Reflection Statement

Cycle 2 turned out more or less how I planned. I was able to shadow a number of clips from various sources (some music, some 日本のえいが, some アニメ). I was also able to submit approximately two shadowing recordings per week to しばた先生. The feedback was helpful as always, and she even complimented me on some of my work! Hopefully this means I really am improving, and that this method of practicing is producing results.

Some intonation details are starting to become slightly tricky, especially when I need to speak quickly. The introduction of the plain form and asking questions by only manipulating pitch instead of adding か might be a challenge, but I'll certainly try my best!

For Cycle 3 I will continue the same plan as before, viewing clips of Japanese movies or videos and shadowing the parts that seem reasonably paced. More みやざき films, of course! I will also try to submit 1-2 extra shadowing recordings per week to しばた先生 to comment!

Cycle 2: Goal Statement

For Cycle 2, I will work on special moras, paying special attention to length of vowel sounds.

I will continue to the various films I plan on watching, along with any anime or clips that are appropriate. My plan is to do 2-3 shadowing recordings a week off the Blackboard site and submit self evaluation sheets for feedback.

I intend to (re) watch a significant number of Miyazaki films and post about them, and I will try to shadow what I can while I watch them.

七人の侍

せんしゅうのしゅうまつえいがをみました。なまえは七人の侍（しちにんのさむらい）です。In English, the film is called Seven Samurai, directed by 黒澤明（くろさわ　あきら）. The DVD cover is below:

The film follows a small farming village as it seeks to hire samurai in order to defend itself from an eminent bandit raid. We are successively introduced to the...you guess it...seven heroes who embark on a heartwarming mission whose only rewards are meals and self satisfaction. とてもおもしろいです！いちばんえいがです！I have heard tons of great things about Kurosawa in general, in particular Seven Samurai and Rashomon, but the film exceeded even my high expectations! Despite being THREE HOURS in length, at no point did the thought "I am watching a film." cross my mind; which is to say, I was entirely engaged for the duration of the movie.

The story, while seemingly simplistic at first, actually ties in many subplots that elicit a whole spectrum of emotions and responses. Kurosawa elegantly shows class divides and social biases plaguing Japanese society during the time period, but never loses sight of the select few who truly understand honor and responsibility beyond war and rank. The samurai come from a variety of backgrounds, but in coming together for the village reveal their own perspectives and philosophies. Kurosawa also neatly touches upon gender biases, coming of age, and the psychological effects of loss, all the while presenting the issues in ways that the audience can relate to and understand. Amazingly, Seven Samurai's messages and commentary do not seem any less relevant despite nearly 60 years since its filming.

What struck me the most was one of the final lines spoken by the head samurai, explaining his opinion of a "loss". The remark echoes a statement he makes early on in the film, and sheds an entirely different light on his experiences and our understanding of his past.

The action sequences, however, are understandably simplistic compared to modern technology and cinematography. I found myself wondering why certain characters were dead if all that had happened was a simple jab to the leg, but this is hardly a flaw that detracts from the overall film.

All in all, I greatly recommend the film to anyone who hasn't seen it yet, and urge those who have to watch it again!

じゃあ、ね！

Shadowing Cycle 1 Reflection

In the first cycle of shadowing practice, I was able to follow my plan for the most part and practice some form of shadowing (almost) every day. Thanks to the great feedback I've been receiving, I now know that I need to work on the length of my vowels and special moras (especially double consonants and double vowels). My speed and fluidity needs work, but overall I feel fairly good about my progress. The experience has been excellent and I look forward to doing more practice in the near future!

The midterm oral with メイさん was fun! おもしろいでした。しばたせんせい played a すずきさん from にほん, そしてだいがくいんせいでした. メイさん and I performed the dialogue fluently and without any major hiccups, and we both felt pretty good about it afterwards. However, I do feel that I need to work on impromptu responses and being able to act naturally even when presented with unexpected situations and questions. Other than that, our flow was good and our expressions made the dialogue feel smooth.

わたしのせんしゅうまつ

こんばんは、

せんしゅうまつはしゅくだいをしました、それからえいがをみました。宮崎 駿 （みやざき　はやお　さん）　のえいがでした。えいがは魔女の宅急便 （まじょのたっきゅうびん） Kiki's Delivery Service でした。ほんとおもしろいでした！

こんしゅうわたしはにほんごをべんきょうします。らいしゅうにほんごのテストがあります。それから、みやざきさんのえいがをみます。Shadowing おします。

じゃあ、また。

Shadowing!

こんにちは。

After doing a number of shadowing exercises, I feel that both my pronunciation and listening have slightly improved.

My biggest problems are with long moras: when the recording is at a pace that challenges my ability to keep up, I sometimes fail to prolong long moras as necessary; sometimes I prolong regular moras unnecessarily.

In terms of pitch and intonation, I've found numbers to be tricky and have yet to grasp a reliable pattern depending on the situation. In general, though, I think my intonation is acceptable, but could certainly use improvement to sound more natural.

じゃあ、ね。

Shadowing Goals: Cycle 1

What I Want
To pronounce various mora such as ふ、し and つ more accurately, particularly at higher speeds.

How I'll Achieve It
I will do shadowing daily for 5-10 minutes, along with finding time to shadow various animes I may watch.

わたしのなまえ。

こんにちは！
Towards the end of the drill section today we went around the classroom translating each of our names into カタカナ. ためより　せんせい suggested that my name be written as ホアン, but after thinking about it for the しゅくだい, I'm not so sure anymore. Perhaps something along the lines of フアン would be more appropriate... Also, I struggled a bit for my first name, between エフレム and エフレン. Any thoughts?

はじめまして！

はじめまして。わたしのなまえはホワン（黄）です。プリンストンだいがくのよねんせいです。たいわんじんです。どうぞよろしく。

開始（かいし）

こんにちは！

はじめまして。ホワンです。よねんせいです。どうぞよろしく。

Those words, with the slightest tinge of regret, marked the beginning of my official foray into the world of Japanese language and culture. Regret, at not having done so earlier; regret, at the semesters of Japanese I could have experienced and, hopefully, absorbed. As they say, however, better late than never, and so here I am. You may have noticed I used the word "official"...let's just say I have a substantial interest in manga (Monster), animes (Eureka Seven, Code Geass, Death Note), Japanese cuisine (sashimi, udon, sukiyaki), and Japanese culture as a whole. I was born and partly raised in Taipei, Taiwan which, as some of you may know, has fairly close ties and cultural connections to 日本（にっぽん）. I speak, read, write Mandarin Chinese fluently, and I can understand and (somewhat) speak Taiwanese, affording me some degree of familiarity with the Japanese language. My family and I have visited Japan on several occasions to Tokyo, Hokkaido, and various other places which I cannot recall at the moment. Suffice to say, the visits impressed me enough that Japan is the first location I recommend to people asking about places to visit.

It is with this level of enthusiasm and respect for the culture that I venture forth on this journey to learn 日本語（にほんご）, with the full realization that this considerable feat may not be completed to any appreciable degree in my remaining two semesters here at the 大学（だいがく）. That said, I fully intend on continuing this learning process post-graduation, and would welcome the opportunity to work abroad, if that is an opportunity I come across along my career.

And with that, I bid you farewell for now. Here's to drowning the hint of regret in waves of progress!

さようなら。

～黄（ホワン）