こんにちは

はじめまして。ステヴェンソｎ-です。どうぞよろしく。While my first blog post may begin rather predictably, hopefully further down the road the posts will contain more meaningful content. In any case, so begins my blog to track my progress through my first year of Japanese at the University of Notre Dame. Hopefully this will be a learning experience to last a lifetime. Really the main reason I'm taking the class is to explore a new language and culture with which I am completely unfamiliar. After eight years of French (romance language) and a year in Ukraine (Slavic language), I thought it was time to turn to either an East Asian or Middle Eastern language. Of course, with either choice, much time must be spent on location in order to truly become proficient. I felt Japanese was a logical choice for me as Japan has become fairly Western and yet it still maintains a cultural distance through it's centuries old roots. Furthermore, till now I've had minimal exposure to Japanese culture/history, so it will be an entirely new learning experience for me. I hope after successfully completing my first year to study abroad in Tokyo through Notre Dame's program with Sophia. In any case, I look forward to the year ahead with my classmates and any other affiliated schools.



P.S. The title is Yagan, and translates roughly to "a look shared by two people with each wishing that the other will initiate something that both desire but which neither one wants to start." In the Guinness Book it is listed as "the most succinct word." While I'm sure this is something all of us have experienced at some point or another, it truly sums up the way in which the class spoke it's first words of Japanese.