For the past several months I have been learning Japanese. I am now working at Kyoto University under a JSPS International Fellowship and living near the main campus. Each morning I go running along the Kamo River, which runs north-south through the east side of the city. It is a marvellous resource for runners, walkers, etc. While I have been learning Japanese formally, there is nothing like the real experience and just meeting people down the little lane where my house is or interacting with people in the supermarket has taught me the colloquialisms much more quickly than formal study could ever do. Outside the window of my office I hear people talking and the sounds of the language are music to my ears – allowing me to ‘repeat’ what they are saying (in the privacy of my office) to get the cadence and intonation down. Anyway, that’s it for today. Tuesday will remain largely a non-blog posting day.
