| KAI: |
Thank you for making time for this, Shin-san. |
| Shin: |
My pleasure! |
| KAI: |
So let’s begin. Since when have you been studying Japanese? |
| Shin: |
The first time was when I was studying at a university in Canada. I signed up for a Japanese course and studied for one semester. Our teacher was actually French. |
| KAI: |
So you learned Japanese from a French person in Canada? That’s quite international! Have you always been studying Japanese since then? |
| Shin: |
No. After graduation, I went to Florida and studied interior design. When I finished my studies there, I worked in Miami for about a year. Then I got married and went back to Canada. |
| KAI: |
What was your motivation to start studying Japanese again? |
| Shin: |
Studying Japanese has been my dream since I was little. I always wanted to study Japanese, but never really found time for it. I was hoping I could live in Japan one day, but I had to finish school, then I started to work and got married…Japan had become just a dream by that time. About 2 years ago, though, I had some problems at work and began to think about Japan again. At that time, my husband was doing business on his own and the timing was perfect for both of us. So in September 2007, we decided to come to Japan and looked for a language school. |
| KAI: |
Did he start studying Japanese as well? |
| Shin: |
No. He had actually studied Japanese before, but he had a really hard time then and didn’t want to start this time. So he left me here and went back to Canada on his own. |
| KAI: |
Where did you find KAI? |
| Shin: |
I searched on the Internet, found 3 schools and one of them was KAI. I visited each and every one of them. My contact person at KAI was Saito-san. She was actually the reason why I chose KAI. She was very attentive and always responded to my inquiries immediately. While with other schools, it didn’t go as smoothly, which worried me a little. |
| KAI: |
How did you like studying at KAI? |
| Shin: |
I really had a great time at KAI for two years going from level 2 to 8. It was fun. |
| KAI: |
What was the best part? |
| Shin: |
It was just amazing to be able to learn new aspects of the Japanese language and culture everyday. All the teachers are really passionate about their job and they do care about the students. You can talk to them about your studies, life, or anything really. I am so grateful for their help. |
| KAI: |
How much did you study besides school? |
| Shin: |
I tried to study at least 4 hours everyday. |
| KAI: |
So you studied 4 hours at school, 4 hours at home? |
| Shin: |
Yes, I did. |
| KAI: |
Wow, that’s really a full time study! |
| Shin: |
Yes, but I wanted to. I love studying Japanese so it was no burden. |
| KAI: |
What was the most difficult part? |
| Shin: |
Well, I still find it difficult to speak. I get nervous easily, so when I try to converse in Japanese, my brain sometimes goes completely blank! |
| KAI: |
Is that true? You seem to be perfectly fine speaking in Japanese right now! What do you like the most in studying Japanese? |
| Shin: |
I guess I like kanji the best. |
| KAI: |
Oh, that’s right. I heard you always had a perfect score on the “Kanji Contest”. That’s amazing! How did you do that? |
| Shin: |
I love kanji. I’m really interested in Japanese kanji which is not always the same as Chinese. It can be confusing sometimes. I’m often like, “So in Japanese, this kanji is written this way, but in Chinese, it’s that way...Oh wait…which is Japanese and which is Chinese again?” |
| KAI: |
Being a Chinese speaker doesn’t make you perfect in kanji, then? |
| Shin: |
Not at all! I think it can actually be a disadvantage if you know too many Chinese kanji…I sometimes feel like there are too many kanji in my head. |
| KAI: |
I never thought that would be a disadvantage! |
| Shin: |
It can be. But I love kanji. Even when I’m just listening to Japanese songs or watching TV programs, I’m unconsciously thinking about kanji, like…“Hey, I didn’t know this kanji is read that way” or “So this kanji means that…” Watching TV is a really good exercise. |
| KAI: |
It’s great that you enjoy studying like that. |
| Shin: |
Well, I love Japanese TV shows…! |
| KAI: |
What do you watch? |
| Shin: |
Mmm, let’s see…I see a lot of drama and comedy shows. |
| KAI: |
Isn’t it difficult to understand comedy shows? |
| Shin: |
Very. In the beginning, I hardly understood any of them. Now, I do and laugh about them. |
| KAI: |
We have students from many different countries at KAI. How did you like studying in a multinational environment? |
| Shin: |
I enjoyed it very much. One of the reasons why I chose KAI was because there weren’t too many Chinese speaking students. I came here to study Japanese. I was afraid I would end up speaking Chinese all the time if I went to a school with many Chinese students. |
| KAI: |
At KAI, you were dipped in Japanese. |
| Shin: |
That’s right. In 2 years at KAI, I made a lot of friends from different countries, from Asia, Europe, America… |
| KAI: |
That’s wonderful. |
| Shin: |
Yes, I had great classmates. About 2 weeks before the end of this semester, I strained my back and couldn’t move or do anything for days. They were all really kind, asking me if I needed help or anything. I feel so blessed to have such wonderful classmates, you know. My teachers and the office staff were also very helpful. I couldn’t thank them enough. |
| KAI: |
That must have been so hard to have a strained back…but it’s good to hear that you had such good support from everyone. |
| KAI: |
Now that you have realized your childhood dream of coming to Japan, what is your next dream? |
| Shin: |
Well, my goal for the coming year is to try the Kanji Proficiency Test. |
| KAI: |
That’s great! Which level are you going to try? |
| Shin: |
I think I will take pre-level 2. |
| KAI: |
Amazing! How are you studying? |
| Shin: |
I have DS soft for Kanji Proficiency Test, so I play with it a lot. It’s a lot of fun. |
| KAI: |
So finishing your studies at KAI is not the end of your studying Japanese, eh? |
| Shin: |
It feels like the real study has just begun. I will never stop studying Japanese. |
| KAI: |
There are many Japanese living in Vancouver where you’re from, right? You think you’ll have opportunities to use Japanese back home? |
| Shin: |
Yeah, sure. There are quite many ramen shops now in Vancouver, too. |
| KAI: |
Sounds good. |
| Shin: |
Yeah, but it doesn’t taste the same! Every time I go back to Canada and eat sushi, I’m like, “But this is NOT sushi!!!” It’s totally different! |
| KAI: |
Is that right? Besides food, what will you miss the most about Japan? |
| Shin: |
Electronic appliances! I really want to buy a fridge and take it home if I could. Oh, and I love the fish griller in the stove. I want to take that home too, but I guess that’s a bit difficult. |
| KAI: |
What are you going to do back home? |
Shin: |
I will work as a designer again. It would be great if Japanese is involved. I don’t know if I would find a job that requires it, but I could read Japanese books and magazines on architecture or design and improve myself as an interior designer. |
| KAI: |
Good luck! How do you feel about leaving Japan now? |
Shin: |
I will miss it for sure. I was talking with my teachers yesterday, and I felt so emotional about going back. |
| KAI: |
You will come to Japan again, right? |
Shin: |
Yes, for sure. I will definitely stop by at KAI when I come to Japan. I also want to go to concerts. |
| KAI: |
What concert? |
Shin: |
Do you know the music group EXILE? I’m a member of the fan club. I won a concert ticket and went to their concert once. |
| KAI: |
That sounds great. What do you do in the fan club? |
Shin: |
Well, you can win a concert ticket like I did, and also receive different information about EXILE. The group has a TV show and now you can also win a chance to watch the show on set. I never won this one, though. |
| KAI: |
Are you coming with your husband next time? |
Shin: |
Sure. But if he’s busy, I don’t mind coming alone at all. I was a little nervous about living on my own at first, but after 2 years, I got so used to the life here. It’s great. |
| KAI: |
Your husband must be so eager to see you back home. |
Shin: |
Yeah, he’s been asking me when I would be home. |
| KAI: |
Do you have any message for the people who are going to study Japanese? |
Shin: |
Come to KAI! I strongly recommend this school to everyone. I cannot express how I appreciate all the care I had from the staff and the teachers here. Thank you very much! |
| KAI: |
Thank you Shin san. We are all looking forward to seeing you again in Japan. Good luck! |
Shin: |
Thank you! |
