most of it is magic
And then the hiragana you write down everyday, starts making sense.
It feels wondrous to me. How those random strokes mean 'something'.
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| being a show-off :D |
And this also makes me think that as a child, learning to write in any language must have felt so *Awesome*! Oh and all my illusions of great handwriting got auto shattered. Hiragana is artistic. Which means I am to have a tough time to reach that 'great handwriting' level. Nevertheless in the age of computing, writing in a 3 line notebook with a pencil, is hugely cathartic. Dont take it too seriously, but I feel wonderful after having written the entire alphabets in a single go, every morning.
Of course, one can write means, one can read too. Now. It's just that the reading is laborious and halting. I know I will get to the fluency. It's all about practice after all. No ?
Speaking. Ah. The words cloud inside my head. Waiting to rain. Sometimes a line or two sprouts which makes sense. Sometimes, its just mumbling. The Sensei (teacher) is kinder. She immediately fills up for me (us in a group). She gives a 5 star (chocolate) too, if you excel in conversations. Excel here is strictly subjective. If there is just one group performing, of course you win. Yay!
I am the brightest kid in the other sensei's (teacher) session, who enlightens us on the cultural aspects and history of the place. We talk about Samurai and ninja warriors, the food, the films and modern history. Occasionally we watch movies/video clips too. In dimmed light. We shed tears on the nuclear bombing affair. We talk about grave of the fireflies and the phoenix. We start respecting people even more.
Nowadays I write emails in romaji to the sensei, with my doubts. Pretty soon I will be able to read too. And then may be a real Japanese book will happen. For now, I will stick to cartoons. They always have subtitles. #win
~nightflier