I was always interested in learning new languages and different cultures. Japanese culture and language is one the the languages and cultures that I always wanted to try and learn. I have always wanted to visit Japan, but first I felt like it was important for me to learn the language and learn more about the culture before I went there. My main goal was to be able to learn enough Japanese to be able to hold conversations and be able to translate. Translation is the career path that I eventually want to be able to take, which is why i was glad to be able to take a Japanese translation class at CSUMB. During my time at CSUMB I was also able to take Japanese culture classes taught completely in Japanese, which I feel is really important because I was able to learn Japanese vocabulary not easily translatable to English.
During my time at CSUMB I did multiple presentations in Japanese (MLO1) further enhancing my skills. Japanese is a language that requires you to be able to speak with different levels of speech depending on who you are talking to. For example presentational Japanese is the more polite form whereas speaking with my friends I could use plain form. I took many culture classes at CSUMB and a history class throughout these classes I was able to analyze Japanese culture and compare it to my own culture (MLO2). I also was able to take a secondary culture course as part of my major requirements at CSUMB, so I was also able to get a bit of insight into another culture other than Japanese (MLO3). I am someone who believes it is important to try and learn about as many cultures as possible, so I think this is an important aspect of the World Languages and Cultures programs at CSUMB.
What I am most proud of as a Japanese language and culture major is that this was my first time learning an Asian language, before this I studied Spanish. At first looking at the writing system of Japanese I thought that I would never be able to read it adequately enough. Although this was my initial thought I have come to learn that reading is my highest skill in Japanese, which I am the most proud of because people are always saying how hard it is to read Japanese. Getting to study a year in Tokyo is something I will always remember as well.
One thing that I always wanted to do was visit Japan someday and I was finally able to do that as a CSUMB student. I had the opportunity to spend a year in Tokyo at Toyo University and experience Japanese culture in an immersive way (MLO5). Immersion is an important part of learning another language or culture because you get to experience it firsthand and speak the language with native speakers. I was able to experience Japanese culture in an authentic way and I hope to be able to visit or maybe even live in Japan again in the future. My time living and going to school in Tokyo is something I will never forget as it was the first time I had ever travelled outside of the United States and I made many friends that I will never forget. This study abroad experience also made me have the desire to travel to many other countries as well.
Another beneficially aspect of being a Japanese language and culture major at CSUMB is that I was able to complete a capstone project that helped me improve many skills. Through completing this project I was able to enhance my presentational, communication, research, and technological skills. (MLO4). Throughout this project I learned different skills for researching and was able to apply them in multiple ways in my Japanese powerpoint. This also allowed to gain skills needed to work with others because we had to work with a partner for our projects.
While I learned a lot during my time at CSUMB I still can develop my language skills further. I hope to be able to continue to learn Japanese and further develop my speaking skills, which I feel is my weak point. As I stated before I would like to become a translator, so I hope to be able to develop more translation skills. I would also like to use skills I acquired to learn other languages and cultures.