I consider Japan, specifically Tokyo, my second home. I lived there for a total of two years. During my first visit in 2001 I taught English conversation to students ranging in age from 16-85 for almost a year and a half. The company for whom I worked did not require teachers to learn Japanese; we were advised to never use it in trying to explain English concepts to the students. In fact, many foreigners in general who live in Japan, do not learn the language if it is avoidable, or simply learn the basics. The characters alone intimidate many into believing it must be one of the most difficult languages to grasp. But I tend to go against the grain and my insatiable curiosity compels me to learn as much as I can about my environment, to communicate and have meaningful conversation with people, to immerse myself.
After several frustratingly futile attempts to communicate using only English and gestures during the first couple of weeks at the supermarket, library, post office, bank, etc. in a Tokyo suburb called Ota-ku, I thought of how long my stay would be and the desire to learn Japanese overcame me. I felt like a child, an illiterate, and the idea of always being dependent on others or constantly lost in translation and confusion scared the hell out of me. I remember thinking to myself then that my life in Tokyo would be so much easier if I learned the language. Although this was my first foray beyond the borders of the U.S., I had previously studied Spanish from seventh grade through my second year of college. This background gave me confidence that I could master another tongue, so I feverishly began studying the two basic Japanese alphabets; katakana and hiragana.
Long story short, in three weeks I mastered those alphabets, signed up at a private language school in Meguro with a coworker and took lessons. The coworker's passion quickly waned; I began excelling in our class while she never did her homework and ultimately quit. I totally understood, had no hard feelings and chose to take private, one-on-one lessons for a couple months. Six months from learning the two basic alphabets, I took and passed the government sponsored annual Japanese Proficiency Test, level 4, which basically meant I could converse with a twelve year old. I was extremely elated and began using my skills to order food, direct taxi, pick up ladies, call for delivery pizza, and more. But the purpose of this post is to share my experiences during the study process then and now.
The process of studying I used then, is similar to the flashcard process I am using today. For the last couple of months here in 2012 I have been studying the third and most crucial of characters known in Japan as KANJI, the characters represented in the picture above, which characters were adopted from China. Chinese characters (kanji) are used to write the major content words - words with semantic content such as verbs, nouns, and adjectives. Hiragana is used to write grammatical markers and endings. Foreign words, like McDonald's or even foreign names are written in katakana. Back in Tokyo, I made flashcards while learning katakana and hiragana, and always studied them whenever I had a break, or especially while riding the most tranquil train system in the world I imagine; you could hear a pin drop the silence would be so deafening. On the longer train rides, I would notice Japanese businessmen in my periphery and many of the youth curiously staring at me as I whizzed through my deck of flashcards. I would notice them pointing in amazement, and occasionally a rare bold Japanese person would approach me and quietly ask questions about my studies.
Well, while studying on these much dirtier, more unreliable and less safe trains here in New York City recently, I have experienced similar interactions, and am approached at least twice a week. The City can be cold at times, so when people are compelled to speak, and it is based on genuine interest, I walk away knowing I left a different kind of impression on others. My routine here is the same. Whenever I am on a train, I reach in my bag and pull out my rubber banded stack of cards and start studying them, testing how many I can recall. We all know people are naturally nosy when confined in a space with strangers they have access to on trains; many wonder what others are reading or look over shoulders to decipher others' personal text messages, or sit as spectator watching their neighbor play an exciting game of Solitaire or Sudoku on their iPhone. So occasionally people take note of me, a black man sometimes wearing work clothes, other times casually dressed, listening to music and going through flashcards with mysterious looking writing on it. This might baffle some actually.
The first few people who would stop me dead in the middle of flipping over a card knowing I am also jamming to music, were Chinese or Chinese Americans or Americans who happened to be Chinese. Now, I learned while living in Japan that Chinese were more socially aggressive than Japanese, so I was not totally surprised. Also, because the characters were Chinese, seeing me on a NYC train studying their own language served as a good conversation starter. The very first Chinese person was very interested and he basically watched along and blurted out the meaning (in English) as I flipped the cards. There came a point where I blurted out the English meaning and he disagreed with me. It may have been the kanji for "pond", but we soon realized that these characters have different meanings at times and we both ended up being correct. But this cross-cultural exchange early one Saturday morning on the NJ Transit heading to work was very enriching. Others were noticing our conversation and were as amazed as I was at our exchange, the two worlds coming together, bonding in ways most people never do, let alone with foreigners.
The same thing still happens today, but mostly there would be an inquiry asking what I am studying, and because their English would be limited, I would often get a simple thumbs up and smiles from my Chinese brethren and sistren who acknowledge that I am studying their language and they appreciate it. I would often go to brunch alone at Harlem Tavern to eat and study. I remember the first non-Chinese person that approached me while studying, the tallest waiter there, walked over to my table and asked if I was studying Chinese, how hard it was, and that he was considering it. I enjoyed our exchanges, as he would drop off my french toast and Mimosas. That same day during brunch an older gentleman with his wife, ended up asking my name and giving me his business card because he had also studied Chinese and often does business in Asia. Wow, this whole PDFLA, Public Display of Foreign Language Affection, seemed to be opening doors, giving many who I otherwise would never meet an opportunity to relate to me. It is very heart-warming to be received this way in public, when strangers are moved to talk with me based on what I may be reading or because I am studying these Chinese characters.
A couple of black men stopped me in my tracks, making sure though that I was not being disturbed, which I respected. I always take my headphones off and chat. One of them said, "Say man is that Chinese you studyin? I always wanted to learn that language man good for you man you gon' be the next black Yao Ming up in this mothafucka!"
I had to laugh with him after hearing that, then I thanked him as he walked out before the doors closed to his stop. I shared with an older black man, dressed in a Steve Harvey special zoot suit, that I lived in Tokyo, which shocked him even more as we discussed Japanese animation and martial arts, of which he happened to also be a fan. A couple of white men have stopped me, one telling me it is the toughest language to learn (even though they'd never learned it) and wishing me luck. Generally people seemed impressed or pleasantly surprised. Even today, on the 6 train headed to my all-day memoir writing course, a guy looked at me in amazement asking what I was studying. He seemed extra excited and in awe, his eyes bugged out his face, he was smiling ear to ear and seemed genuinely taken aback and excited about my studying Japanese.
Unbeknownst to any of these people, these interactions have further fueled my desire to master the language. I interpret these moments as encouragement that I am on the right path. Knowing that I am learning the characters related to both Japan AND China makes me think somewhere down the line I may be called to master Chinese as well. Surely I will answer that call with the same passion.
All this to say if you ever get a chance to learn a foreign language, do it. Studies show this is a great way to maintain an active brain. Mastering languages also opens the door to have cross-cultural experiences here in diverse USA and to freely travel through countries where that language is spoken. Learning Spanish here in the United States should be mandatory as the number of Spanish speakers increases exponentially.
Challenge yourself, lose yourself in another language and you too will notice many social or potential professional doors open for you as well. You will observe how it liberates you to break down barriers that foreign language creates. By your own curiosity and willingness to learn, you make the world smaller, more manageable, more familiar, more ONE. The more we cut down all that divides us, the closer we become to understanding each other, to living in peace, to uplifting our fellow man. Me Comprendes?
