WHERE AM I?

Ni Hao! Wait a second... Oh, I am not in Taiwan anymore... "Hello!"

Or else, I mean こんいちは (kon ni chi wa). Yep, that is Japanese. My mind is all confused now! Ahhh! I started Japanese 101 on Wednesday and I am struggling with getting the Chinese out of my brain and letting the Japanese in. (and I was just getting used to speaking English to strangers again!) It is rather difficult. When I walked in the teacher greeted me in Japanese, and almost before I could stop myself I wanted to respond in Chinese. I think what came out was a confused stare and my sitting down quickly in the nearest available desk. I don't know if she would have recognized it as Chinese anyway, since my pronunciation isn't all that good.

It has been a bit of an adjustment being back home. The first few days were especially odd. It was really surprising when people actually spoke English and understood what I was saying! Of course I knew they would all speak English, but somehow there was this thought running through my brain telling me otherwise. So I have subconsciously had my moments where I have had to stop myself when I am ordering food or shopping because the first thought I have is "Wo you yi ge..." (phonetic pronunciation: wa-yow-ee-gah/ "I want one...").

Then to make things worse I signed up for this Japanese class at the college. I thought it would be a fun way to stay connected to the East, but instead it has been rather frustrating. I keep wanting to respond in Chinese. The first day was the worst, and I am sure it will pass quickly, but in the meantime... I can't help but evaluate the teaching (as second language) because that is all I have been doing for the last six months. So concerning this class, I am a little confused. I can't really speak any Japanese yet, but I am already learning to write it...That seems a bit backwards to me. Maybe it will all come together, but right now I can't see the vision.

Anyway, my life has changed drastically in the last few weeks. I really loved Taiwan, and it is going to take some time to recreate a life here in the States. In the meantime I am keeping myself busy with a few projects. One such project is that documentary film I shot with Brett in Taiwan. I am currently doing the initial editing and capturing and then we will piece it together in the upcoming weeks. From what I have seen so far in the raw footage, I think there is a lot of potential. Wish us luck!