Insight Everywhere

Yesterday, I stopped by Mr. Bob Behr's house (whom I call Be'ah-sama) to talk to him about Japan, since he had opened the invitation a few days ago, and also he's hilarious.

It's interesting to hear from people who know what to expect but who are still just as excited as you about something . 

Things I Learned:
"If you like their food, and are able to enjoy it, they will LOVE you."

"Japanese words do not have gender, but slang-y sentence endings and pronouns do. Try not to speak like a guy. And do NOT teach your friends the feminine endings. Guys who speak like women in Japan sound ridiculous. It's....weird."

"Just know this: you are going to be stupid for quite some time while you're there. But don't think that just because you can't understand your biology teacher that you are not learning. You are always learning. You're just learning something different from your classmates."

"Sever as much connection with The West as you can. The only way to pick up your language skills is to be stubborn. If people want to speak English, pretend you don't know it. You went all that way to learn THEIR language. If you can memorize a sentence that says that, people will understand. DO NOT GIVE IN." 

"Join a club. Don't do the sewing club or something meaningless, unless you are sewing your own kimono, because that would be fantastic."

"It will be hard, but you will remember those 6 months for the rest of your life."

どうもありがとうございました、ベア様。
Thank you so much, Be'ah-sama.:)