Konnichiwa, What's your favourite Japanese word or saying? Mine is 儚い - hakanai. Hakanai means evanescent, fleeting, ephemeral. It suggests the passing nature of moments, beauty and life. The delicate cherry blossoms blooming and shortly falling are hakanai. The crimson sky and the setting sun moments before night falls are hakanai. Each day spent with loved ones are hakanai. We must appreciate the beauty of these experiences that will come and go and cherish them all the more for it. The special things in life are hakanai and that's why it is my favourite Japanese word. What is your favourite Japanese word or saying? Arigatou, Joe Sensei.

What's something you're proud of learning? I learnt about fermentation. Why? After dinner in Japan one evening, I decided I desperately needed to learn about fermentation and the very next day I bought this book. But why? It was talking to my friend's parents that made me feel I needed to learn the Japanese vocabulary and about the process of fermentation. The parents both had worked for drcades for Sapporo Breweries Limited and during dinner they wanted to tell me about their time in the company, their roles and their brewing inventions. But so many times they tried to tell me but I didn't have the vocabulary to understand. It was vocab that would be common to a teenager having studied a little bit of chemistry. But I was lost and frustrated. They were so patient and so nice and we had a lovely dinner. But I swore to myself that I'd learn the necessary vocab so that when we had dinner together again, I could understand their stories of successful brewing. I studied this book, Hakkou no Hon, the Book of Fermentation. It wasn't easy. The book is aimed at young teenagers, but there were so many technical words and phrases that were new to me. But I tried my best. The next time we had dinner, I more easily followed along with their explanations and there was so much less of the frustration a language barrier can give. We had a wonderful meal and even better conversation. So, I'm proud of learning about fermentation! What's something you're proud of learning?

Introduce yourself and share a pic of something Japanese you own or something Japanese that you're interested in! Feel free to explain why you want to learn Japanese or what you like about Japan. Also, feel free to post any Japanese language questions you have. I'd be glad to answer them! As for me, I love learning Judo. Have you ever tried it? And I love Japanese literature, such as Kokoro by Natsume Soseki. Have you read any Japanese novels? I also really enjoyed Cowboy Bebop when it came out! Not the live action Netflix version! To start learning, I highly recommend Your 50 First Sentences Course: https://www.skool.com/japanese/classroom/fe1c2853?md=60ee3552d26e4ffcb910a86675e10f95 Arigatou, Joe Sensei.