I couldn't remember whether I've mentioned this on my previous blog posts but during my first two years at Douglas College, I remember how much I secretly hated of going there because of being a loner. And I tried to enroll to Basic Japanese I class for quite a few times but the sections were always full. But then, a miracle happened in Winter 2014. Kimiko Brucks' Basic Japanese I had a spot available, and that was when I started seeing a new light in my life since I moved to Canada.
Since then, I made a pledge to myself to master the Japanese language. I embraced every lesson, every self practice, and every moment in class. In my very first taste of Japanese, I managed to make three or four new friends but I didn't talked much to them and I didn't catch up with them after that semester ended (except for two of them, I bumped into them last year and I was glad to see that they were doing well).
That summer, I traveled by plane alone for the first time back to Malaysia. I stopped over at Tokyo for one night and I met a lovely group of church sisters (I forgot the name of the district). Seeing them singing hymns in Japanese and sharing testimonies in Japanese motivated me to continue learning Japanese when I started my new semester at Douglas College. Even though it was only a two-days stay, I liked surrounding myself with the people there and the food...OMG I missed the Udon and the Takoyaki there! XD
In Fall 2014, Basic Japanese II was when I started to see an opened door to new, bigger friendships and surprisingly new inspiration for my writing. Even until now, I'm surprised that I made friends with pretty much the whole class that semester. And I loved Minami Sensei's teaching. She had this handful of humour and creativity that made Japanese classes so much fun and I had never laughed so much and so hard in my life. Those four months were just pure bliss. I started a Facebook chat group with my new friends; I planned hangouts with them; I even wrote them a poem at the end of the class. And I applied some Japanese phrases in my Creative Writing pieces and used Japan as story settings for one or two assignments.
For the next two semesters, my Japanese was in a plateau because I had to finish up with my remaining courses in order to graduate. I also was in a half-motivated hunt for a job to earn money for the very first time. Since I was in a blank state of mind on what I was going to do next after Douglas College, I decided to land on a five/ six-months job at IHOP and brush up with my Japanese by volunteering with the Japan Hotel Students in summer 2015. I stepped up my game by talking to one of the Japanese students and that got me (kind of) getting to make new friends from Japan which was a dream come true. Even though I didn't get to talk a lot with them (because I'm an introvert, duh :P), I got to know them and to make new memories with them.
In fall 2015, more new people were added to my circle of tomodachi and at that time, I found myself attending parties and pretty much sticking around with them every week.
Sometimes I look back and ask myself how come all these have happened? This is what I've always wanted, to feel belonged in a group of people. Even though we all have different personalities, but we share the same passion in learning Japanese. As for the Japanese students, we share our respective cultures together and I'm just happy to see them having the time of their lives in Canada for the past ten months.
There was one person I would like to address to. She was like the only Japanese who literally asked me for help with her English. Oddly, I always wanted someone to come to me and ask for help with English and the times when she popped a message on Facebook to ask me questions about grammar or to edit her homework made me really happy. I asked her to hang out with my friends for quite a few times and I could see that she was having fun. Shout out to Hina!
Time flies, eh? And now it's almost time for the Japanese to depart. It's sad to see them leave, but I'm happy that Douglas College gave the Japan Hotel Students this opportunity to fly here all the way from Japan to learn English, the international language, and to experience the Canadian life. I actually have a lot more to say here but I have a hard time arranging my sentences. XD Anyway, I wish them all the best in their next plans and we'll definitely meet again! 将来にまったね！
Wow! How long has it been? Japanese classes have influenced me to be blessed of living here in Canada, Maybe this can be one useful tip if you're yearning to make new friends or to find surprisingly new things about yourself, learn a new language. It's really a gift in this world. Communicating in a whole new tongue will weave your world with colours. Trust me, it works. :)
