Enrollment Steps

One day I had to attend a—I can’t remember exactly what it is called, but it was one these brain-washing, team-building things every company nowadays tortures their employees with. We started with a short introduction round—name, hobby, etc. Of course, everybody had model hobbies like hiking or reading or reading while hiking.

Everyone except this one Japanese guy, who said without any false modesty: “My hobby is drinking.”

So, he and I started drinking together. Regularly. Meaning almost every day. But in a totally responsible manner.

One thing led to another—or, to be more precise, drinking together led to cultural exchange—or, to be absolutely precise, he started drinking Russian vodka and I started learning Japanese. It was fun, but I wasn’t really making much progress in Japanese, although I was (and still am) quite committed to learning the language. Maybe I wasn’t focused enough though…

Thanks to Nihongo-Pro I discovered that one can learn Japanese without drinking! What a mind-blowing experience! Well, to be honest, with Araki-sensei we quite often talk about food and drinks, but so far we have managed to remain sober.

The most amazing thing though is that online Japanese lessons with Araki-sensei actually, really help. Before my first lesson I was, let’s say, a bit concerned whether I’d be able to understand anything, but right from the first minutes, Araki-sensei involved me in a conversation I couldn’t even imagine I was capable of. But by means of some voodoo magic (or maybe due to Araki-sensei’s experience?) all of a sudden I realized that I can be quite talkative, even in Japanese.

It has been almost a year since our first lesson. The only disadvantage of online lessons I have discovered so far is that one can’t drink together with the teacher. But collaboration technology and tools are rapidly improving, so I’m pretty sure the day will come when Araki-sensei and I will have an online Japanese class while drinking. Of course, in a totally responsible manner.

I find writing the journal very useful as it allows me to express my experiences in Japanese and it makes it easy to identify mistakes I make while writing. The pace of the classes is appropriate and if I need more time on a certain Japanese grammar point Arai-sensei will make time for it. Being a foreign tourist, I also appreciate the occasional explanation of Japanese culture in conjunction with lessons.

Since I work evenings it is important to me to have a consistent schedule to learn and Nihongo-Pro allows me to do this while still maintaining flexibility when I occasionally need to make a change to the schedule. The Nihongo-Pro classroom is well designed and allows for a customized lesson. While I still have a long way to go with my Japanese studies, I look forward to continuing my learning with Arai-sensei through Nihongo-Pro.