The end of an era

I finished my last exam of my last Japanese class on Saturday. Before I had even handed the four-page test in, I began to feel a sense of loss: I had just completed my formal education in Japanese language. Of course, I still have my honors thesis to write next year, but as for classes in Japanese language and culture, I'm through. From here on out, I'll mainly be working on completing my degree in creative writing.

Regardless, my informal education in Japanese will never be complete. I freely admit that I am not fluent, after three years of study, and I doubt that I will ever truly be fluent. Japanese is a difficult and subtle language which, I believe, few foreigners are equipped to master. And quite frankly, I have no desire to do so. To become truly fluent in Japanese would require many more years of study and probably a great deal more time spent abroad. But from the very outset, Japanese was never an end to me, but a means through which to become better acquainted with the Japanese video game industry. Thanks to my current proficiency in Japanese and my experiences abroad, I am already meeting that goal.

Of course, I have no intention whatsoever to give up my hard-earned language skills just because I'm no longer being tested on them. I'm still somewhat awkward at the conversational level, but thanks to several friends of mine in Pittsburgh who are native Japanese speakers I am confident I can improve upon that area. As for reading, I have my Japanese video games to keep me on my toes and remind me of kanji, as well as a couple of books in Japanese (one being the first Harry Potter).

Now I am eager to return to Carnegie Mellon and continue my degree in creative writing. Even though no writing courses were available at Keio, I didn't completely neglect my craft. During the second half of my stay here, I worked diligently on several short stories, including a lengthy Greek mythology piece which I believe is the best fiction I've ever written. I look forward to advancing my skills in fiction and screenwriting at CMU next year. In case you didn't know, I plan on using my two degrees to pursue a career as a video game writer, and I intend to apply to several graduate schools this winter to help achieve this end and to learn about game development.

In a week and two days, I will be on a plane back to America. I'm quite anxious about it, both concerning the long trip back and reentry shock, but I am also excited to spend my last week in Japan having fun with my friends. I promise you'll hear all about it shortly, with plenty of pictures! Cheers!