May 17 , 2003 - page 2

settled in for a night of melodious fun. Luckily there was an entire book just for foreign songs. After watching everyone else for a bit I decided to join in. I sang several American songs by the end of the night, and I had a blast in the process. I definitely want to go to karaoke again!

We departed the karaoke box at 3:00 AM, and we took a taxi back to school. This was my first cab trip, and I put my practical Japanese skills to use in my conversation with the driver. We discussed a variety of things including my stay in Japan, my heritage, and differences between Japan and

America. It was great to be able to carry on a coherent conversation with him.

While on the topic of Japanese language, my skills have
improved tremendously since arriving here five weeks ago. I’m definitely being immersed in the Japanese language everyday. I’ve been stimulating my classroom learning by watching Japanese television, listening to Japanese music, and speaking in Japanese with my host family.