My Japanese Adventures

(CUE: Hare Hare Yukai)
Nazo Nazo, mitai ni... chikyuugi wo tokiakashitara...
Let me give you a little summary of my japanese adventures (as if it were that adventurous). This is because there are people who are asking me (and keep on asking me) about it; Why do you like japanese? When did you start studying japanese? Why do you like japanese?
When I was young (ah-ah-ah.. not that 'All by Myself' song--please!!!), I was fond of watching anime (that's where most people all starts!!). I was fond of sentai (group action team in anime) actually--from Bioman to Jetman then live actions like Mask Rider Black, Ultraman,Shaider... Do I have to mention all??
Then came anime. But I just thought they were just bunch of cartoons. The oldest I could remember is Time Quest and Yu Yu Hakusho.Then the anime cycle went on and on and on.. non-stop. I was getting clues and trying to read hiragana (A Japanese form of writing). I remember the first character I learned as if it were the first person in the planet: 'NO'. It was easy to remeber--it looks like an inverted letter 'e'.
Anyway, to make the short story shorter, I graduated in elementary still engaged in anime (at that particular time, I was a hustler in Pokemon!!!).
But I did not study japanese anymore. Yup, I studied a bit when I met some japanese cousins of mine. The first sentence I learned was the absurd "Nani 'Alaiko'?" which is translated as "What is 'ARAY KO'?"
Then my cousins would answer itai wa. Just now that I'm in college is when I realized that their answer meant "It's PAIN".
Aaaaah... So that's why my cousin AIko asked me to pinch them first before asking it....
When I was a stupid highschool sophomore, I met a close friend who was a hardcore otaku that time. But when I met him, I lost interest with anime. Imperfect timing!!! Just when somebody was encouraging me to study japanese was when I was not into it.
I was studying spanish by that time. But only a little Spanish--that's just another story,do you mind?
Then, when I was graduating in highschool, I met a girlfriend I could never let go for years: Sadako.
JHORROR... (CUE: One Missed Call ring tone)
One Missed Call, Ringu, Ju-On, School Day of the Dead... Name it, I've seen lots of it. But not just jhorror but also Asian Horror Movies (believe me, this is also another story..... a looong discussion...).
Then, out of nowhere, my japanese enthusiasm was revived!!! I came down to Powerbooks (UY!! Free advertisement!!!) and met the cool japanese grammar books. I took a look on the books (wow!! super rhymes!!!) and then--poof!!!
No, it did not became a Coco Crunch....
I became interested to the language.. unconsciously.... because I did not really put interest on it since my real aim is to learn many languages.
Well, it is a very easy language to study (I do self-study for the mean time). And with the help of my japanese-enthusiasts-buddies, Oso, Candy, Mark, Rianna.... I became engaged with the whole subject: Japan.
(Anything to do with my liking of Japan, its culture, and the rest is, again, another story)...
So, the action went on...
I watch animes...
I watch NHK...
I listen a lot to Jpop...
I study kanji....
But still, I ain't turning back on my motherland (CUE: Lupang Hinirang)...
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Sorry, I just had to put my right hand on my chest and sing for a while.. And whatever it is about my being nationalistic is again another story...
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to be continued....