... Because I was a precocious youth?
When I was 15, I essentially ran away to Japan armed only with the phrases "Koh-knee-Chee-Wah" and "Domo Arigatou, Mr. Roboto". I was taken in for a month by an elementary school teacher in Saitama who lived next to the Keihin-Touhoku Line's Yono Station (JR's 与野駅! I'll never forget it!) . I spent the days shuttling around Tokyo and getting completely and utterly lost. It was a terrifying, stupid and wonderful thing.
I think I wanted to live out a cyberpunk sci-fi fantasy. And truthfully, at night, Tokyo wasn't that far off the mark. Maybe Japan will be all the more Blade Runner-y now that some years have gone by. I am continually saving up and studying up for the time when that second wave of escapist impulses will hit me. While there I actually didn't get much speaking practice -- too many people knew English and I knew too little Japanese! -- but I did pick up Katakana and the occasional Kanji symbol.
Edited to include some visual reference:
As for other reasons, I might study linguistics on top of my first academic love, philosophy. Picking up another romance language (while interesting) wouldn't equip me with a lot of breadth. I also love Japanese fashion. Interning at Vogue Nippon would be a dream come true.
So what about you, world? What are you working towards?
すごい! I wish I had run away to Japan. Also, Blade Runner, amazing.However, Tokyo as Blade Runner...I think the tourism rate would probably drastically decrease!
ReplyDeleteぶうう〜
ReplyDeleteI suppose you are right. Blade Runner fans are not a large enough portion of the population to support the economy of 東京 (とうきょう)。
かなしいですね。。。