Learning Japanese

When ever I travled or lived for a short time in Japan, I always was uneasy about my very limited ability to speak the country’s language. I had learned to read and write Hiragana and Katakana, but not Kanji yet my vocabulary and my ability to compose sentences was very rudimentary. I was always embarrassed that I spend so much time in Japan and had not mastered basic language skills. So, after my last stay in 2019 I made a concerted effort to learn more Japanese. I quickly realized that studying alone without a teacher is difficult, but I made it a habit to study first thing in the morning. Everyday! While I am not where I want to be, I made significant progress albeit it is sometimes frustrating. The progress is slow but there is progress. I hope when I go back sometimes next year (I keep my fingers crossed) I will be able to converse to some exted and I am sure that with help from my friends, I will advance further.