Hello!
こんにちは！

I have started this as a diary of sorts into my learning of what I consider to be one of the most beautiful languages in the world.

I started this journey a couple of months ago. Maybe as long as three months. I feel as if I should have marked the day in some way, but I didn't. And I know that I will regret it as I look back in maybe 9 months and want to celebrate the distance I have traveled. Oh well.

So, to date, I can read the Hiragana, or ひらがな really well. Still not as fast as I would like, especially once I run into something like しょ or ちゅ or the worst... りゅ. I tend to have to pause a bit more and flip it around in my head. But it will get there.

The カタカナ , Katakana, I can read as well, but not as fast. I haven't used that one as much. Though that is about to change.

One of the things that I do to help the Kana stick in my head is find romaji lyrics to my favorite Japanese songs and then transcribe then into the Kana. Well, in addition to using them to help learn the songs, which in turn, I THINK helps with pronunciation.

I have about 150 words in my vocabulary, which isn't a lot, but it grows everyday. It would be more, but I am at a crossroads. Focus on Kanji, or new vocabulary?

I am pretty proud of my Kanji knowledge. I know about 120 on sight and know what they mean. And of those, I know the Kunyomi and Onyomi of about 50 of them.

I am hoping to make friends with those on this journey as well, and to be inspired and to inspire others. Maybe we can trade tips on remembering or things that worked for them.

What do you find to be your most difficult challenge? For me, for what ever reason, it is particles. Not wa, or は (in this case). That one is easy enough. But others give me fits. I find Kanji easier than keeping the particles straight in my head.

Please feel free to comment! But what ever you do, enjoy your journey into the language!