Me like English

More than once, when I have told someone I live in Japan, they have asked me why I speak such good English...or why I don’t have a strange accent. This seems like a funny question for those who know me because I am really more American than anything else. However, I guess I must give the curious or confused people who ask me that question some credit, because it does make sense. 

Why do I have an American accent if I have never lived in the US? Well, although this is true, English has always played an important role in my life. I have always attended school taught in English, I speak English at home with my family, and with all my friends! English has always been my favorite subject and this is probably because I have been blessed with an abundance of amazing English teachers everywhere I’ve lived.

Both of my parents grew up in the United States and are 100% American. Even though I was born in Japan, they taught me English as my mother tongue. However, I do not only speak English.

Living abroad my whole life has exposed me to a variety of cultures and languages. When I lived in France and attended a French “garderie” I learned a bit of French – but it was mostly “playground French”. When I moved to Taipei, Taiwan, I was still quite young; too young to remember any of my French. Instead, I switched to Mandarin Chinese. At the American school in Taipei, the kindergarten classes spent almost half of the day in Chinese classes and I became very familiar with the language. We have home videos of me speaking to friends in Mandarin, and now when I watch them, I have no idea what I am saying. I think it's sad, because although I was good at Chinese, we left Taiwan when I was 6 years old and so I do not remember much anymore. We moved to Lausanne, Switzerland where they speak French. It was in Lausanne where I spent nearly 7 years of my life and where my French really developed. I continue to take French in school now while living in Japan, and I am getting pretty comfortable with it. I would still love to learn Japanese. I can order Starbucks and ask for directions in Japanese but that's just about where it all ends right now...

I am very happy to keep learning English while living in Japan. As I said before, I have always thoroughly enjoyed the challenges of English class. I am pretty sure that this year will be a great experience as well. I am excited for the books we will be reading and just as much for the discussions they will provoke.

When I get older, I expect to study some form of English in college (I had fun in a debate class I took this summer!) and someday I would love to be a journalist. My far off dream is to be a member of The Second City, Chicago comedy group or Saturday Night Live, but no one really knows that about me. In my mind, the comedy and the journalism are very similar in the way that they both share the idea of talking about current events, which is also an interest of mine. That is why they both appeal to me as future careers.

But then again, I truly have no idea what I want to do in my life except...I would like the years of my life to be as Abraham Lincoln said they should be “...it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years.” That is how I want to live. =)