A Love of Grammar

Her Japanese is coming along great and man, she loves grammar. It's funny to see as the weeks progress that her english gets a little worse. You can tell she's becoming fully immersed in learning Japanese.  

Konnichiwa-

 

I'm officially on the downward slope!  I have less than one month until I go to Japan and I cannot wait.  Last Wednesday I got to host in the new missionaries.  Our first assignment was to host the new Nihongis.  They are seriously so adorable!  The first thing one of them said was "sega takai."  It means I'm really tall. I've been told to expect that a lot, also "kin potsu" which means golden hair.  Our branch is so lucky.  I think there are three Japanese branches and ours is the only one that gets the Nihongis.  Every three weeks we get a new batch and then the Americans and the Nihongis fly out together.  It so cool that our branch gets that.  In less than two weeks our district will be getting our own Nihongis to fly out with.  Crazy!  They are the nicest, most energetic people I have every known.  However, whenever I have to speak to them, I always freeze up and can't remember any Japanese.  Luckily they all know English pretty good.  Thank goodness for English being basically the universal language.  (Also, ps if my spelling and grammar are horrible.  I seriously can't remember how to spell anything in English already.  I always have to doubl check with everyone else.)

 

So last Tuesday was our first time having devotional in the Marriott center.  There were so many people.  This Sunday there is the huge broadcast and the prophet and apostles will all be there.  I can't wait! I've been told that at this broadcast they may switch it so girls can choose to serve for 2 years and boys 3.  Holy smokes!  That would be crazy if that were really true.  I guess the Lord is really hastening the work.  Oh yes, also last week when hosting, I hosted someone going English speaking. Her rooms were almost brand new, twice the size of mine, the bathroom were gorgeous and there class rooms had huge desks with comfy rolly chairs..and she's only here for 10 days!  Not even cool.  So this week, we decided to go get ourselves some rolly chairs.  It sure does make a difference.  I sit for so many hours, I need some padding underneath me.  Also Damron shimai has started a tally in class to help keep her awake.  Each day has a different tally, but there are some that are pretty consistent.  For instance, how many times Crook choro falls asleep, or how many time Womack shimai flirts with our teacher Todd Sensei- I think our record high for that one is 14 times.  Seriously, it is out of control.  Everyone just has to laugh because we don't know how else to deal with it. 

 

Yesterday I had a cool experience though.  I always get so frustrated with myself and my companion because she knows a ton of Japanese and I'm just barely learning.  I feel so stupid everytime we have to teach our investigator.  So yesterday Womack shimai was at the doctor's office while we had class.  So I tag teamed with Mason and Damron Shimai in teaching Shuma.  I came along as a church member named Yomada.  I hadn't planned the lesson with them, so I was planning on saying a few things when I felt it was right and then bearing my testimony at the end about the topic.  Both of them started off.  Their grammar was not that great and I could hardly understand what they were trying to say.  They were messing up basic senteces like, "I ate an apple" type sentences.  I sat there and felt like I was in chaos as they scrambled to piece vocab together (in english format (subject + verb + object) rather than (subject + object + verb)) so they could try to get the point across. I felt bad for Shuma who had to try and comprehend it all. Finally it was my turn to speak and things started to calm down a little, and they calmed down more, and the lesson went much better.  Anyway, point of the story, I became very grateful for two things yesterday.  I don't mean to sound arrogant, but I became very grateful for my intelligence. I forget how quickly I catch on to things.  I always think I am always behind and everyone knows so much more than me.  However, I'm catching onto the language very quickly compared to most everyone else.  Last week, my teacher told me that my Japanese is very good, but I didn't believe him because he is just a nice teacher and he would say that to anyone.  But, I think he really meant it.  Anyway, I'm grateful that I have the ability to learn quickly and figure things out.  Second was that I realized what a blessing it is to have someone better at Japanese for a companion.  It's not because she teaches me anything extra (I don't allow her to because she just tells me how to write it and doesn't actually teach) but it's the fact that she isn't holding me back.  If I had one of the other sisters as a companion, I would have to slow down and go back and teach them what I already know and have figured out on my own.  But with my companion, she is already so ahead of me, that I can keeping progressing at my own rate. And hopefully I don't slow her down.  I don't think I do though because I don't ask her many questions; I like to figure things out on my own and piece everything together.  Also, I know I've said this a million times, but I love grammar.  I like to jump ahead of what we've learned and learn new things.  Then I take everything I've learned, try to piece all of my knowledge together to start making complex sentences.  I felt so proud of myself when I was able to piece 4 principles together, 3 of which I had learned on my own, and create the sentence, "When you are done teaching Douglas and Bevan Shimai, I have a question." (Todd sensei wa Douglas shimai to Bevan shimai o oshie owatta toki ni watashi ga shitsumon ga arimasu.)  May seem like a simple sentece but it actually is not- however still not the most complex either.  But also another reason why Japanese is awesome- we have nicknames for all of our books.  Our yellow grammar book is called the pikachu, then we have the ninga (that has everything in it), the miagi, the bulbasor, the sumo, the samarai, the squirrdel, and the charmander.  I don't know if any other langauge has that.  Also next week we become daisempai!  That means we are the most 'advanced" group soon.  I thought the day would never come.  Also this week I got a calling.  I'm not the sister training leader (thank goodness!) but I'm the portal trainer?  Anyway, I get to teach the Nihongi and the new kohai how to use email, how to use the portal, and how to email the branch presidency every week.  Good thing I know so much about computers....

  

Anyway, I hope everything is great!  Look for me on TV for this upcoming broadcast.  I'll be singing in the choir.  Too bad you didn't get tickets for it, that would have been awesome!  O well.  I guess mom and dad, you'll just have to come volunteer at the TRC. Dad, you can teach those new missionaries how to properly pronounce a French "r." And mom...well I don't know any German, so sorry.  Anyway, I love and miss you all!

 

Ai shite imasu,

 

Ellsworth Shimai

First devotional at the Marriott Center

Getting to be a hosting sister 

With the Nihongi she hosted. She said she's going to have to get used to towering over all the Japanese people. I guess an elder asked to take a picture with her because she is so tall....ha