Ethnography: "Crow and Water Jug"

 

Today I read another Level 0 book on Tadoku, titled "Crow and Water Jug: from the stories of Aesop". The short story centered around a thirsty crow on a very hot day. He needed a drink of water! When he found a water jug, he was excited at first, but then later was dismayed to find the water level in the jug was too low for him to reach. 

Then the crow had an idea: if he brought enough pebbles and dropped them into the jar, the water would rise and he would be able to reach it for a drink! The crow worked hard and brought many pebbles. After dropping a few into the jug, he tried again to drink but the water was still too low. Finally, after more hard work and many pebbles, the water level of the jug rose enough for the crow to drink. "Delicious!" he cried in relief.

To me, this story was about using your wits and working hard. When I reflected upon this fable and how it might occur to my current life, I immediately though of my pursuit of learning the Japanese language. Before I began I set a goal: I wanted to travel to Japan and be able to navigate through a vacation. That goal felt very far away, but I dove in head first!

When I first started reading about how to learn a new language, there seemed like so much to do: learn the written characters, learn to read them, learn to write them, read books, listen to the language, watch movies, transcribe songs, translate stories, have conversations, test yourself, drill flashcards... the list went on and on. It seemed there was so much to do before I would realize my goal of eating Soba while on a Japanese vacation. In fact, the more I learned about the Japanese language, the further away the goal seemed. In fact, the clearer the road became (and my place on it) any reward at all seemed very, very distant.

A few months into my journey I read that Japanese takes over 2,000 hours for an English learner to become fluent. Reading the story about this ambitious crow today made me laugh, because I actually did picture amassing 2,000 hours as gathering thousands of stones at some point in the past. "Well, if I have to gather two thousand stones to build my bridge to Japan, then so be it. I can gather them as slowly or as quickly as I want. I could spend 2 hours this week, or I could spend 10. It's not a race, and there is no timeline other than the one I set..."

Today, I am closer to my goal than ever before. And while it is still a long way off, I continue to find new sources of energy. What I didn't know in the beginning is that while it is good to have a Big Goal, there are many little treats along the way that you can't predict. That's where the thirsty crow and I differ: the pursuit of the work opens up new rewards. 

As I've worked at learning Japanese, I've become more connected to the KC Japanese community. I've met other students like me who are learning the language and can cheer me on. I've met Japanese Americans in my city and have been treated to their kindness. I've attended cultural events, heard new music, watched movies in a Japanese Film Festival, eaten curry rice at a dinner party, and even had (rocky) conversations with real Japanese people--in real Japanese sentences! I've also been able to reflect on myself, and seen my own hard-working nature and drive reflected back at me, which is a gratifying feeling.

My Japanese has improved since my previous Book blog post. I am able to read characters more quickly, and I don't struggle with hiragana and katakana as much in general. It is amazing to me that I can read sentences at all. What a long way I've come since first opening up Rosetta Stone in December of 2020 and seeing the word こんにちは！