After I arrived in the U.S., I don’t have enough time to go sightseeing. Sadly, I cannot follow up on speaking English. I manage to live, but I find a lot of barriers that I need to overcome.
Daily conversation
Daily conversation is the most difficult part for me. Even though I understand what he/she says, someone starts speaking when I realize its meaning and how to respond.
Conversation style
I found that Japanese people have a really unique communication style. It is too conservative.
I wanted to acquire some knowledge before speaking about each topic and I preferred a defensive communication style to an offensive one.
It needs to change to live in international places. Speaking everything is essential.
Joke
One of the most difficult points is jokes.
In addition to the difference in communication styles, the Joke is also difficult. In Japan, one person said a stupid or weird thing, the other said its interpretation, and then people start to laugh. The process is slower.
In English, there is no paraphrase system, so I need to understand contexts and meanings as early as possible.
To understand and laugh at the same time, contexts or backgrounds may be important. I’m not sure about lots of things, so I want to follow them.
Accents
I listen to formal or famous drama series on Netflix, which causes me to follow only formal English. I have difficulty with accents. When I talk to non-native speakers, it takes time. I am sorry I cannot understand what they say and ask them several times.
Academic thought
In academic thinking, I feel difficulty in organizing my thought.
I was surprised at people around me remember lots of things in their brains. I need to lesson the amount of writing as much as possible.
Confidence
All in all, confidence is essential to living in other countries.
Thinking about myself, I almost lost my confidence several times. However, I was surprised at how many people have confidence and don’t have feelings of shame. It might be an important thought in the Edo era, but now it does damage me. I will change my mind and hope to be an extrovert.
