おいしい！！！

わたしはせんしゅういざかやへいきました。

I recently made another year and to celebrate my friends took me to an izakaya called Sake Bar Hagi. I had always suspected them of being great friends, but that night proved the hypothesis beyond a doubt.

Hagi is amazing. Really. おいしい！

But perhaps I should backtrack and explain what an izakaya is for all those unfortunate enough to have never been to one. An izakaya is, basically, a Japanese restaurant in which one is encouraged to eat, drink, and talk; eat, drink, and talk; and eat, drink, and talk for hours on end. The drink selection is wide and the dishes are meant to be shared by everyone at the table. It's a great place to sit back and relax with your friends while enjoying delicious beverages, tasty appetizers, and fun conversation.

That being said, Sake Bar Hagi is a superb izakaya. The food is wonderful and reasonably priced. The majority of the people there, everyone from the waiting staff to the patrons, is Japanese, which may be daunting at first but is actually an indication of the authenticity of the food, service, and atmosphere. Plus, it feels fantastic to be enveloped by the Japanese language.

The long and short of it is this: go to Sake Bar Hagi. If you remain unconvinced by my unashamed advertisements, simply look at the photos below. The food will speak for itself.

Seared Bonito Sashimi

 

Agedashi Tofu

Okonomiyaki

Why am I here?

Well, not quite the existential question, but rather why am I here in First Year Japanese at Columbia?

I have been interested in learning Japanese since 7th grade, but I haven't had the opportunity until this year. Unfortunately, I only have one year of my undergrad career left, so this is kind of a last-ditch effort to learn while I'm still in the school setting. Why wait so long? you ask. Strangely, perhaps, I spent a great portion of my life devoted to learning Spanish, which ate up the majority of my language-learning time. I actually haven't spoken Spanish for the last two years, so there goes all that education.

Regardless of my past language failures, Japanese holds a special place in my being. I recently interned in the Film department of the Japan Society and have thus been exposed to many Japanese films, classic and contemporary, all spoken in Nihongo. Also from that internship, I have a number of friends from Japan, and learning Japanese would definitely make karaoke much easier. I should also mention that I am determined to wander the Japanese countryside next summer, and I figure knowing at least a bit of Japanese will be useful in that setting.
 
I am mainly looking forward to the point where I can have short little conversations with my Japanese friends without their smiling at me patronizingly. I suppose that's a sort of test I've placed for myself.

So far, I haven't found anything too difficult, though I suppose that's because I have the unfair advantage of having taken a Japanese class this past summer. However, I know that pretty soon I'll reach the limit of what I already know, and I can't wait to fall into the sea of the unknown.

はじめまして！

はじめまして。たかやまえりです。ハワイからきました。いま、ヌヨクいます。にほんご をべんきょうします。コロンビアだいがくのがくせいです。どうぞよろしく！