On 9/25/2016 10:33 AM, Nancy Young wrote:
>
> Growing up with a Japanese stepmother, I got a few word sounds.
> After all, she only spoke Japanese to her friends on the phone.
> It seemed that you'd start the conversation by saying
> washingmachine!* really fast. A konichiwa thrown in for good
> measure.
>
> So, I hear words but it's the written language that is beyond me.
> Seems counter-intuitive to me to write up and down and start on the
> last page (as I recall). And all those indecipherable symbols.
>
> nancy
>
> *moshi moshi

My dad was fascinated with Japan. When I was a little girl he bought me
a record album, 'Best 10 From the Land of the Rising Sun'. (The words
were spelled out on the album cover; I'm a rather good mimic and it
didn't hurt I was a soprano.) I'd sing songs in Japanese even though I
had no idea what the words actually meant. Heck, I still remember some
of those songs. Here's one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qT8T3Shb8gU

Dad also sent me a bright blue kimono with a gold & white sash for my
7th birthday.

Jill