Day one...

... of blogging, that is. I've actually been in Japan for about 6 months. I mused about setting up a blog before I left the states (like my girl Meredith here), but hemmed and hawed, and now I'm half a year in and only just starting! Go me.

Anyway, there are myriad topics which I think I'll cover eventually, including the JET program, moving across the globe, being a "gaijin", learning Japanese, teaching English, common cultural elements and snafus, and of course diary-style posts about my life and what I eat here.

For the first post, however, I think it would be prudent to simply give some background on myself. My name is Nathalie (yes, the "h" is intentional; no, you don't pronounce it). I'm an American girl from the famed, widely-known, universally recognized state of Delaware. I consider myself a decent word smith, so I hope that my ramblings are coherent enough to be entertaining for you. My taste in music tends to lean toward the wordless, be it background soundtracks or classical. My favorite author is, hands-down, Dave Barry. I will probably allude to some of his jokes. In fact, I will probably insert more than a few inside jokes on here. For the sake of those reading who may not be privy to my self-referential humor, I will try to keep it to a minimum.

My languages are English (of course), a fair proficiency in Japanese, and whatever French is left rattling around in there from high school. I may write a post or two in Japanese, or if anyone requests it, I could discuss specific aspects of the language, phonology, syntax, circumlocution, etc.

というわけで、日本人の読者に

もし、何かのアメリカとか英語とかの質問があれば、ぜひ聞いて下さい。どうせに言語学の話するつもりだし、全然構いませんよ。返事は必ずどのぐらいかかるとは言えません、できるだけ早く答えろうとしますね。

So, yes. Most likely the topics I choose to discuss will be both general and personal, subjective and objective, whatever strikes my fancy. Anyone who decides to follow/read/humor me, I appreciate it! よろしくお願いします。

'Til next time.