Before and after

Since coming to Japan, I've had to learn to speak two languages: Japanese and bad English.

Recently, I received an e-mail from a very nice Japanese lady whom I had spoken with during my Japanese classes. I had offered to work at a Japanese fair, speaking English to Japanese students, and she had written to say thank you.

In the past, my e-mail reply would have been verbose and wordy, (hopefully) intelligent, and with humor. It might have sounded something like this:

Hey Yoshiko!

Thanks for the great e-mail - I enjoyed hearing from you!

I am super excited and more than happy to do the fair next month. Having a chat with Japanese students should be right up my alley! It will be a blast, I'm sure!

By the way, I am looking to possibly get into teaching English to Japanese adults. Would you have any information on where I can look to get in on the likes of this kind of position? I'd really love to put my teaching to the test with older students, and help my Japanese at the same time! A double-whammy!

Thanks again for your e-mail. I'll look forward to hearing from you soon!

:)wendy

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Now, though, considering my audience, I've had to scale back the grandeur of even the most simple e-mails. Letters I write to parents and Japanese adults typically sound as follows:

Nanbu-san!

Hello again!

Thank you for your nice e-mail. I am very glad and excited to do the
Japanese fair! It will be a fun and learning event for me too!

I am good in Japan. I am here alone, and sometimes that can be a bit
hard, but the people I work with at the school are very friendly. I
like them. Nagoya is a nice place. It is hot as where I come from,
so there is not a big change for me.

It would be good to meet the family you have. The son and daughter sound nice. We can do conversation together to practice if you would like that!

Do you do teaching sometimes at the Nihongo classes too? I would like
to get more information about teaching English to adults in the
evenings. How do I find out about this teaching?

It is great to talk to you!

Wendy

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For further note, consider the following e-mail I received from a parent in the other second grade class. He works for Korean Air and will hopefully be helping me find discount airfare for my trip over the winter holidays:

hellow? miss foreman......
 
it is my pleasure to come to greet to you......
 
please do not hesitate to contact me.....
 
i will here for you in nagoya branch as a manager....
 
anyway, please info me about your holiday schedule bound for bali.......
 
then i will give a itinerary and air-price...
 
so, lets keep in touch!!!!!!!!
 
bye now........take care!!!!!!
 
Sincerely yours
 
Sanghoon (jinhee father)
 
phone number : 090....