And I didn't spontaneously combust or have any of my exaggerated worries come to pass! Overcoming my anxiety like:



I met Aya-san at a Starbucks in the Loop and after some brief English introductions, we spent most of the hour chatting in Japanese. That makes it sound much easier than it was, since I spent a lot of time trying to think of the right word or how specifically to phrase what I was trying to say, especially when I was explaining my favorite podcast to her--I said Revolutions, if you're curious--or telling about how jaiderai conspired to set schoolpsychnerd up with me. But even with pauses and my missteps, we managed to hold a conversation!

Afterward, she mentioned that my vocab is pretty good--which it should be with all the studying I do on the L every weekday--and I told her that I don't want to work on writing practice with her, since if I want writing practice there are plenty of Japanese-speakers I know that I can post to. We'll be working out of the venerable old げんき textbook, which schoolpsychnerd fortunately still has from her college days and going over grammar and its usage in conversation, and then the lessons will just be chatting, which is exactly what I need.

Next week, I undertake that most classic of Japanese experiences: the 自己紹介 (jikoshoukai, "self-introduction.") Better get working on that.