ornoth

With the help of the Duolingo app, I’ve been learning Japanese since December. Inspired by my example, Inna began refreshing her Hebrew in March.

So we’ve had a little time to hear one another’s practice as well as compare notes on what we’re being taught. And the results are more than a little bit interesting.

To amuse my captain, I’ve included a few screen shots of the everyday phrases we’re learning. Let’s start with my newly-acquired Japanese language skills:

And now let’s compare my Japanese phrases to the vocabulary that Inna is picking up in Hebrew:

I’m sure no further elaboration is necessary.

… or “nihonjin ni henshin”: inexpertly translated as “turning Japanese”. This is the story behind my attempt to learn the native tongue of the rising sun.

Obviously, the first question is “Why?” and it’s not that easy to answer.

I’ve had some relationship to Japanese culture as far back as high school. I practiced kyūdō – Japanese meditative archery — for several years and hope to resume again. I’ve also dabbled with taiko: Japanese drumming. There’s a slight Buddhist connection, tho Zen is rather distant from my own meditative lineage. Despite approaching 60, I still watch anime (usually subtitled). Even something as mundane as the virtual cycling app I train with, which recently released a Tokyo-themed expansion, provides lots of signage for a Japanese language student to decipher.

Another big reason why I am attempting this now is because physical limitations reduced the amount of indoor cycling I could do over the winter. So with more time on my hands, I could attack one of the most time-consuming things on my long-term to-do list.

As an aside, the other big pastime I undertook over the winter was improving my investing by doing a lot of reading about how to interpret corporate financial reports: balance sheets, income statements, and cash flow statements.

Other than just killing hours over the winter, learning Japanese provides a great intellectual challenge. I’ve always loved – and been reasonably good at – picking up foreign languages (French, German, Russian) and alphabets (runic, Cyrillic, plus calligraphy). Although to be honest I think I might have opened Pandora’s box in tackling a language made so difficult by formal and non-formal modes, slang, regional dialects, and of course three different alphabets, including kanji. Still, it’s a great way for an older guy to stretch his neurons. And if I really enjoy it, I can always look into formally testing myself by taking the standardized five-level JLPT language exam(s).

The next question is how I’m attacking it.

So far my primary tool has been the (Pittsburgh-based) Duolingo phone app. Theoretically they’ve taught me about 1,200 words, which is terrific, but it does have some shortcomings. My active vocabulary is trailing my passive vocabulary, and I find I rely too much on the hiragana pronunciation hints rather than learning the kanji characters in words. Part of the problem is just how the app is set up, and part of it is because the gamification elements set up incentives that aren’t always in the best interest of the student.

I’ve also made use of YouTube, where it’s easy to find tons of language instruction. Although I don’t feel especially loyal to any one channel, the one I’ve relied on most is Japanese Ammo with Misa.

And no Japanese student can avoid the elephant on the bookshelf: the Genki textbooks. I’ve downloaded electronic copies of their third editions, but haven’t used them much yet. If I find them useful, I’ll spring for the print copies.

There are other resources that I am not using yet, including local language programs, online tutoring like Italki, and local Japanese language learner meetups.

I seem to have a fair number of friends who have learned Japanese, including one guy whose former wife was a Japanese native. But I’m sad that my high school friend Mark died before I took this up. He moved to Japan after college, where he married a Japanese woman and taught English for thirty years. I’m sure he would have been amused and happy to support me and host a visiting traveler.

I’ve already alluded to how it’s gone. I’ve been putting in ten to fifteen hours a week, and I’m enjoying it and making steady progress. Although like any language, the complexity ramps up substantially as you start tapping into more complex (and realistic) grammatical structures. And learning a few thousand pictographic kanji characters is a bear.

But it’s been fun, and hopefully I’ll become competent enough to actually interact with other Japanese speakers in person sometime in the future.

This is a question that has followed me for most of my life. From the college employer who had no idea what I did for him; to Inna’s family and friends who wonder how I spend my copious free time, since I don’t work. It’s a question even Inna herself can’t answer, despite having lived with me for six years!

That question – what do you do? – confuses me, because I make no secret of it; there’s evidence plastered all over my social media.

I suspect that people are confused because I don’t push myself and my interests forward in verbal conversations. I’m more of a listener, allowing others to guide the conversation, and will only talk about myself after people express interest in what I’m up to; although most people will naturally direct conversations toward their own interests.

And then some of my closer friends avoid delving into my interests because they know that once I do get that implicit permission, I’ll talk about them enthusiastically and at length. Kinda like when you open up one of my blogposts… There’s a reason why my writers’ group always cautioned new members with, “That’s Orny… Don’t encourage him.”

On a side note, my interests tend to be very long in duration and deep in nature. It might take a while before I commit myself to something, but when I decide to do it, I insist on doing it well and thoroughly. I will not half-ass anything I do; this is one of my core values as a person.

So let me attempt to answer that eternal question: what does Orny do, anyways?

Number one: cycling. I ride up to 10 or 20 hours a week, either solo, group rides, or major events, both outdoors as well as on the indoor trainer through the winter. And that doesn’t include time spent on bike cleaning, maintenance, repairs, and performance analysis. Cycling is my passion.

Number two: meditation. I spend 2-4 hours a week in meditation, and another couple hours listening to dhamma talks. About twice a month I lead two different meditation groups, and must put time into researching, developing, practicing, and delivering my own dhamma talks. Sometimes I’ll go off on weeklong silent retreats, and I’ve always got plenty of dhamma reading to do. The philosophy and practices behind Buddhism are a central part of who I am.

Number three: investing. My former employment at Sapient gave me enough capital to consider living free of the working world. However, that means my “full-time job” is to invest my finances wisely and safely, and provide financial advice to Inna. So I devote a ton of time to reading financial news and books about investing. I keep tabs on the market daily, both because I want to be aware of my opportunities and, frankly, I enjoy monitoring my success. Financial self-sufficiency and independence are life goals that were drilled into me by my parents.

Number four: the Pan-Mass Challenge. I’ve ridden this annual fundraiser for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute sixteen times and raised $119,000 for cancer research. You have no idea how much time that fundraising effort requires: the countless emails, tracking contacts (and writing my own database to manage it), chasing down corporate matching gifts, et cetera. For many years, it alone was a full time job from May through August. But this has been one of the most fulfilling things I have done.

Number five: learning Japanese. This winter I’ve put 10-15 hours a week into this newest intellectual challenge I’ve committed to. Characteristically, I’ve attacked it with energy and dedication. Academic learning and developing new skills are lifelong pleasures, and this is their current form. There’ll probably be a separate blogpost on this sometime later.

Number six: my relationship with Inna. It should go without saying that a lot of time goes into sharing our lives together and helping one another out. Partnership and family have always been a challenge for an introvert and loner like myself, so this is where a lot of work needs to happen.

So those are the big things.

Now fill in the remaining gaps with some of my more episodic background interests. Between my general and cycling blogs I write two or three dozen posts per year. I devote time to artistic interests in both photography and videography. I find time to enjoy a number of simulcast anime series and follow MLS soccer and the New England Revolution as well as the US national team.

And there’s always plenty of household duties. I’m fairly fastidious about my living conditions, and my responsibilities include vacuuming, laundry, garbage & recycling, car maintenance, computer maintenance, and cat feeding, grooming, litterbox, and exercise (if you only knew!). Plus grocery shopping and cooking for myself every day. And then in the background is researching our future move away from Pittsburgh.

That’s my life every day. If you ask me, I think the question shouldn’t be “What does Orny do?” but more like “How does Orny possibly do all that?”

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