Here's a typical conversation at the guest house where I'm staying. (It's mostly in English so good for those of you studying English.) (It's also unedited so lots of other noises and 'blank' spots.) Our Japanese Lesson 1: sample And here's an attempt to record Lesson 1 but we got distracted:

Lost in Translation: Come join me on my trip to Japan as I spend time with friends and slowly unravel the mystery of learning languages. Actually, I don't believe it's much of a mystery. All that's needed is a program that really does take you step by step. The problem is, such a program doesn't yet exist, and although some schools and websites are doing some things 'right', nobody is doing it all 'right'. So how do I know what's 'right'? Well, read on and see if you agree with me or not. If you have any comments or want to help by contributing your languages skills, please send me an email. This page will probably be changing daily or at least every few days as I add new things and when it gets full, I'll start a second page. For now, here's a Japanese song where I found the lyrics, and translated lyrics. I also found a video of it with translated French lyrics as well as the Japanese lyrics. Check it out, it will help you follow along if you're trying to sing. Copy and paste this address: www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLGXYfCYH7Y Return to Bintang Bahasa

Kure nazumu machi no hikari to kage no naka		The town grows dark, in the middle of the light and shadow		La ville plonge dans le noir entre l'ombre et la lumière
Sari yuku anata he okuru kotoba		I go away from you, saying these words		je m'éloigne de toi en disant ces mots
Kanashimi koraete hohoemu yori mo		I put up with the sadness, and tried to smile		dont je connais la tristesse et j'essaye de sourire
Namida kareru made naku houga ii		Before my tears dried up, it was okay to cry		avant que mes larmes ne séchent mes yeux auront assez pleurés
Hito wa kanashimi ga ooi hodo		A person’s sadness can become too much		la tristesse d'une personne peut augmenter encore
Hito niwa yasashiku dekiru no dakara		However, that person can try to be kind		malgré tout, on peut toujours essayer de sourire
Sayonara dake de wa sabishi sugiru kara		I say Goodbye, because I feel too lonely		Je dis "au revoir" parce que je me sens trop seule
Aisuru anata he okuru kotoba		These are the words for you, the one I loved		ce sont des paroles pour toi celui que j'ai aimée