Conversely, write about something that’s kicking you in the butt right now.
My. Listening. Skills. Tank.
Not in English. I think I’m a pretty good listener. You want to complain about your boyfriend or girlfriend? Go ahead. I’ll listen, and I swear I won’t tell anyone. You just need to vent about a bad day at work? Political issue? Do you want to scream or cry or squee? Come on!
No. Listening to Japanese.
Actually, I’m fairly certain that any foreign language is difficult to get the hang of, but so far, most of my Japanese skills are improving. I’m more confident with my speaking and can communicate something if I need to. (Sometimes it takes thought.) Despite the fact that I read only around 300 kanji, my reading skills are the best. I have to translate a lot, but I can read things out loud quite easily. It’s actually my favorite thing to do. Writing. I got it.
But listening. I have to ask someone to repeat themselves over and over and over again. I have to tell them to speak slower. I feel like a complete child. It gets bad when I’ve asked someone to repeat themselves about 5 times already, and they look about ready to give up. I swear I’m not stupid. I try as hard as I can.
The thing is, I do well with the listening in my text book. Real life is no text book though.
Wandering But Not Quite Lost 
It just takes time and repetition to be able to hear and then respond in any second language. I may make it sound like Spanish is easy for me, but I still have to ask people to repeat what they’ve said sometimes. I know that your work ethic will succeed in your acquiring Japanese.
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The problem is, I won’t have the opportunity to study after this except on my own.
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You will become a dragoman.
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