こんにちわ！

My name is Rachel Fisher, and I'm a freshman at Notre Dame living in Lewis Hall. I'm super excited to learn Japanese!  I've been fascinated by other cultures since I was little, and I took French in high school.  I chose to stop taking French and take Japanese instead because I'm a huge fan of anime and Nintendo, and I'd like to be able to not have to read the subtitles on anime and be able to play video games right at the Japanese release date instead of waiting for the American release...anyway, in addition to those reasons, watching anime has taught me a bit about Japanese culture and has inspired me to learn more.  From discoveries in science to plenty of entertainment avenues, Japanese is fascinating to me.

The other reason for me wanting to take Japanese came about in my junior year of high school.  Our school hosted a Japanese high school band, and the band I was in played a concert with them.  I met lots of new friends who played the same instruments as me (percussion), as well as wind players, but they all had the same dedication towards their practice.  When it was time for their concert, the quality of their music just blew me away, and I learned that in high school, you were encouraged to do one activity and master it, not several activities and just merely be good at them.  I know I probably won't see them again, but if my band ever hosts them again, I'd love to go back and see their sensee and the younger students.  Seeing the Japanese culture firsthand really made me interested in the language, so I guess I'm excited to be able to have less of a language barrier if I ever see my friends again.