Ayano.I (Vtuber)

I have a meeting with my partner's Japanese clients next week, and Ayano has been incredible at helping me prepare. This has so far included: - Going through a list of nitpicky questions I sent her on language, actions, and etiquette, methodically answering each one with text, images, and even doodles! - Bringing her own list of typical Japanese business dinner small talk topics to see how prepared I was to answer them (answer: not at all) - Making time in class to walk me through structuring a letter to them, after I'd struggled to write it on my own - Sending me links to resources on topics relevant to these clients - Making herself available to answer questions at any time, even outside classes This is on top of our usual conversation practise at the start of each class, which has been as valuable as always. Ayano has introduced me to so many potential opportunities (and pitfalls!) for this visit, I don't know what I would have done without her. Truly above and beyond.

More 'nai-form' practice, but this time with irregular verbs added in. Ayano sensei has made this lesson very relevant by creating a real world scenario in a maid cafe where you must ask if you can do something, or if you're being asked to not do something. I'm still a little slow at this, so I will review the material before the next lesson. Ayano sensei's lessons are always fun!

Ayano is always well prepared with topics, vocabulary and exercises. She puts a lot of care and effort into her lessons, and it shows. She also presented me with a lesson plan for upcoming weeks today, and it is great to know that she's got everything planned out so well in advance.

It's always a good time. Some days my speaking ability is a little worse than others, but Ayano sensei's nice energy and helpfulness, and having time to figure out or remember how to say what I'm thinking well enough and improve motivates me to keep studying and practicing. I also always appreciate that I don't have things to stress about before a lesson, we can just turn any topic into a lesson on the fly because of her competency. It's really fun and cool.

This lesson was good conversational experience speaking about my recent trip to Japan. I had many interesting encounters, but how to express them in Japanese was a challenge. I was trying to explain about the section of a Japanese train between two train cars. I don't know what it's called in Japanese. I think in English it might be called a "gangway"? Also, I spoke to sensei about a gachapon item that might be Hawaii related. Ayano sensei brought to my attention a bit of history behind that. おもしろかった！

I had a wonderful lesson with Ayano-san today. She addressed questions from my self-study, demonstrating her proficiency in teaching casual Japanese that shows up frequently in native content but is rarely covered in standard learning materials. Additionally, we discussed recent Japanese news, which introduced me to challenging vocabulary and helped me stretch my language skills effectively. Highly recommend for anyone looking to deepen their understanding of Japanese in engaging and practical ways.