I first wanted to study Japanese because of a wanting to explore a new language, preferably one that is relevant to my life. As a Korean, I have found Japan to be one of the more accessible and fascinating countries to visit. Often have I traveled to Japan, knowing somewhat the cultural backgrounds and some words that will get me through each trip, but never with a full understanding nor a formal training in the language. Now I am eager to make a return trip in the near future.
I did find the writing and reading components more challenging than the listening or the speaking. Because we started off memorizing vocab and useful phrases while we studied Hiragana, I often could say the appropriate phrases but not read them, let alone write them. Now having a better grasp of Hiragana, Katakana and Kanji seems to be the next challenges to tackle.