Rainbows- Don't freak out. o-o I made a typo! I mean to say もう.

I'm really sorry I can't read the introduction right now imma d/c but thanks for posting and I'll get back to you soon (:

BlackCart, douzo yoroshiku! Watashi no nikkuneemu wa Strange desu. Nihongo no kaiwa e youkoso!

Ano ne, donna konpyuutaa ga arimasu ka? Watashi wa BlackCart ni tasukete ga dekimasu kana~ Sore wa, Mac to PC wa purogurammu ga arimasu yo.

Koko de hanaseru arigatou!!

じゃあ、これが分かりますか。　ひらがなとカタカナと漢字が分かれる？

Strange-san! douzo yorishiku! annata no nikkunemu wa kawai desu ne? ima PC no conpyutta ga arimasu. conpyutta no programmu desu ka? onegaishimasu!

hai, hiragana to katakana wa wakarimasu. edo, kanji wa taihen desu ne?

かわいい？　そうですか。
はい！ What operating system do you have?
Haha... (: 私は日本人ですから、かながやさしいですけど、そうです。　かんじがときどきたいへんですねぇ ！ BlackCartさんはどんなかんじをならいましたか。

//Peeks inside again.

> u >

I was actually pleasantly surprised that you're allowed to have a thread like this.
Because, well, most other sites I've been on disallow speaking in other languages.
You know?

Yeah, definitely. Actually, I have a tendancy to go on random rants in japanese and people started telling me where to direct it so I finally made a thread in this subsection here (The Menewshan nation) where you can do that ^_^ So it's pretty cool.

and lol yeah I like having visitors so that is why I contacted you lol XD I hope it wasn't too intrusive.

Really?
Well, I'm glad Mene has a place where you can speak other languages.
<33

No! It was just fine.
I needed a place to post, actually.

Alright, well cool! So, I don't know how clear I made this before, but you can speak in Japanese and English. Just make the topics along the lines of something Japanese xDD Like talking about Godzilla counts, or the music, or anime and whatnot =) have fun!!

Strange-San wa nihonjin desu ka? Watashi wa amerikajin desu. (My operating system is Windows XP)

hai, tsukoshi kanji o benkyoshimashita. (I only know very basic Kanji - like numbers, and the characters for to eat and to drink, etc.)

はい、１/４日本人です。　父は１/２日本人です。　でも、アメリカにすんでいます。　大学（だいがく）のつぎに私は夫（おっと）と日本にすん でいますよ。

すこしですね。　でも、たのしいですから、だいじょうぶです。　がんばってください！

Great! I know exactly how to help you! :D

1. Go to Control Panel
2. Make sure you are in Classic view mode
3. Click on Regional and Language Options
4. Go to the tab that says Languages
5. Under Text Services and Input Languages, click on the Details button.
6. Look under the tab that says Installed Services. English should already be on the list, and all you need to do is add Japanese on the list. The program I was talking about is called Microsoft IME. You don't even have to download it. It is already on your computer, available to you.
7. Click the button that says Add, in order to add Japanese to your keyboard settings. Add Japanese and Microsoft IME.
8. Click OK twice to save the settings.

So to tell you how this works, if I remember right, the default settings are what I have them at. Which is, at the bottom right hand side of your screen you should be able to find EN. If you click on EN, it will also say JP. To avoid confusion you can refer to EN as English and JP as Japanese, considering that is what they really do mean. :)

If you want to switch to Japanese, select JP and there should be 2 new buttons beside it. It should show the red circle with a paintbrush, which is Microsoft IME, and it should show some sort of character, by default probably the letter A. When you are on Japanese and "A", that means you will be typing in Romaji. However, it has potential to change your font, so just be aware of that.

To type in hiragana: Press the "A" and go to the top of the list where it says Hiragana. You will likely have to click on a text box before you do this. But either way, that is where you select that option. Type the same way as the romaji spelling is.

Except remember these exceptions:
wa/ha: は requires typing ha
n: ん might require typing nn
e/he: へ requires typing he
(w)o: を requires typing wo (not o)

In order to create small characters, simply press "x" before what character you want to be small. That is, if it is not already one that makes sense to be small by what you type. If you type kyuu, obviously it will look like きゅう, where "yu" is already small.

When there is a line under the word, it means you can change it to another word when you press space. So if you have not typed in Japanese before it might take a bit to get over, but at least you understand what it does and can use it to your benefit. If you type わたし while there is a line under it, you will have the option the change it to the kanji 私, which is likely what you mean. However, be aware that many words can have the same spelling or be a combination of words with the same spelling. So if you want to change the word with space, be sure to know (already, or by looking it up) that it is the one that you want.
To remove the line and keep typing, press enter once.

To type in Katakana: I would suggest full-width katakana here. It is second from the top when you press "A", so it is right below the option for Hiragana. The same rules apply as above.

To type in Kanji: Select hiragana and type out how the word is spelled, while the line is still under the word. Press space, and use the up and down arrows on your keypad until you find the kanji that you want. Lastly, press enter and you now have that kanji.

Be sure to ask if I have left anything out or you have some questions!

Ahaha.... Now I really want to learn japanese, I only know a little ^-^;;

Rikku- :D Just give me an idea of what you do know, and maybe where you want to be headed and I'll try to help you out. Of course others here can chip in if they want to as well ^_^ but yeah, first of all, welcome.

By the way Final Fantasy ftw :D hehehe
Ichiban sukina geemu wa nan desu ka?
(number 1 liked game is what?/What is your favorite game?)

For me, it's a tie between FFX-2 and the FFVII Collection!

And as for Japanese, I want to learn as much as I can, since I plan to move to Japan (someday) and work with the great comic artists and video-game designers there! I know a little, but not enough to converse effectively. I know how to say hello/good afternoon, goodbye, good evening, good morning, what, What is it, a few colors, and I can count to three! =D

Nice!! It is the same for me! (for the tie) :D

There are some main things that are vital to know for when you are studying Japanese.
How particles work/what they are
Vocabulary (of course this varies by person)
Tenses
Hiragana, Katakana, and common Kanji

I think maybe particles and tenses would be most useful to you, and you could practice hiragana at the same time. :) That sound okay?

Konbanwa. (That is about all I know, and I all know how to spell, I can ask for mizu too) I just moved to Okinawa and I am hoping to learn some Japanese. My husband took Japanese 1 already, I am hoping to do the same soon.

Konbanwa!! And hmm yknow I'm not quite sure how to help you with that besides to provide this link, for the reason that in Okinawa there is use of a different dialect than standard Japanese. I suppose you could learn and speak standard Japanese in Okinawa and you will find people who understand, but I have never been there so I am not sure.

How is it living there so far for you two? ^^

My husband is taking standard Japanese, they speak it here. I know they have their own language, but everyone that speaks to us speaks Japanese.

We love it so far! We are hoping we get to stay longer than 2 years. I am not able to speak too much to people, my husband more so than me since he knows a bit more. I smile a lot. I know the climate is hard on the hair ha ha. Right now outside of our apartment we can hear drummers practicing. I was excited because I got to go to an Eisa Dancer festival so far. He has been here since April but I just got here a week ago.

Oh, that is so exciting! It sounds like you are enjoying it then, yes? :D hehe
I wish I could go back to Japan soon. It will have to be about 6 years by the sounds of it, and I'll be living in Japan with my husband as well ^^

And that is good to know about the language :) Ii desu ne (that's good huh)

I think it is exciting. We are enjoying it. My hubby and I both like learning about new cultures and being new places. We also got to live in Hawaii for 3 years, but Japan was always the big goal. I can't believe we are here.

Are you moving back to Japan or do you live her now? I hope to be able to travel to other parts of Japan while I am here.

Oh, I think that is awesome. I have heard people tell me before that if I want traveling then I better do it before I'm married but it really is up to the couple, isn't it? ^^ You guys sound like you have a lot of cool adventures.

Japan is the end goal for the two of us. I have only been there once before on a family trip and stayed with relatives in Japan. There is still tons more to do there and I hope to live there long term with him. That is where we really wanna settle down. I mean getting married in America yeah but lol.. getting a house in Japan and if we have a kid, to wait until we are settled there if possible. ^^

It is very much up to the couple. Opposites attract but great minds think alike and we both love to travel! Before my husband and I met I knew he liked to travel and goodness knows I do too. Children won't slow us down either. We will learn to travel with them!

It seems a really nice place to settle and live. Crime doesn't seem too bad. I wonder about walking alone by myself sometimes but people seems to live and let live. So far, I love it, the planes or jets should I say that fly by the house, now that is another story!

Japan does have their share of drunkards but to be honest, yes, the crime rate is very low. It amazes me how well their honor system does, but then, some of the laws are stricter too, while others are barely there. It is in just the way that, well, comes out with the result that is Japan's crime rates. XD

:) Mmm cool. Well I am happy for you then. You have a husband you love and get along with then ne? And you get the rest of your dreams together ^^ That is great. It is strange to me how many people act like you have to sacrifice one or the other.

That is true, the honor system is awesome how it works out, goodness knows back home it would not be like that.

I agree, people make it seem that way, but I think it doesn't seem that hard to find someone who is the same at the core. Now does he do stuff that gets on my nerves? Of course! But I do too and I am with a person that had %80 of things I liked/loved about him LOL!

I think I am off to bed for now, it's 11:00 pm here. It was very nice talking with you and I do plan to be back!

True, true and true. XD

:D Thanks for coming and I welcome you back! Itterasshai!
And Oyasuminasai, Liunestasan ^_^