With the recent major advances of AI such as Large Language Models (LLM) that have significantly improved the quality of translations, does it even make sense to learn foreign languages anymore? Is it a waste of time?

I'm pretty sure you can guess my stance on this one, but I decided to list a bunch of reasons to back up why I feel the way I do about language learning in the future.

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In this episode I talk about some calligraphy-related activities during my recent trip to Japan:

• a 1-on-1 calligraphy training session I had with a calligraphy master in Kyoto (Chifumi Calligraphy Kyoto)
• a visit to a calligraphy exhibit in Kyoto (in Shimadai Gallery)
• the book hotel in Jinbocho (the city of books) and purchasing a calligraphy dictionary

The cover image is the final work I made during my calligraphy lesson in Kyoto. It reads 以心伝心 [ishin denshin], which means "communicating without words", or "telepathy".

By the way, the cover image in Japanesque episodes 1 and 2 is also a work I did of the character 和, meaning "peace" and "Japan".

Here's the website for the calligraphy classroom I visited: https://calligraphy-kyoto.com/

Check out this link for my photo album of the Shimadai gallery: https://selftaughtjapanese.com/2024/04/13/japan-travels-shimadai-gallery-calligraphy-photo-collection/

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In this episode I talk about a 5-hour Ki-Aikido training session that I attended in Osaka (in Japanese). I also give a very rough summary of Ki-Aikido to give some context to my experience.

I plan on covering Ki-Aikido (心身統一合氣道）in more detail in upcoming episodes, but if you want to know more you can check out this article: https://selftaughtjapanese.com/2019/10/22/oregon-ki-society-learning-mindfulness-self-control-and-aikido-in-and-around-portland/

Cover image is of me training in the US in a recent event. I didn't have any photos from the Osaka event, unfortunately.

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In this episode I draw on my experiences of traveling to Japan and describe a few things that I think make Japan a great place for travelers.

I don't want to give too much away but I will say that technology and food are two of the topics I address.

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In this first episode, I talk a little about my love for Japanese culture and language, and go into some topics I plan to be covering in following episodes (Travels in Japan, Aikido, Calligraphy, etc.)

(I forgot to mention it, but the background piano music was also performed by me.)

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