Taylor F

Taylor F Tutor Interview

Q. Hi Taylor, why don’t you start with a quick introduction?

A.Okay! My name is Taylor Fehr, and I am a recent graduate. I majored in English, with a concentration in Creative Writing, and minored in Japanese. I enjoy sewing, making my own clothing, thrifting, fashion, cosplaying, and blogging.I also like to watch anime. My favorite anime is called “FLCL,” or “Fooly Cooly.” It’s very strange but really good.

Q. Which state are you from? Could you please tell us about your hometown?

A.I’m from upstate New York. I know a lot of people think of New York City when I say “New York,” but I’m almost at the northernmost point of the state, not even close to the city. I’m closer to Montreal, Canada! My hometown is Plattsburgh, which is close to where I live now. It’s a medium-sized college town, kind of small. Right now, I live just outside of Plattsburgh in a nice, quiet farm town. I often take my dog for walks around here. There are many side roads to walk down.

Q. According to your profile, you have studied abroad to Spain and Japan. How was life in Spain?

A. It was interesting! I went during my sophomore year in college. I went to Sevilla and lived with a host mom, her daughter, and my friend also doing the program. I walked through a park past the Plaza de España everyday on my way to school. The college I went to used to be a tobacco factory and is nearby the Catedral de Sevilla, the world’s largest gothic cathedral. It was really cool to be near such interesting architecture every day.

It was also interesting to live in such a different culture, with siestas, cigarette smoke clouding the school courtyard, the school café serving beer, and the ease of getting to places on foot. I think one of the only bad things in my experience was that my host mom didn’t have any internet so I relied on the Starbucks near the university for internet. That reminds me, I never saw anything pumpkin-related in Spain. I don’t think they have pumpkins.

Q. What made you to be in love with Japan?

A. Well, in early high school, I started to get into anime more because it was on TV. It made me interested in Japanese culture, and I even tried to learn hiragana by myself, which didn’t work out. As I started my college search, I knew I wanted to study abroad in Japan, so I narrowed down to colleges where I could study Japanese and study abroad. As a college freshman, I was eager to learn Japanese, and I joined the Japanese Culture Club, also making friends with the Japanese students studying abroad at my school.

My love for Japan grew, and I ended up doing a month long internship in Fukuoka during winter. It was very cold, but it was a great experience. I knew I wanted to go back. After a lot of work, I finally got to study abroad in Kyoto for 3 months in 2013. It was amazing, and I know I’ll be back someday. The food, the fashion, the language, the culture just draws me there.

Q. Do you have any place where you want to visit in Japan?

A. Yes! I still haven’t been to Tokyo. I really want to go to Harajuku and Akihabara because of the fashion and cosplay there. I love Japanese fashion so I know it will be a great trip to make. I also want to go to the Ghibli Museum. I only have watched a few Ghibli movies, but the ones I’ve seen were great. It was also interesting to see some Japanese countryside, so I think I want to see more.

Q. I’m interested in your lesson, “マンガを読むこと – Reading Manga”. Please let us about the detail of the lesson.

A. Well, I usually choose a manga for the student depending on their level of English, or the student can choose which one they would like to read. Then during the lesson, the student and I read different characters throughout the manga. I like to make sure the student understands what is going on in the manga so I go over any words that they don’t know. Each student who has taken this lesson seems to have enjoyed it. I enjoy reading manga myself, so I like doing this lesson.

Q. Do you have any words of wisdom for our students?

A. I know how hard it is to learn a language when you’re in your home country, so I’d say make sure to get speaking practice in at least once or twice weekly. It’s good to practice reading, writing, and listening, but speaking is very nerve-wracking without good practice. Even just casual chatting helps get the brain used to quickly thinking of vocabulary and things. And don’t stop once you’ve gotten into a routine! I’m guilty of this. It’s much harder to get things going again once you’ve stopped studying and practicing.

Good luck!

///

Taylor F

Profile

---