Lughatul Arabiyah vs Nihon-go

I used to learn the Arabic language for five years.
Got C3 for SRP. Not too bad, but I highly suspected I only managed getting such mark for memorising some compositions for the essay test.
Got P8 for SPM. I was actually hoping for a credit – maybe C6. Tough luck – I did not understand the essay question at all, and hence P8.
 
It had been a little more than a decade since I last opened any lughatul Arabiyah book. I have a feeling that while I might be able to read Arabic, I won’t be able to understand a lot. Chances are, what little I still remember now of lughatul Arabiyah could probably be learned by a stranger to the language in five hours. Or maybe five minutes.
 
I went to Tokyo in 2002 for a two-weeks course (where I met and made a few great friends – Khamla from Laos, Odgerel from Mongolia, Mahmood from Iran, Bruce from Fiji). Prior to my visit, I had been advised to learn and memorise a few important phrases – greetings, asking for locations, buying things, etc. Yes, I actually had some experience haggling with Japanese sellers at one flea market in Sendagaya. A typical conversation would go like this:
 
Me: Kore wa ikura desu ka? (How much is this?)
Seller: Sanzen yen (3000 yen)
Me: Takaii des! (That’s expensive!)
Seller: Ikura? (How much (do you want)?)
Me: Sen yen? (1000 yen?)
Seller: Nani? Sen yen??? Sayonara! (What? 1000 yen? Good bye)

That last part was made up, of course. *grins*
 
Those two weeks left a lasting impression. I was fascinated with lots of things I saw, ate and experienced while I was there. When I returned to Malaysia, a part of my heart was left in the land of the rising sun.   
 
Then, last year I became hooked on Japanese drama – thanks to “Hero”, a series on some public prosecutors’ lives and tribulations starring Kimura Takuya (a.k.a Kimutaku) and Matsu Takako. That was the first drama I took serious attention to– previously I have watched a few Japanese drama but none really caught my attention like “Hero” did. When I learned that Ira - my ex-classmate who remains in touch with me long after we left school - has a quite admirable collection of Japanese doramas – I borrowed all Kimutaku’s previous dramas. After that, I began to watch dramas by other actors. Then, the next thing I know - I had started purchasing and building my own collection of Japanese drama series.
 
My interest in Japanese dramas, coupled with the fact that Japanese are known for being an advanced country in communications industry and I believe it might benefit my organisation if I could talk and read in Nihon-go (Japanese), I decided to start learning the language.
 
I enrolled into a communicative Nihon-go class late last year in Universiti Malaya. 4 hours a week, for 10 weeks, which cost RM600. A worthy investment – considering since then, I’ve learned how to write and read Kana characters (Japanese characters based on sound. Kanji – loaned from Chinese characters – is harder to learn) and able to make small talks with Japanese visitors my office received every now and then. Demo watashi no benkyou wa kaiwa dake, takara, sukoshi hanashimasu. (However, I only had basic communicating lesson, therefore I’m only able to speak a little Japanese)
 
Still, I must admit that, unlike my lughatul Arabiyah books which were left aside right after SPM was over, I still brush up on my Nihon-go long after my class ended. I borrowed books from Japan Foundation library, I practised conversing with Sekiguchi-san, a JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) officer seconded in my office and sometimes with Dr Roy, a senior officer who did his Masters in Japan. (In fact, it was Dr Roy who encouraged me to apply for Monbukagakusho scholarship.)
 
I learned the Arabic language for five years.
I learned the Japanese language for less than three months.
If you ask me now, I would admit that I know a little Japanese.
My Arabic, however, is so poor that I’m actually a bit embarrassed to admit that I studied it for five years. Like I’ve said before – what I know now could be equivalent to what one can learn in five minutes.       
 
Now, after paying RM600 for 40 hours of one language’s class and able to make small talks in that language, I realise that it was such a waste that I did not take my lughatul Arabiyah class seriously more than a decade ago.
 
Mak, who now is into learning harfiah (Quranic Arabic) always chided me for not studying lughatul Arabiyah seriously when I was still young and had more times to memorise stuff. Back when I was a student, Mak had warned me beforehand that one day I would regret not studying the beautiful language whole-heartedly. 

Now - her warning has come true.