“People have this idea that Japanese is really hard, that it is difficult to speak, because it’s an entirely different grammatical structure,” says Matthew Donley, a senior Japanese and psychology major in Notre Dame’s College of Arts and Letters. “But it’s not as hard as you think.” Japanese is a rewarding challenge, says the Houston native.
“Growing up in a Western society you sort of narrow in on like Western thoughts, Western ways of thinking,” adds Donley. “By studying Japanese, Japanese literature, going to Japan, you experience a different way of living, a different perspective, that gives you insight into how to tackle problems in a different way.”
