Hello,
I’m based in Seattle, and have been on and off (mostly off) studying Japanese since high school. I started textfugu last fall but got tied up with a minor crisis. Some of my family decided they wanted to learn, so I’m back on the learning boat after a brief interruption.
My goal is to be able to visit Japan and get by without a guide in both metropolitan and rural areas. I visited once on a guided tour a few years back and had a blast, but I really want to be able to wander the countryside on my own a bit.
Looks like a pretty darn lively forum – I look forward to meeting folks!