I am mildly literate!

Well, after six months, I have finally learned some Japanese. Of course I still couldn’t hold a conversation with a 3 year old or anything, but I did learn the alphabet. Now before you think whoop-dee-do, or maybe only I think that, there are three different “alphabet/syllabaries” in the Japanese language. Hiragana is the basic one, then Katakana for foreign words, and Kanji, which I will never even attempt to learn. So I learned the Hiragana and Katakana. For most people they are really easy, but it’s taking me a lot of practice. The thing is, that this whole experience of learning a new language, is really helping me think of how my students learn language too. Suddenly those UCSD classes make (a little) more sense. I am still practicing, and mixing up some letters, but I am trying. At my last school, the teachers were so cute. Every day during lunch, they quizzed me with their food labels. I can read isolated sounds, but I still need to put them together to form the words.
Now, for all of you Japanese speakers, I have a question for you. Help me write my name!! I was all excited because I spelled it out in Katakana, but I am not sure if it’s correct because that is how you spell it, not pronounce it. So, if you could tell me the Katakana, I would appreciate it. You may have to email me the syllables Romanji, because my computer won’t read Japanese.
Maybe within the next six months I’ll speak more Japanese than that parrot at the zoo. Stupid parrot. Baka! Ha! Thanks mom!