My Latest Japanese Composition

お母さんとお父さんへ

お元気ですか。　シンガポールは暑いですか。今、日本は秋ですから、とても寒いです。だから、たくさん服を着ています。すぐ、冬が来ます。

私は今ホームステイファミリーと萱嶋に住んでいます。萱嶋は小さくて、静かな町です。町にたくさんコンビニがあります。便利ですね。私の日本の家族は六人です。とてもにぎやかです。弟が二人で、妹も二人です。長男は二十歳で、神戸大学で勉強しています。頭が良いですね。長女は十七歳で、高校二年生です。よく遅く帰ります。たくさん勉強しますから。大変ですね。。。次男は四歳で、とてもかわいいです。たいてい笑います。次女は三歳で、よく私と話します。でも、私は全然わかりません。日本語が下手ですから。

私は来年一月三日に帰ります。シンガポールで会いましょうね。楽しみにしています。

からだに気をつけて下さい！

十二月二日
フェウーン

***
Translation:

Dear Mom and Dad,

Hope you are well. Is Singapore hot? It is autumn in Japan, so it's very cold. As a result, I am wearing a lot of clothes. It will soon be winter...

I am living with my home stay family in Kayashima. Kayashima is a small and quiet town. There are many konbini here. Isn't it convenient? My family consists of 6 people. it's very lively. I have 2 brothers and 2 sisters. The eldest son is 20 and he studies in Kobe University. Isn't he smart? The eldest daughter is 17, a 2nd year high school student. She often comes home late because she studies a lot [actually, not true, she plays tennis, but then I'm too lazy to come up with that sentence]. It's tough, isn't it? The younger son is 4 and he's very cute. He usually laughs [I was going to say, "he usually has a smiling face", but I didn't know how to put it]. The younger daughter is 3 and she often talks to me. But I cannot understand at all because I'm poor at Japanese.

I will be back on January the 3rd. See you then. I'm looking forward to seeing you. Take care of yourself.

2/12/08 [tomorrow's date]
Huey Woon

***

I was initially very proud of that composition. Then I translated it, and realised how utterly juvenile it sounded. *sighs* I've still got a loooooooooong way to go.