These are a few of my favorite things...

わたしのすきな (favorite) 日本(にほん)のみせ (store) はユニクロ(ゆにくろ)です。
ユニクロ(ゆにくろ)はふくのみせです。
このみせははじめの (first) ニューヨークのユニクロ（ゆにくろ）です。

As someone with a particular interest in both building design and fashion, the American flagship Uniqlo store is a bit of a Chocolate Factory for me. Sleek Japanese design and brightly colored cashmere take center stage at this popular Japanese response to the American clothing stores Gap and Banana Republic. I don't know which to appreciate more, really: the store itself or the portmanteau that is its name, a combination of "unique" and "clothing."

Priceless (and relatively inexpensive).

ユニクロのリンク(link)はここです。
ユニクロのでんわばんごは　９１７の２３７の８８１１です。
にちようびにごぜん１１じからごご８じまでです。
げつようびからどようびまで、ごぜん１０じから９じまでです。
まだやすみません。
かいましょう！(let's shop!)

Eye Contact (and other customs in a culture of politeness).

Someone once wrote (and it very well may have been Carrie Bradshaw) that the worst thing one New Yorker can do to another is make sustained and unprovoked eye contact. Some New Yorkers have clearly taken this to heart, evidenced by the avoidance of eye contact on all forms of public transportation and in general, daily interactions.

Yesterday (Monday), though, we learned quite a good deal about the importance of both humility and sincerity (and eye contact) in the Japanese culture (the phrase これからおせわになります comes to mind). The idea of this kind of a community, the kind in which you put yourself under the care of your neighbors, and vice versa, is for the most part a foreign notion (no pun intended). And it is certainly foreign in a New York City that is often too fast-paced to remember its manners. Just something I've been considering.

昨日（きのう)「これからおせわになります」をならいました (learned)。
「ほんのきもちです」もならいました。
にほんには、みんなさんは やさしい (kind) ですけど
ニューヨーク（にゅうようく）には、みんなさんはまだ やさしくない。

Konnichiwa! (and other introductory phrases)

こんにちは！

はじめまして。私（わたし）のなまえは アサード (Asad)です。
アメリカ（あめりか）人（じん）です。
コロンビア大学（だいがく）の二（に）ねんせいです。
ニュージャージ（にゅうじゃあじ）からきました。
わたしのせんこうは architecture と art history です。
わたしのこうこう (high school) でにほのごをべんきょうしました。

I'm really excited to begin studying Japanese again (after taking a few years in high school and even traveling to Japan to experience the language and culture of such an interesting place firsthand). I'm taking Japanese this year not only to regain a working knowledge of the language, but also to meet some interesting people with a similar interest in the Japanese language.

どうぞよろしく！