I work in a grocery store, which is pretty convenient because the only formal Japanese I can confidently use is 「ご袋ご利用ですか」and 「お支払方法は？」but other than that I just spoke the best I could.
And it was two customers in a row! The first was a group of people, in town for a wedding. It just so happened that a lady who had lived in the city for 13 years was right behind said group, and we had a conversation in Japanese as well! She asked me if I had served a mormon mission in Japan (very common since we are in Utah) and suggested I go to church with her sister who still lived in Nagoya once I got there for my study abroad. It was so fun to chat with her!
I found out that it was quite difficult to do my job and speak another language. I've passed the N2, but I never get opportunities to speak so it felt quite awkward. Whenever I study, it's in a practically sterile environment. The youtubers or voice actors have nice microphones, I have my headphones on, and I can focus completely on what's being said. Using Japanese in such a real-world experience was much more complicated than I anticipated.
by Expert-Estate6248