a woman that decided when she lived in Japan that the more lower classl/colloquial form of Japanese was easier

It's not that she decided it was easier, it's just a fact. For example:

casual: taberu - [subj] eats. This is the form listed in the dictionary and can be used as is.
basic polite: tabemasu. Used with strangers.
humble: itadakimasu. Used to talk about your own eating when in conversation with a superior.
honorific: meshiagarimasu. Used to refer to a superior eating.

Basically the more polite something is the longer the verb form. One of the be-verbs goes from casual to polite as da --> desu --> degozaimasu

I practiced most of my Japanese conversation skills by hanging out in bars so I know the struggle with using polite forms.