“Sometimes it’s tough being a single mom, especially when you’re abroad. I came here to be with this guy I was in a long-distance relationship with. I left everything behind, my whole life in Jakarta, to find work in a foreign country and live with him. But after six months, we decided to part waysContinue reading
“I wish I could wear a mask because I’m worried about coronavirus. But I can’t since people won’t hear me when I warn them of incoming traffic. The SSS on my arm patch stands for Safety, Security, and Service and I make sure pedestrians pass by smoothly. I can’t do my job if my mouthContinue reading
“What’s this I’m wearing? It’s my take on East meets West fashion. I’m an Economics major but I really want to be a model or at least work in the apparel industry. Do you think I can become one?” このファッシオン？これは和服と洋服の組み合わせです。今は大学生で経済学部ですけど将来は本当にモデルになりたい。それかアパレル企業で働きたい。モデルになれると思う？
“I was a typical Japanese man until I was 43, when I had a stroke. I could have died. So that really changed my perspective on how to live my life. I started to appreciate the little things in life more, like a clear blue sky, for example. I learned how to say good morningContinue reading
“I wasn’t very serious in life. That’s why I’m desperately making up for it now. I’ve been here since 1989 and it’s only five years ago that I finally opened this restaurant. I’m from Nepal. I learned about Japan when my uncle got captured by Japanese soldiers during the war. You see, we got involvedContinue reading
“I used to suck at fighting and was no good at sports when I was a kid. I was this quiet boy who’d hide behind his older sister. But my dad, who was a judo practitioner, he encouraged me to learn kendo in elementary school. From there I moved on to judo, and eventually wrestlingContinue reading
“I was in my late 30s when I started wanting to have kids. But I was working for a major manufacturing company back then and I wasn’t sure if it was the right environment to raise a child. You see in Japan, a lot of people work until almost midnight every day. That’s just theContinue reading CareFinder
“I’m trying to be the next Middle Eastern doctor in Japan. There’s only one so far. He’s Egyptian like me. And he’s famous. He practically inspired me to come back to Japan to pursue my career as a physician, even though I have to overcome a big obstacle—the language. I was actually here until IContinue reading
“The train commute in Tokyo is horrendous. You get pushed around, touched, and sometimes even groped. For four years, I did a 40-minute commute to work and it was brutal. The only way to survive is to feel nothing. To be on zombie mode. So I practiced feeling nothing. Otherwise your emotions get the bestContinue reading
[Tiếng Việt ở dưới]“It’s always been my biggest fear to not be heard. I’m from Vietnam and when I was 10, we moved to Hanoi. I felt ignored by people from the big city because I was a ‘village girl’ who came from the countryside. I didn’t have that ‘city vibe’. Years later, I cameContinue reading
“I’m from a place in Japan that’s called ‘Ninja City’. I was a high school teacher for 10 years. While teaching social studies to Japanese students, I noticed how strong their stereotypes about other countries were. But they didn’t engage in deeper discussion and had the same opinion (or no opinion) as their peers. IContinue reading
“My mom passed away when I was 10. She was diagnosed with breast cancer right before we all moved to Australia because of dad’s business. We were supposed to stay there only for four years, but she wanted to come back to Japan for treatment before that. Me and my siblings remained and I beggedContinue reading
