“I’m a bit of a control freak. But for someone who needs to plan everything, I just went with the flow when I came to Japan. I was considering two options after finishing university back home in Spain: unpaid internships that may lead to an actual position or go abroad and learn languages. I remember thinkingContinue reading Stick to Your Guns
“When my husband got a job offer in Japan, I was working in advertising as a designer and account manager in Mexico. It was super cool that he found a great job at good company, doing what he loves. But while I supported the decision to move here, what about me? What am I supposedContinue reading Staying True to Yourself
**日本語訳は下をご覧ください** “I come from Ecuador. I’ve been living in Japan for the last 15 years of my life. I met my Japanese wife at a salsa club, where I was taking dance lessons. That’s where I pursued her relentlessly for half a year before she finally fell for me. Now we have kids. The olderContinue reading Growing Pains
**日本語訳は下にあります** “I’m from Madrid and I came to Japan to work as a journalist. My first week was pretty hard. I got depressed. Maybe it was jet lag or not being able to speak the language. At first I was afraid of human interaction, ‘What if they didn’t understand me?’ ‘What if we couldn’t even communicate?’Continue reading Talkin’ Loud
“When I came to Japan 25 years ago, I noticed people had little idea about Peruvian food. If you had asked people at the time what their impression was, they would’ve said beans, stews or it’s like Mexican food. But of course they’re very different. So I became a chef to get more Japanese peopleContinue reading On a Mission
Why did you pick Japan? “We’re here on a one-year student exchange program. I’m a linguist. I came to Japan because I thought Japanese is interesting to learn. I took Japanese 4 years ago now and I just like the language. I speak five – Italian, French, English, Spanish and Japanese.” “I’m studying Japanese inContinue reading Studying Abroad
“The funny thing about travel is that no matter how completely you try to leave the country, be it Japan or wherever, the country never completely leaves you. So far, I’ve lived in four different countries – Japan, Vietnam, Spain, Saudi Arabia and now back to Vietnam. Each of those places, no matter how muchContinue reading Becoming Desensitized
“I come from Colombia, home to some of the world’s most beautiful women and good coffee. I always wanted to live in big cities, so after Bogota, I set sail overseas to Sydney, where I would meet my future wife. At first I was only there to study English. But then after falling in loveContinue reading Tug of Two Cities
“I would like to do something to empower women in Japan. They still play a small role in society—a pity, considering there are plenty of intelligent women in this country. And many are resigned to accepting marriage as the ultimate goal or their only option in life, which isn’t so bad in itself, but IContinue reading Girl Power
