Is Expat Still My Identity?

January 25, 2018 · 12 Comments

That Facebook memory thing is a pain. I joined Facebook in 2005, my first year of uni (back when you needed a university email). That’s a lot of years of memories to show me, and while it’s nice looking back on times gone by, boy do I feel old.

Memories informs me that it’s been around 8 years since I lived in Japan, and 5 years since I was in Germany. I’ve been in the UK 3 1/2 years and I can’t believe it. I came back to settle down, career up and live a more fulfilling life, and really it’s taken me 3 1/2 years to get somewhere near that. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Japan, Ramblings ·

Photo Sunday

November 13, 2016 · 3 Comments

kotatsu

My colleague is always cold. He says there’s a draft at his legs but I never feel it, even though I sit opposite him. I sometimes wonder if I should introduce him to the Japanese kotatsu.

A kotatsu is a staple in the Japanese home. A low table, with a heater underneath, and a blanket sandwiched under the lid, you sit on cushions on the floor with your legs toasting by the heater. [Read more…]

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Photo Sunday

November 6, 2016 · 3 Comments

Japan Night Club

For a nice Sunday post I thought I’d reach into my travelling past and find a photo to share.

One cold November I went to Osaka to hang out with a Canadian friend. We did all kinds of fun things like go to Universal Studios, and stayed in a capsule hotel. In the evening, we decided to go out clubbing, and found our way to the above place. [Read more…]

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When I Studied in Japan

September 19, 2016 · 3 Comments

Study In Japan

Recently I’ve read not just one but two awesome posts about people who studied abroad – the first from the wonderful Rhyme and Ribbons, and the other by the lovely Darling Magazine. Both posts have great insights and advice for those studying abroad – but I thought I’d throw my experience into the mix as well, as I studied in Japan.

I’d been studying Japanese since I was 16 – because I really REALLY wanted Japanese friends. I had this amazing idea of going to live there, when everyone would want to be my friend and that I would live in this heaven of happiness. This was fueled as well by the month-long trip I took when I was 17 with my Japanese class, where it really was everything I had dreamt of – everyone was happy to see us, the food was amazing and it was just so much fun.

I got to study in Japan in my third year (out of four) at uni. The UK uni I went to was Liverpool John Moores and we had sister schools all over Japan. I really wanted to go to Fukuoka or Kurume to be near the classmate I was dating at the time but I ended up being sent to Kinjo Gakuin University in Nagoya. I REALLY didn’t want to go there – it was a GIRLS university (which don’t exist in the UK) and what’s more, it’s a Christian university (which also doesn’t exist in the UK). As the only girl in my Liverpool class, I was obliged to go.

I needn’t have worried – I had THE BEST YEAR and I still consider to be one of the best years I’ve lived so far. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Japan ·
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