Hi! Thanks for visiting. I’m Kristina, and I’m new to this blogging thing.
The other day, my hubby and I were reminiscing about all of our trips to Japan, and we were hit with this overwhelming feeling of ‘crap, what’s the name of that place again?’, and ‘we really need to get in the habit of making photo albums’. Scared of forgetting about the finer details of our travels at the ripe old age of 30, the idea of this blog was born. In part, to have a home for our memories, but also to share our adventures, tips and knowledge of Japan with you.
My love affair with Japan started 20 years ago, when I was 10.
This is the abbreviated version of that story.
At my primary school in Queensland, Australia, it was mandatory to study Japanese from year 5. My teacher entered me into a regional Japanese speech contest, where I placed second, and from then on I was hooked. When I entered high school, of course I chose Japanese as one of my electives, and studied that from year 8-12. It’s funny, because I was never into anime (I did watch Sailor Moon and Pokemon on morning TV, but they were dubbed in English and I had no idea they were Japanese shows), I didn’t have any friends or family around me that were Japanese, and Japanese restaurants weren’t as prevalent then as they are today. I virtually had no exposure to Japan or Japanese apart from my lessons at school. But there was something about the language, about the culture, that I felt a connection with.
I deferred university and took up an opportunity with WYS (World Youth Service Society) to do a 10 month student exchange in Japan. I was pretty ballsy back then. I lived with a host family and went to high school in a beautiful place in southern Japan called Kumamoto. When the 10 months were up, I moved back to Aus and completed my undergraduate degree, a bachelor of arts in languages and applied linguistics. After graduation, Japan was pulling at my heart again, and luckily, I landed a job there- to be an English teacher at a private kindergarten in Nara. Off I went again, and I lived (partied, e.t.c.) in Nara for about 15 months.
Like most people with an arts degree (sorry not sorry), I was then left wondering ‘…now what? What am I actually qualified to do?’. I had foreign language skills, and wanted to share my experience of Japan, so I went down the tourism route, and became a travel agent. But it wasn’t for me. I knew I needed a career change when I realised I cared more about giving my clients an impromptu Japanese lesson before their ski holiday, than my actual sales commission.
And that brings us to today. I’m now a qualified high school Japanese teacher and loving life. These days I get to share my love of Japan with any student that will listen. The tables have turned, and I now help facilitate short term student exchanges with our sister schools which is really cool because I know firsthand how life changing they can be. And my Japanese husband and I try to take time off and holiday in Japan as often as we can.
I hope that this blog ignites the same spark of curiosity and wonder that I have for Japan, within you.
Crane & Maple 