A Canadian Living in Japan
Krista Wakelin
Living in Japan has certainly given me a broader prospective on many
things. It has allowed me to do things that I would never have done had I
been living on my small Island. While living in Japan I have met women
from many countries. As a sheltered small town girl, I learned about other
cultures in Canada only from books and TV; it wasn't until I came to Japan
that I came to understand the roles of women in other cultures, and began
to further understand my own role as a Canadian woman.
Living in Japan has
certainly taught me many things about myself. I now have the courage to do
adventurous things such as travel alone, live in a house alone, and cook
both Canadian and Japanese foods. I have learned the importance of friends
and a good community. I have also realized that it is okay to be selfish
and say "no" sometimes. Allow me to elaborate…
Since coming to Japan, I have traveled to various South-East Asian
countries alone. I was a little nervous the first time I ventured to
Thailand, but when I was packing for Bali I was very excited to once again
travel alone. I find traveling alone makes it easier to meet people. Of
course it's vital to take precautions—and sometimes it's boring eating
dinner alone—but I definitely prefer that to traveling with a friend who
has a different vacation idea than I do. Perhaps I'm selfish with my
vacation time, but if my friend wants to shop for little trinkets while I
want to swim at the beach, it's just not going to work without me having
guilty bad-friend feelings. I have only had good experiences traveling
alone. I do however, advise exercising precautions (such as staying in a
central location, and telling the locals you are meeting friends later in the
day rather than saying you are traveling alone), having a
plan so you don't find yourself in an unwanted area, and of course
researching your destination.
Living alone in a foreign country can be scary at times but I have
learned to love it. I have always considered myself an independent person,
and I was shocked when people told me how brave I was to move to another
country alone. To tell you the truth, the move didn't faze me. I was happy
and excited for a new start in a new country. It is very important to feel
safe, and I feel safe in Japan. My house is small, and it makes its fair
share of creepy noises, but I have learned not to be scared of the
house—even though the TV and some of the downstairs lights sporadically
turn on and off.
Being able to feed myself comes with he terrain of living alone. I'm by no means a chef; when I lived in Canada, I dined at Subway quite often and loved my mother's cooking. I make a mean grilled cheese sandwich, but it wasn't until I came to Japan that I developed confidence in my cooking skills. My second year here, and every year since, I cook a Christmas dinner which includes roast turkey, stuffing, potatoes, carrots, salads, and cranberry sauce. I have help, but I'm the one in the kitchen giving orders instead of taking them like I did in Canada. I have learned to cook many Japanese foods such as miso soup and udon( a type of soup with meat, vegetables, and noodles), and can also make a great Indian-style curry now. Curried and turkey dinners may not seem like a great feat, but going from not being able to cook to receiving compliments on your cooking really makes a girl feel good.
Speaking of feeling good, while residing outside Canada, I have realized
how lucky I am to have such a wonderful family. I’ve also realized how
important friends are in my life. In Canada I always depended on my
parents for support, but here I have a wonderful community of foreign and
Japanese friends who are here to support me. It's vital to find a
community to fit into while living away from your own country—whether that
means joining a local sports team or participating in a cultural class. For
me it’s having good friends whom I can spend time with, trust, and depend
on if the need arises.
Ah, yes, time. When I lived in Canada, I worked for a non-profit organization that required countless hours of volunteer work. Many people
find it easy to say "no," but I'm not one of them. If I was asked to do
something, I felt guilty if I said "no," and so I was always swamped with work
and volunteer work. Moving to Japan gave me the opportunity to enjoy free
time for the first time in my adult life. I value the volunteer work I did
in the past, but at times it seemed to take over my life. Now I have a
better balance of volunteering, working, and living. I now feel more
confident saying "yes" or "no" to my friends, co-workers, and others.
I know I will always call Canada home; more specifically, I will always be
an Islander at heart. The valuable lessons I have learned in Japan, and
the self-realization that I have accomplished, will stay with me forever.
Along with my wonderful upbringing, these experiences have shaped me into
the independant strong woman I am today.
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