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You have traveled so much and you have seen so many things here. Have
you ever experienced a culture shock?
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Ok, let me think about it, yeah culture shock, it was 5 years ago when I went
to Australia first… It’s funny sometimes if I’m away from Japan for one year
and I go back to Japan I feel culture shock. It’s funny - I know people in Japan,
I’ve lived in Japan for so long but as just be away from Japan, I always feel
culture shock in Japan… like - why people care so much about work and are
so serious, people should just relax, they’re worrying too much. I was like
them before but now… noone knows what’s gonna happen tomorrow so I’m
getting more() and relax but my friends “ah, you have to get married” worry
about life so I just “ok, calm down ” … yeah’ culture shock in Japan … it’s
funny.
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You have lived in Australia, in Japan, now in Bulgaria, in New Zeeland,
which country and which place you feel like your home? What home means
for you?
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Actually, I’m looking for my home now. Japan is my home of course, my
family is there, my friends are there but I think my previous life I wasn’t a
Japanese, so I can feel comfortable in Japan in some part, I can’t feel
comfortable in Japan in another part. I’m looking where my home is, but I
think Australia was great but I haven’t been in Australia nearly two years so
maybe next home or something but I just went to Scotland for 11 days, I got
back from Scotland 5 days ago. Scotland was great, I feel, well 11 days is
small, but I felt it close to my heart, so maybe I’ll tell you later.
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Living in intercultural environment, this is more or less your style of life,
you’re living everywhere in an intercultural environment. What are the
advantages and disadvantages of living this intercultural life?
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Good point and bad point you mean? Ok, good point – I can see many people
if I keep traveling and then I can have many experiences that I would never
ever had if I stay in Japan, I can see many worlds, I can listen to many people’s
opinions from different countries so it is quite interesting and a good point I
think. But the bad point is that I never know my future, where I go. Also I
don’t know what should I do like always to be spontaneous – it’s good and
bad, it’s just – I don’t know what I want to do, like I kind of… my faith inside,
it’s hard to explain in my English, excuse me, I just sometimes listen my
inside, then I just follow my inside and then after I realize “ah, I….”, like I
came here and then “ah, I wanted to come here.” – It’s just decided I just act
fast like I use Internet and then just do it like “I wanted to go to …, I didn’t
know it” . It’s good and bad maybe because I have no tomorrow.
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You mentioned your faith – are you Buddhist or…
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No, I don’t have any faith, just my inside, but I believe in karma. My friend
also said if I do good things maybe good thing come back to me, if I do bad
things, bad things happen to me.
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What does it mean being a woman in Japan?
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Ok, it’s gonna be interesting for you maybe. Woman in Japan like you have a
lady … coach in here, maybe a … coach, a woman makes not everything but
quite many things… Now the generations are changing, in younger
generations ladies are stronger, stronger than boys, like guys, but my
generation, my mum’s generation, my family is not like this but, just general
speaking, like a guy just sitting down and like ladies … dinner or tea or do all
housework and guys like a husband or boyfriend sometimes just sitting down
just go to work and come back… so it’s sometimes hard this kind of staff’ it’s
just not my way of doing my life. But my family is equal not like men (shows
up) – women (shows down). I grew up with my parents so having to see guys
just sitting down, don’t do anything – no cooking, no clean up, just - “Tea!
Food!”(pretends to order to someone). So I just don’t understand at all, but
many Japanese guys can’t cook and don’t clean up so guys think it’s ladies job,
a bit old times thinking. But I’ve been to Australia, Bulgaria, the Bulgarian
lady has… culture so much I’m just impressed, I like it. Guys open the doors,
wait for ladies or pay a lot… I just feel more comfortable, I’m quite a strong
girl – I swim and surf and it doesn’t matter if I carry this table, the chair or the
computer, but guys – “no, no , no – I’ll do that. – Thank you.” – I feel more
lady, it’s great, I like it.
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So you have quite a positive opinion about women in Bulgaria?
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Yeah, yeah, but I don’t know about many Bulgarian ladies so it’s hard to tell
but I see friends with their boyfriends and girlfriends and girlfriends are just
sitting down and there is a cookie over there and then “Cookie!” (an order to a
boyfriend). I saw it and I don’t do that, Japanese don’t do that so… it’s good to
see just the difference… so different, so that’s great for me.
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And how do you feel being a foreign woman in Bulgaria?
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Well, sometimes it’s a bit hard because I’m obviously foreign, quite… Asian,
so taxi driver always want me more money and I don’t speak much
Bulgarian… I just wanted to go to the … street and I said to the driver “I want
to go to the… street”, but the taxi went on a very long way… Also in Australia
I walked by myself and guys was just “Hey, hey” and tried to … Something
just feel a little bit dangerous, not always happen but sometimes, because I’m
a foreigner and it’s different and interesting maybe, but that’s my choice you
know – I like to be different, so it always has a good part and a bad part, so I’ll
be ok.
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Do you feel more different in Bulgaria then in Australia?
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Exactly, because …
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Australia is too close and there are many Asian people…
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Exactly, many Japanese are over there and tourists or just living there so they
get used to see Japanese – there’s Japanese everywhere, so I don’t feel much
eyes of them but here it’s just a big difference and people look again… and
again… and again (laugh). But I hope I can do something in Bulgaria for next
Japanese people… if I teach Japanese here more, they could use to speak and
see Japanese, maybe not so many people know about Japan, but if I teach
something cultural – like calligraphy, getting to know Japanese, getting more
close… so I want to do something for between Japan and Bulgaria if I could.
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