My husband is English, so I moved here without thinking too much. I like living here, but I do miss Japan🍁
Living in a foreign country and speaking a foreign language…. it can be a hard work.
It is not all negative though because lately, I’ve been thinking that
“maybe I’m given a chance to live many different lives!?”
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Of course, I only have one life.
But then, by dealing with people so different from the ones I’m familiar with and learning their ways of thinking, I am being given small pieces of the lives.
They influence the way I see, feel and understand things. I feel like new lives are being added to mine all the time.
Yes, it is true that something has been subtracted from my life by leaving my home country, but there have been so much additions that coloured my life in the way that I had never imagined.
How fun it is to be able to live different lives!
Although I really miss home especially during the cherry blossom season🌸
Because of my father’s dream, I went to high school in American and learnt to speak English. This dream came from his experience as a little boy after the World War II.
My father is from south of Japan. He grew up in a country – middle of nowhere really.
After the war, many American soldiers landed in Japan. My father was 7 years old.
Some soldiers used to come and shoot some birds near the river where my father used to play. They shoot and the birds drop into the river. My father would run into the river and pick those bird up for the soldiers.
“Thank you!”
They would give him some chocolate, biscuits etc, which my father thought they were the most delicious things. The soldiers were always very kind to him.
“I wonder what America is like? It must be full of yummy food”
This curiosity turned into
“I want to go to America one day!”
which then became
“I want to send my children over to America to study!”
This little boy’s dream changed the path in my life and shaped the person I am now.
A part of my father’s life is in mine – this is how we share a part of our lives. I wonder how many people I’m sharing my life with. More the merrier I believe.
Later he told me that he always dreamed of sending his children over to America to study.
When the World War II ended, my father was 6 years old. He was taught to hate Americans when he was little, but still he always hoped to go to America one day, and see the world.
He went to America for the first time when he was in his 20s for his business trip, and he could not believe how big the country was. He said everything was so big and rich. People were so generous too. He told to himself
“One day, my children will come here and study!”
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He had some encounters with American soldiers after the war which was the main reason why he became interested in that country. Thanks to that, my brother and I got the opportunity to study there, and we both learnt to speak English.
Because of my English skill, I met my husband, and now I live in England – this all roots back to this 6 years old boy’s curiosity and dream. We sometimes pass our dreams onto our children. Where will this dream lead your child to? Nobody knows…
This memory of my father suddenly came into my mind when I was having a drink in a pub with some friends last night. It gave me sweet warmth in my heart.
I will write about my father’s experience with American soldiers soon…
I have been taking a little break from bridge because of my children’s spring holiday, but now I’m back!!
I mainly learnt about auction during the beginner’s course, so I’m not really sure about the strategy of the game. But the play sessions help me to think about more effective ways of playing
Recently, I have been thinking how I could utilise the use of the trump suit.
“Get the defenders’ trump suit out as soon as possible”
This is what I learnt, and I’m sure that is the most basic way to deal with the trump suit. But I was starting to feel like I needed to learn to use the trump suit more effectively.
I tried using the trump suit to utilise the advantage of singleton last time, and it worked! I don’t know if that normally works, but I’m sure I’ll find out soon.
So much fun💕
My next course will be starting in few weeks time & I really can’t wait.
‘By 2040, about 1.16million people over the age of 65 will be living alone in Tokyo, 43% increase from 2015’
This estimate was published few days ago in Japan. This is an astonishing number…
How it was written in the newspaper was ‘lone living old people’ (direct translation from Japanese)
The image we get varies greatly depending on the words that are used. For example:
‘living alone’ sounds very lonely and sad. Whereas ‘single life’ or ‘single living’ sound much more positive and enjoyable.
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‘Freedom and loneliness come hand in hand’
I really think so. Do you???
My children were home for their spring break. I need to think about breakfast/lunch/dinner, the house is a mess and I need to keep my eye on the time they are spending on their phones etc Hard work
‘I want to be alone…’
My husband takes up a big space in the kitchen. He asks me ‘what time are you coming back? who are you going out with?’ whenever I go out at night.
‘I want to be alone…’
Recently, the idea of ‘alone’ sounds so sweet to me. I dream about it🌈
But then, seeing my mum living on her own for more than 30years, I have learn that
‘Freedom and loneliness come hands in hands’
Living with someone else can be troublesome and hard work, but if you want to have that freedom, you need to also accept loneliness. Being free most of the time, and just have someone when you feel a bit lonely – that is just not possible. If you have that arrangement, you are extremely lucky so appreciate it!
I wonder what I will be longing for in 10 years time when the children grow up? Will I want freedom even if I have to face loneliness or will I rather not have that freedom?
So hard to say. We are changing all the time because our mind is never fixed.
Indian Rupee & Mexican Peso look interesting. Yes, I’ve got my eyes on them 👀
This year, I want to try investing in something new. Although I love ETF investments, it can get a bit boring just doing that.
Then I found Peso & Rupee✨
Both country have 7%+ 10 year bond yield.
Both country’s credit rating is Low Medium Grade, so not the best, but still ok. India is just above the non-investment grade though… Mexico better.
But then, I don’t know anything about these countries.
I remember Indian government banned the used of high-value notes suddenly few years ago. I don’t know how stable the government is etc.
It looks quite interesting though. It does have a big economic potential as well, so I think it is worth looking into 😀
Mexican economy must be closely linked with the US economy. My image is quite biased and negative because of the drug industry. But their credit rating is much higher compared to the rest of the Central/South American countries. Is it because they are putting effort into expanding other industries? I really am not sure, but it is worth looking into😀
“If you don’t understand, learn & then invest‼️”
This is my motto❤️
If it looks too risky after researching, just don’t do it. At least, you have learnt something new.
If you don’t know, and you don’t want to learn, then don’t do it.
Also I don’t like to make an investment if it contradicts with my morals.
I need to speak to my Indian & Mexican friends. That’s a good place to start.
so he started a blog hoping to make some money at some point.
It took him only 30min to start a blog. How is that possible???
“What do you write about?”
“Oh, I just check for today’s trend news and put a link to the article”
“That’s it?”
“Yeah, what else?”
Wow, I never knew that I could start a blog in 30 minutes, and his looks pretty good. I can’t imagine that just writing a bit about the trend and putting a link will get so many followers, but I guess it is a start. If you don’t start, nothing will grow.
My son is not afraid to fail. He thinks of something and he just goes for it and does it! If he fails, he thinks of other ways or something new to try.
When I started my blog, I thought about so many things…
“What would people think?”
“I can’t write well in English”
“Maybe this is too embarrassing” etc
It takes so long just to get started. What a waste of time…really, who cares? Nobody is reading what I write anyway, so why didn’t I just start!?
I do learn many things from my children. Yes, they do make me upset or worry sometimes (actually a lot), but their courage and enthusiasm are so special.
So what shall I start next? Maybe a YouTube channel😉
My son is 12 years old, and I often think “he is a little puppy”
Whenever he does something naughty, which is very often, I tell him off “Don’t do that💢”
He gives me that guilty look for a little, but 5 minutes later, he will come to me wriggling his tail.
“Attention please💕”
This cuteness is very special. You don’t see so much in girls – they are sweet in a different way – more like a candy floss.
I see my son’s friends, and many of them are again like puppies. Yes, there are sometimes exception, but not that many at least with his friends. They are all wriggling their tails, and get very happy whenever I give them food😀
12 years old boys are still puppies.
Until when??? I wonder.
I always wanted to have a dog. That was my childhood dream.
Finally, it has come true….well, not exactly, but close enough😉
Samurai Hinata's Lifestyle Blog 