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…
‘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.
Samurai Hinata's Lifestyle Blog 