travel
It means light, glow, honour and scenery. Pick one.
I went from my daily job and routine in New Zealand to stuffing my life into a backpack and “cleansing my spirit” in waterfalls, exploring caves, visiting Christ the Redeemer in Rio, riding horses across an otherwise deserted beach in Uruguay and sipping whiskey atop the Italian Building in Sao Paulo. ‘ Enticed by the potential language barrier and cultural extremes, Sophie and Chris then made the decision to relocate to Japan, based on the challenges they would face. ‘We both wanted to live somewhere where English wasn’t the first language, where we’d have to familiarise ourselves with a new culture, learn a new language and experience something totally different to our norm.’
Japanese language course makes life in Japan A LOT easier
Sophie’s biggest obstacle in settling in to her new life in Tokyo has been the language. ‘I arrived in Tokyo with “Konnichiwa” being the full extent of my Japanese vocabulary, and a non-existent knowledge of their pictorial alphabet,’ she gushes, ‘this made the first few days fairly overwhelming. At least with places like South America I can use my Spanish, or somewhere in Europe you can just whip out Google Translate. Not so easy when you’re faced with words that look like chicken scratch.’ Signing up to a two-month Japanese language course has enabled her to learn how to read and write in two of the three Japanese alphabets. Having spent time back behind the desk, as a student,
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her newfound knowledge of one of the World’s most complicated languages will certainly aid her in teaching her soon to be foreign exchange pupils about British culture, in preparation for their courses in the UK. Some of these will be carried out in Oxford at the very school Sophie previously taught at. ‘I’ll be giving fun lessons on the city’s architecture and its links to famous literature such as Alice in Wonderland and movies such as Harry Potter.’ As is evident from her relatively consistent, and particularly personal and witty blog updates, Sophie’s time in Japan has entailed extensive exploration of Tokyo’s famed food and culture hotspots, developing a growing dislike for the subway at rush hour times, visiting temples and local sights, and participating in calligraphy and language classes. Immersing herself in foreign cultures is an integral aspect of the travelling experience, so what are the biggest distinctions between this side of the world, and the more familiar realms of Europe? ‘Actually I have felt the similarities more than the differences. It seems you can replicate that sense of community wherever you are in the world. For the most part, people just want to take care of you, have a good natter and feed you up!’ Sophie and Chris’ first two weeks in Japan were spent acclimatizing and ‘warily playing Russian roulette with the allJapanese menus.’ Following her teaching course, Sophie is looking to take some more travelling time in September to explore Japan outside of Tokyo, particularly GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE JULY 2015