I am ...
I am a father, a teacher, and a lifelong learner.
Obviously, I am interested in the Japanese language and culture, but I am passionate about the nature of language itself.
Ever since I was a kid, I have mimicked accents from a wide variety of languages, existent and imaginary. I am very envious of people in countries like Switzerland, Germany, the Netherlands and the Scandinavian countries for being able to speak more than one language. Most people are not perfect at each language, but they use it to communicate and do not worry about mistakes.
I began learning Japanese in high school. Honestly speaking, I did not try as hard as I should have. However, I loved it and my teachers helped me learn it more easily. I wish I had tried harder though.
After high school, I pursued my interest in science and graduated with a bachelor degree and major in human anatomy (解剖学). I had to learn many Latin-based names which had a profound effect on me.
I then decided it was time to travel and learn more about the world I live in. I went backpacking by myself around Europe, soaking up the cultures and languages of more than ten countries. I loved every one of them. Whenever I tried to speak a word in the native language, the locals respected and thanked me for trying. This was real. Language was so much more than a tool for communication. It opened doors into the culture and hearts of the people. It reminded me of a famous quote by Nelson Mandela:
If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head.
If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.
The language and culture that won me over the most was Italian, which is largely due to all of those Latin names of body parts I learned in science. Some people have described Italian as "lazy Latin", so that explains the familiarity I felt. I continued learning Italian when I returned to Australia and will once again pick it up in the future when time permits.
It was at this time that I made a life-changing decision. I had loved travelling so much but I was not satisfying my thirst for knowledge and experience by just staying temporarily in one place. I needed to stay longer somewhere. A colleague of mine at the time mentioned her recent experience in Japan and the ups and downs of living in a culture quite different to Australia. That was it! I searched the papers for a job (internet was only just starting to expand), interviewed successfully and was at the airport around 2-3 months after that fateful conversation. I was heading on an adventure to Japan with one backpack, not knowing anyone there except for the name of the contact I had to meet at Narita Airport.
The Japanese language started to come back thick and fast, but not as fast as I would have liked. I was also experiencing the weird phenomenon of language interference - when I struggled to find the word I wanted to say in Japanese I would remember the Italian word etc.. Anyway, one year was not enough. I had also just met someone special and this made the decision to stay another year much easier. Two years turned into three, four... eight years! In that time, I had lived in two different locations in Japan and worked for two very different companies. I had changed from a travel-mad bachelor into a happily married man with kids. I had also earned another post-graduate degree in education via online learning with a university in Australia and had a strong desire to teach at a particular school in my hometown.
So, back we went to Australia and wow did I personally struggle with "reverse culture shock". Australia had changed enormously in the time I had been away. Initially, I was employed as a Science/Maths teacher but luck would have it that there was an opening for a Japanese teacher to middle school students. This suited me perfectly - teaching my two favourite interests, Science and Japanese.
I was fortunate (or crazy) enough to complete a Masters in Applied Linguistics while working at the school. It had been a goal of mine for quite some time, particularly due to my new-found interest in the origins of the English language from teaching in Japan. The course helped me as an educator and as a learner. There is so much more to learn about the nature of language, and I aim to research further into sociolinguistics and bilingualism.
But, that wasn't the end of it. In 2015, our family made the decision to return to Japan and here I find myself at the computer typing this message. I love my two countries that are forever linked to my family, and I hope to show a lot of the interesting things about it through my YouTube channel.
I hope this website can help you love language. Please send me any requests you have and I will try to answer them as soon as I can.
Enjoy.
If you enjoy this website, you may be interested in my other website and blog (the button below).
Ever since I was a kid, I have mimicked accents from a wide variety of languages, existent and imaginary. I am very envious of people in countries like Switzerland, Germany, the Netherlands and the Scandinavian countries for being able to speak more than one language. Most people are not perfect at each language, but they use it to communicate and do not worry about mistakes.
I began learning Japanese in high school. Honestly speaking, I did not try as hard as I should have. However, I loved it and my teachers helped me learn it more easily. I wish I had tried harder though.
After high school, I pursued my interest in science and graduated with a bachelor degree and major in human anatomy (解剖学). I had to learn many Latin-based names which had a profound effect on me.
I then decided it was time to travel and learn more about the world I live in. I went backpacking by myself around Europe, soaking up the cultures and languages of more than ten countries. I loved every one of them. Whenever I tried to speak a word in the native language, the locals respected and thanked me for trying. This was real. Language was so much more than a tool for communication. It opened doors into the culture and hearts of the people. It reminded me of a famous quote by Nelson Mandela:
If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head.
If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.
The language and culture that won me over the most was Italian, which is largely due to all of those Latin names of body parts I learned in science. Some people have described Italian as "lazy Latin", so that explains the familiarity I felt. I continued learning Italian when I returned to Australia and will once again pick it up in the future when time permits.
It was at this time that I made a life-changing decision. I had loved travelling so much but I was not satisfying my thirst for knowledge and experience by just staying temporarily in one place. I needed to stay longer somewhere. A colleague of mine at the time mentioned her recent experience in Japan and the ups and downs of living in a culture quite different to Australia. That was it! I searched the papers for a job (internet was only just starting to expand), interviewed successfully and was at the airport around 2-3 months after that fateful conversation. I was heading on an adventure to Japan with one backpack, not knowing anyone there except for the name of the contact I had to meet at Narita Airport.
The Japanese language started to come back thick and fast, but not as fast as I would have liked. I was also experiencing the weird phenomenon of language interference - when I struggled to find the word I wanted to say in Japanese I would remember the Italian word etc.. Anyway, one year was not enough. I had also just met someone special and this made the decision to stay another year much easier. Two years turned into three, four... eight years! In that time, I had lived in two different locations in Japan and worked for two very different companies. I had changed from a travel-mad bachelor into a happily married man with kids. I had also earned another post-graduate degree in education via online learning with a university in Australia and had a strong desire to teach at a particular school in my hometown.
So, back we went to Australia and wow did I personally struggle with "reverse culture shock". Australia had changed enormously in the time I had been away. Initially, I was employed as a Science/Maths teacher but luck would have it that there was an opening for a Japanese teacher to middle school students. This suited me perfectly - teaching my two favourite interests, Science and Japanese.
I was fortunate (or crazy) enough to complete a Masters in Applied Linguistics while working at the school. It had been a goal of mine for quite some time, particularly due to my new-found interest in the origins of the English language from teaching in Japan. The course helped me as an educator and as a learner. There is so much more to learn about the nature of language, and I aim to research further into sociolinguistics and bilingualism.
But, that wasn't the end of it. In 2015, our family made the decision to return to Japan and here I find myself at the computer typing this message. I love my two countries that are forever linked to my family, and I hope to show a lot of the interesting things about it through my YouTube channel.
I hope this website can help you love language. Please send me any requests you have and I will try to answer them as soon as I can.
Enjoy.
If you enjoy this website, you may be interested in my other website and blog (the button below).