Interviews
Not wanting to stand out as a foreigner
I always had this dream of living abroad in a foreign country since I was in junior high school. And then when I was…originally, I wanted to live in Europe. Then I went to Europe when I was 19. I went for a summer. But I originally intended to go for 3 months. I ended up staying for 6 months. I had a one-year open ticket. I met some people in Germany. They were working for the military and I got a job as a janitor, just running wild – drinking…and they were…one guy was Canadian, two guys from America and I just kind of slept wherever – on the floor in their apartment. I didn’t have a room. I was kind of a bum. That was fun. I had a great time.
But living in Europe for a short time, I realized I didn’t want to live…I wasn’t comfortable in Europe because you stand out. I didn’t like being…like being in America. I don’t like standing out, being targeted with racial epithets and things. So I don’t need that in my life. So living in Japan was much more comfortable when I first came here. It’s that whole point of not standing out, I think, which makes my life comfortable here.
Date: November 11, 2003
Location: Kyoto, Japan
Interviewer: Art Nomura
Contributed by: Art Nomura, Finding Home.
Explore More Videos
General reasons why people left Japan for Peru
Okinawan American whose parents are from Peru.
Parents identification as Peruvian Okinawan
Okinawan American whose parents are from Peru.
Okinawan cultural appreciation
Okinawan American whose parents are from Peru.
Prejudice against Okinawans from mainland folks
Okinawan American whose parents are from Peru.
American values she aligns with
Okinawan American whose parents are from Peru.
Working together in Okinawa using three languages
Okinawan American whose parents are from Peru.
Expressing herself through poetry
(b. 1923) Japanese American poet, activist
Her mother came to the U.S. with a group of picture brides
(b. 1923) Japanese American poet, activist
Her father bought her mother American clothes after she arrived from Japan
(b. 1923) Japanese American poet, activist
About Escobar (Spanish)
(b. 1962) Nisei Japanese Argentinian, currently residing in Japan
Her definition of Nikkei
(b.1974) Japanese Colombian who currently resides in the United States
Impact of Coming Out on Her Family
(b. 1957) Jusice of the Supreme Court of Hawaii.