DiscoverNikkei.org - Introduction of a Chilean/Japanese - Comments

Encuentro en Chile

akirau — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 22:46:49 -0800

Gracias Masaki por tu mensaje!

Sorry, I forgot to include my e-mail here.
Its akirandres@gmail.com
I'll add my blog just for marketing purposes. hehehe
http://blog.canpan.info/akira

Yes, I know that book! have you read version 1 and 2?
The examples are very funny and helpful too, although there are many
that people don't really use, or are out of fashion. Don't worry, before you
know it, you will be saying "shaaaaa" and "siiiii po".

I will be in Santiago for 3 days and then 2 in Vina del Mar, where my family is.
The first 3 days is business so I hope we can meet in Vina del Mar.
Anyways, lets chat more through mail. :)

nos vemos!

Akira

Hi Akira! Thank you for the

masaki — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 08:43:05 -0800

Hi Akira!

Thank you for the reply.

Speaking of "Chilenismos", I'm getting the hang of it now... I'm not sure if you've heard of a book called "How to survive in the chilean jungle" for foreigners to understand the definitions and use of these chilean slang, but unfortunately there's too many to remember!

Australia is a beautiful country, I miss it very much and sometimes I do wonder why I left Adelaide but I really wanted to travel and furthermore, to appreciate the "comfortable lifestyle" in developed countries, if you get what I mean.

Wow! So, you're travelling to Chile for a visit? or work purpose? Where do your parents live? - in Santiago? That'll be great if we could meet up when you get to Chile. I'll be sticking around here since I need to work on my thesis during the summer break.

Do you have an email address to keep in contact?

Saludos

Hola Masaki san!

akirau — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 22:06:06 -0800

Hola Masaki!

Muchas gracias por tu comentario po. jejeje
Your life experience must is very interesting too! I have always wanted to go to Australia.
Life there seems so fun.

I guess you got a little of the "surviving in the chilean jungle" hehehe
Hope you got used to the chilenismos.

I agree with you, that where you spend the most time, or a place where you love is home.
Since I lived almost the same amount of time in these different countries, I cannot decide
which country "feels" like home. But for now, my "home town" would be Chile, because
my parents moved there 7 years ago and finally bought a house instead of renting. :)

Hey, I'm going to Chile the first week of february so it would be nice if I can meet you over there.

bes regards,
Akira

Hola desde Santiago

masaki — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 14:31:37 -0800

Hi Akirau!
Thank you so much for sharing your life story. I found it very interesting and also, I was relieved to know that there's someone else who's been through similar experience. Many of the things you've mentioned in the article and comments above, I can totally understand and relate to them myself. So, just to give you an idea, I'd like to share my story... I'll try to keep it short!

Both of my parents are Japanese but I've always lived overseas and spent the majority of my life in Australia. Currently, I'm working on my thesis about "Japanese immigrants in Chile" for my masters at Universidad de Chile. I've been here for almost four years, YES! - It was a total culture shock when I first got to Santiago from Australia. Of course, at first everything was difficult but now I'm used to the latin lifestyle in "la selva chilena" and my spanish has improved. (although, my japanese is rusty....)

Regards to your latest comment about identifying where "home" is, I agree with you - I think it's where your parents/siblings are. However, in my case, my parents are in Canada and unfortuantely I haven't had the opportunity to live there to call it "home". So, I believe that "home" is where you've spent the most of your life and obviously, love most of the things in that place you call "home"; culture, tradition, language, people etc.

Muchas suerte y que estes bien!

my home

akirau — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 18:25:14 -0800

hi yn!

A lot of people ask me this question and my answer is, home is where my family is.
I don't miss "places" much, but I always miss my family and friends.

I feel that I'm at "home" if I'm chatting with my parents or with my brother
or sister in the dining table with a glass of wine. It doesn't matter where. :)

experiences in schools

akirau — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 18:19:46 -0800

good morning vkm!(or maybe good evening over there)

yes, I must say, it was quite different in the american, latin, and japanese schools.
More than just education, I learned a lot about Western, Latin, and Japanese culture,
or way of behaving, in these different schools.

American Schools: In Latin America, many of the American Schools are Christian Schools,
so you can imagine me every morning reading the bible, charoling and celebrating Christmas.
I'm Catholic so it was't hard for me but there were some Hindu children that had a hard time,
especially when the missionary teachers tell you off on your religion.

Japanese Schools: When I was in second grade, I entered the Kito Nihonjin Gakko (Japanese School in Quito)
without knowing a word of Japanese. My father started speaking to me in Japaness from this day on.
Language-wise it was hard, culture-wise it was impossible! lol
Little by little, I started understanding what was the meaning of 和(wa) or group harmony.
I also learned a lot about discipline in these days. Ufff learning all those kanjis was hard.
Thanks to the education here, when we moved to another country and entered an American School again,
my math level was really good and I had little trouble in it.

Latin American University: I must say, here is where I learned the difference between
"intelligent" and "clever". In my opinion, in Japan you learn to be intelligent, in Chile
you learn to be clever.
What I mean is, Japanese students study hard and take the "correct" road to things,
where Latinos learn how to take the "short cut".

I thought I was a very outgoing when I was in Japan, but when I went to Chile, it didn't
seem that way. I think I learned a lot about communication in Chile, and that is what
is helping me most now.

Thank you for your question, it helped me remember many things in my life. :)

your home?

yn — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 09:08:05 -0800

You have very interesting background.... You lived in so many countries, no more than 4 years each. Amazing!! Where do you feel your "home" and why? I'm just curious.

very impressive!

vkm — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 18:02:16 -0800

Wow! That's quite an incredible educational career. How would you compare your experiences in such diverse types of schools (i.e. geographic, cultural, language, etc)?

hello vkm!

akirau — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 17:40:02 -0800

hello vkm!

Thank you for you comment :)
indeed as you guessed, I went to american schools when I wasn't going to japanese ones.
Its something like this:

kindergarden - 2nd grade: American School in Bolivia
2nd grade - 6th grade: Japanese school in Ecuador
7th grade to 9th grade: American School in El Salvador
10th grade - 12th grade: International High School in Japan (both english and japanese)
Bachelors degree: Spanish speaking university in Chile
Masters degree: University in Japan

My siblings took almost the same path so this is why we used the three languages.
These days, mainly its spanish since they have been living in Chile for more than
5 years but to my Dad, I keep on talking to him in Japanese. :)

cheers!

Akira

Greetings from Los Angeles!

vkm — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 10:18:01 -0800

You've led such an interesting life! Such an incredibly rich background. Thanks for sharing your story (although it makes me want to learn more about each part!). I only wish that I could read Japanese so that I could check out the site links that you shared.

By the way...you mentioned that with your brothers, you spoke a language mix of English, Spanish, and Japanese. I see where the Spanish and Japanese fit in, but is it common for the English to be included? Was it something that you learned in school and incorporated into your everyday use?

Introduction of a Chilean/Japanese

akirau — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 00:40:58 -0800

Hello! Hola! こんにちわ！

My name is Akira Uchimura. My mother is Chilean and my Father Japanese.
When people ask me where I'm from, its very hard to tell them in a few words
because I was born in Costa Rica, lived in Paraguay, Bolivia, Ecuador,
El Salvador, Japan, Suriname and Chile for no more than 4 years each.

At home I spoke in japanese with my father, spanish with my mother, and
a language mix of english, spanish, and japanese with my brothers.
we used to call it "Japonyolish".

It was not until I entered University that I felt more and more as a