The Gift in Giving!

I had a keen interest in visiting Japan as early as my third year of high school, in Jamaica. In May of 2019, my dream of being in the “Land of the Rising Sun” came through. Upon commencing a two-week training session, prior to my first day in the classroom, I was very fortunate to be assigned to the Kitakyushu branch, in Fukuoka. It has been a very rich and memorable experience for me. I am most grateful for the warm reception and support that I have received throughout my tenure there. In addition, the overwhelming support from all the schools and local communities that I have taught and worked in, is a special gift that I had never expected. I was able to gain valuable experiences as an Assistant Language Teacher of English and learnt from everyone. The positive interactions with the students and encouraging feedback from the teachers have been quite memorable and useful.

Just before arriving in Japan, I only knew how to say few expressions, such as: “Hello!” and “How are you?”, in Japanese. Without a doubt, I knew that in order to have a rewarding experience whilst in Japan, I had to have a good grasp of the language. I was very surprised to learn that it has four writing systems, namely: Kanji, Hiragana, Katakana, and Romaji. Also, there are two different ways to read Kanji: On’yomi and Kun’yomi. For me, this was simply incredible. Inevitably, I had to study hard to acquire a solid foundation of the language. I tried my best not to worry about making mistakes, because there can be no true progress without the passage of failure. I am very humbled to say that I have been successful in a being a Japanese Speech Contest finalist, in 2022; and passing the intermediary level (N4) Japanese Language Proficiency Test, recently. Moreover, there is a popular saying among the local people that I have embraced a lot: “Fall seven times, rise on the eighth!”

Two of my favorite hobbies are athletics and hiking. Interestingly, I never dreamt that I would become a member of an athletic club in my hometown, in Iwakuni city, Japan. I was introduced to the team by one of its members, by a mere miracle, or, at best by fate. The track club comprises of awe-inspiring members who have been pivotal to the many positive experiences that I have had and will always cherish. I shared with them my favorite saying, and they even adopted it as the team’s motto: "Teamwork, Makes the Dream Work."

I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to live and work in this beautiful country; study Japanese, raise a beautiful family, and enjoy running and go hiking with treasured friends. I am very enthused and thankful to say that my fulfilled dream of visiting Japan has given birth to priceless memories for a lifetime.