(Japanese) After I came back to Argentina for the second time, one day, this teacher—who at the time was the vice principal at the Nichia Gakuin (Japanese-Argentine School)—mistook me for someone else. I just happened to be there. This teacher—though he has since gone back to Japan—called out to me and said, “Hey! Weren’t you the one that told me you wanted to teach Japanese here in Argentina?” I’d never even given thought about something like that, let alone told anyone such a thing before. But he continued to talk, describing what the job entailed and about the potential career path. The more I listened, the more I became interested, and I eventually thought, “Why not?” And that is how I got my start as a Japanese teacher. I have to say I’ve been pretty fortunate… Looking back, there were a few times where I thought about quitting my job and going back to Japan. But in retrospect those situations weren’t all that bad, and each time I faced those situations, someone happened to appear out of the blue—like a savior—to help me out, giving me great advice and such. So in that sense, I feel like things have gone well for me with this job so far.
Date: 2006
Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina
Interviewer: Takeshi Nishimura, Ricardo Hokama
Contributed by: Centro Nikkei Argentino