Yuka Kajihara-Nolan

Sayonara Japan, Hello Canada!

Interview by Leah Espineda

Our personality profile this month, Yuka Kajihara-Nolan, is a scholar and author.
GTA This Month  is honored to be given the opportunity for this  interview where she  talks about her passion for her work and gives us a closer look at her life story as an immigrant, her beginnings, struggles, and how she has grown  to love Canada,
yet keeping memories of Japan close to her heart.

GTA:  Can you give a brief background about yourself?
YUKA: I was born and raised in Kagoshima city, a large city on the southern island of Kyushu in Japan. I grew up surrounded by tropical trees; very different from what most people expect Japan to be like. Kagoshima is often described as the “Naples of the East”. Across the bay from my house there is a volcano, Sakura-jima (cherry tree island) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sakurajima), which has been constantly active since 1913 and we had ash falling on our houses, which we collected and put out in the trash, because it was too acidic to leave on the ground. If you visit http://tinyurl.com/2ox6x6 you can see a map showing where I lived and the volcano close by. However, on the volcano itself soil is great for growing things and produces uniquely large daikon (white radish) and sweet little tangerines.  The area has many “Onsen” (hot spas) and “Suna-buro” (sand baths) available, and the sea offers fresh fish. I lived in Kagoshima until I graduated from Kagoshima University and I left my hometown and moved to Tokyo to find work.

GTA: Why did you move to Canada?
YUKA: I lived in Tokyo for six years, sharing a small apartment with my sister and working in various jobs around town. In 1986, I was working for a small advertising company.  During that period, I met a Canadian who worked for the same company. He was an unusual person, and he always talked to me, even though I really didn't speak any English. My friends at work told me to stay away from foreigners but we went out a few times, with my sister as a chaperone. Six months after he moved back to Canada, I went over for a short visit. We got married somewhat spontaneously when I visited Canada. The time from proposal to marriage was a week, and two days later I went back to Japan. Because he was studying at York University at the time, it seems like a natural decision for me to move to Canada. So, there was no real reason for me to move to Canada. It just sort of happened. And I'm still here 19 years later. I just felt comfortable here.

GTA:  When you came to Canada, how did you adjust to your new country?
YUKA: One of the hardest things for me to adjust to was the cold Canadian winter. I grew up in a very tropical place.  Even now, after living 19 years in Toronto, I am not quite used to the severe cold.  I feel depressed during the long winter season.  And yet, spring always comes.

When I arrived in Canada many people asked me why Japanese liked the novel Anne of Green Gables. I knew nothing about Anne, so I decided to read it. I found the author, L. M. Montgomery, to be very interesting so I decided to learn as much as I could about her as a way to get to know what Ontario life was like. Over the years I have traveled around much of southern Ontario and Prince Edward Island, visiting many places she had lived in, and met people who knew her and were interested in her work, and through these travels I learned about what Ontario was 'all about' for many people who grew up here. Getting out there and meeting people really helped me adjust, and feel connected to Canada.

GTA:  Was it easy for you to get employment?
YUKA: I was extremely lucky to be introduced to my present job through my husband within months of getting my visa. I am always thankful for my partner’s constant support and enduring encouragement. I love working in a historical children’s library that holds books from the 14th century to the present. Working with over 80,000 precious, priceless items is exciting and exhausting at the same time.  My income is less than half in comparison to the job I had in Tokyo, yet I have no complaints because I now work fewer hours and with much less stress. It is difficult for many people to comprehend that I used to work very hard, starting at 9 am and working through midnight until 3 or 4 am, in order to get my job done and take care of my clients. Endurance, discipline and sacrificing yourself to authority is a highly regarded virtue in Japan. However, based on my limited observations, I don't see them to be priorities in Canada. I prefer this more relaxing lifestyle.

GTA: What were your major struggles as a new immigrant and how did you overcome them?
YUKA: I think that learning the local language, as a communication tool, is very important in order to adjust and feel comfortable living in a community.  After I moved to Toronto, I had to improve my English skills.  Attending ESL courses was a primary duty of mine for the first few years. I still occasionally have problems with older British persons who are native English speakers, and who treat me as a child or an inferior person because of my lack of 'proper' English fluency. At work, I am always overwhelmingly nervous to talk to rather culturally insensitive people, who would say, with a remarkable British accent over the phone: 'Can I talk to someone who CAN speak English?'  That hurt me in the past but not anymore though.  Because I have Japanese background, although not a Japanese citizen any more, I do not mind if someone laughs at my accent. I often interact with people in situations where neither of us can understand the other because of our accents, and that's just fine. That's Canada! Dual cultures and bilinguality mean more to me than two fortunes.

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(This article contains the actual responses to interview questions by the featured personality)