The Covid-19 pandemic has caused the world to ‘pause’, often referred to as the Great Pause for more dramatic effect. This isn’t a blog about the Covid pandemic though, but rather a blog to excuse me for such an absence in sharing the experiences of life in Japan over the past six months. Firstly, due…
Category: Rotary Peace Fellowship
Wow, it is April
Wow…my last post was in January, and now it is (almost) April. What have I been doing with myself?! Oh yaaahhhh…second term, three thesis chapters, the mother visiting Japan for the first time, organising summer field research only to have that unravel at the hands of a casual global pandemic. Wow, what a first three…
Christmas 2019: The UK Chapter
This year finally had my winter holiday in the UK! This was the first time I had arrived back in the UK since I left in August 2016. My first observation, nothing much has changed – the motorway leaving Heathrow Airport quickly instructed us it was 50 miles an hour for the next 100 miles…yep,…
UNLEASH Innovation Lab, Shenzhen, November 2019
UNLEASH Innovation Lab 2019 was hosted by Shenzhen city in China. From the 5th to the 14th November over 1,000 UNLEASH Talents, from 162 countries, met in Shenzhen to innovate and work collectively on the 2030 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The week was both challenging and transformative, as groups spent four days working…
Term One – Learning About Peace
Poor Our Japan Story has taken a back-seat this term. This is reflective of almost everything, other than studying, taking a back seat. I knew graduate school would be difficult, but I had no idea how all-consuming it would be! Firstly, the sheer amount of reading required has been overwhelming. An academic article that is…
New Home, Brave New World
My posts have been lacking of late. This has not been because of a lack of care or concern for Our Japan Story, but rather because of the start of a brave new chapter in our, frankly wonderful, life in Japan. When Dan and I made the decision to move to Japan in August 2016,…
Moving Again
At the end of June Dan and I got the exciting news that come August 28th, we would be doubling the size of our living quarters! This really is something special, as right now we live in a one room space, 17 squared metres in size. For a regular sized couple, as opposed to a…
Rotary Class of XVI, Annual Peace Conference: 15th June 2019
On the 15th June 2019, Dan and I attended the Rotary Peace Centre at International Christian University for the 17th Annual Peace Conference. This also marked the graduation of the class of 16 cohort. The conference was a chance for graduating fellows of the 16th cohort to share their research findings and reflect on their…
Refugee Youth Symposium: 2nd June 2019
In June, Dan and I were fortunate enough to attend an event in Tokyo, held by World Vision Japan. The focus of the event was looking at the global refugee situation and how individuals, specifically the youth, can get more involved in spreading awareness of refugee issues. The most significant take aways from the conversation…
Spotlight: Kalika Kastein, Class of XVI Rotary Peace Fellow
Each year, The Rotary Foundation awards up to 50 fellowships for master’s degrees and 50 for certificate studies at premier universities in six locations around the world. In the summer of 2019, Kalika Kastein, an outgoing Class of XVI Rotary Peace Fellow from International Christian University (ICU), Tokyo, will graduate from her master’s degree. Kalika…