Earning a Master's Degree in Japan as a Black Woman: Navigating Culture, Language, and Work

In this episode of Flourish in the Foreign, Annabell, a Jamaican woman who currently lives in Tokyo, Japan, shares how she first went abroad when she was 19 to Saint Kitt's and fell in love with traveling. She studied architecture in Jamaica and participated in study tours to other Caribbean islands. After graduating, she participated in an urban planning and design summer school in Finland and was struck by the unfairness of how easy it was for native English speakers to understand the content compared to non-native speakers. She then committed to learning other languages and reaching out to people from other countries, as she felt it was an extension of imperialism for the rest of the world to have to adjust to English. She decided to move to Japan to teach English and earn money to pursue a Master's degree in architectural design. Annabell shares her experiences studying at Keio University, interning in Nepal, and adapting to the infamous Japanese work culture in Tokyo.   To learn more about this guest, go to their show notes page at flourishintheforeign.com/episodes   Flourish in the Foreign Resources Podcast Website (https://www.flourishintheforeign.com) Buy Me a Coffee  (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/flourishforeign) Join the Substack (https://christinejob.substack.com/)   Episode Credits: Christine Job-Creator, Host, Producer & Editor Zachary Higgs-Theme MusicAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy