So you were a pioneer, in that sense.x
Yeah, maybe! [
laughs]x
What brought you to Japan in the first place?x
I came with my husband, I got married to him before I came to Japan. Since he was a kid he loved electronics, and they had at that time a Japanese team of engineers in charge of a national project near their house in Sudan and he saw how good they were with electronics. He went to the University of Khartoum for electrical engineering, and as he learned more about electronics, he realized that Japan is one of the most advanced countries in the field of technology. So my husband wanted to come to Japan one day to practice what he loves. That’s how he came to Japan and marrying him was what brought me here!x
What’s it like raising a family in Japan?x
In ways it’s good; in ways it’s challenging. It’s safe — this is one good thing. It’s safe. In Sudan, before I came here, it was as safe or even safer back then. Though safety wasn’t the biggest thing in the beginning, I now know that Japan is safe which is lucky for my family. They also have a good chance to learn more about the international community being here — a bigger chance, probably, connecting with many different nationalities. That’s another plus.x
Another thing is that here, we grow them up on our own — my husband and I don’t get a lot of interference from outside. When you are in Sudan, everybody grows them up with you! It’s always the family together, and the house and the community is always open, so even if you are saying, “Do this,” or “Don’t do that” you will find that their grandma or their aunt or someone else even a neighbor, will be there and they will say, “Oh, why don’t you let them — it’s okay!” In this way, It’s really tough in Sudan! [
laughs] Of course you can go up to people and just tell them to let you teach your kids, but it will put you in trouble with most of them, they will probably think you are being rude and snobbish.x