
Originally Posted by
Elin
All joking aside, I've studied Japanese for so long at this point, and have been so shaped by that study in every way, that I sort of feel somewhere inbetween these days. The first half of my life was defined by Scotland, by Scottish people, by places in Scotland, by Scottish culture, and by the English language. But the second half owes far more to Japan, to Japanese people, to Japanese places, to Japanese culture, and to the Japanese language. Of course I wouldn't claim to be "Japanese", nor would I claim the same level of attachment and kinship to the country as my Japanese friends. I've not lived there for nearly long enough, to begin with, and my Japanese is certainly not native level yet. Still, I sort of feel like at this point, I owe about half of who I am to each country and each language, and while I'm definitely not "Japanese", I don't feel like I'm completely "Scottish" anymore either. I feel kind of like I belong to both countries, and kind of like I don't completely belong to either. It's weird. :/