Expat Life in Japan: Interview with Expat Finder

Are you seriously considering moving to a different country? like Japan maybe? 

Problem is you're not sure where to start. I can feel you, mahn! (or womahn!) I've been in your shoes before. 

Before you decide to head out or chicken out with being an expat, find helpful information from Expat Finder. It's a wesbite that provides information for various information of expat life. It has a job page, housing info, insurance, money, education, credit and other things related to moving. 

Real expats from different parts of the globe also share their personal experiences and opinions of their life abroad. I've also shared my own take of expat life in Japan. 

Here's an excerpt:

''There are three things I enjoy about Japan- the safety, the seasons and the chance to meet foreigners. I can go home late at night and feel safe unlike in the Philippines. I don't have to constantly look out for my back. The changing seasons is also something I enjoy. In Japan, the lifestyle is heavily based on the seasons which I actually find exciting. We only have a tropical climate in the Philippines all year round. Lastly, I'm grateful for the chance to meet people from other parts of the world. It makes my perspective of the world broader.

Three things I don't like about Japan- the winter season, the indirectness of people and the inconvenience of going to the doctor. I love the seasons but I hate the winter in Hamamatsu. The coldness is bearable but the wind is deathly chilling. (Hamamatsu is the windiest city in the world.) I also find the indirectness of people frustrating. I have to always read the atmosphere or mood when I'm around the Japanese. I'm not quite sure when I'm saying or doing the right or wrong thing. I've never met an English-speaking doctor yet and I hate that fact. I always have to ask for assistance of a translator when I have to go to the doctor. (For some reason, I've gone to the doctor in Japan more than I did back home.''

More of the interview here:  

Faye Angeli Vitan - Expat in Hamamatsu - Japan

If it has always been on your mind to live in another place or maybe you're already preparing to move in a new place, definitely visit Expat Finder's site. 

Happy Moving! 

Disclaimer: Expat Finder did not pay me in any way to endorse them. I've personally browsed and analyzed the helpfulness of the information in their site. 

How to Make Friends in a Foreign Country

Adobo- Philippine's Unoffical National Dish
credit: http://philnews.ph/2014/02/28/adobo-proposed-as-philippines-national-food/

Question: How can you make friends in a foreign place?

Answer; Food!

Seriously. But not just food, like the one you find in Mc Donalds. (I don't even think it's proper food.) It has to be a foreign dish, preferably from your country, that you personally prepared.

This is what I've been doing since I started living in Japan. I'm making friends by making food.

How to Make a Japanese Hot Pot or Nabe

Steaming Nabe
photo credit: https://sg.sushiandsake.net/special/food/detail_15

Before the winter chill totally disappear, don't miss eating nabe. Nabe is the perfect Japanese winter food. It's a hotpot where any type of meat, seafood or vegetables can be used. (Well, as long as they compliment each other's taste.)

It's really easy to make. Slice some meat or seafood, and some vegetables. Boil them in water. Add some seasoning. Sip the soup and eat the rest. That easy!

Don't believe me? 

Here are some more websites talking about this food. 

1. Japanese Food 101: Let's Eat Nabe (from Gaijinpot)

You'll find the basics of cooking nabe in this site. 

2. Nabe- Japan's Answer to Winter Chill is Hot Pot Cooking (from Japan Info Swap)

Not only does this site have a "how-to-cook-nabe" but it also has helpful information on where to buy the ingredients, what to buy and what to do with leftovers. It also gave an overview of the different kinds of nabe.

3. Tori Nabe: Japanese Chicken and Vegetable Hot Pot (from Just Hungry)

Check this site for the simplest Nabe you can make. You can also make this nabe even if you're not in Japan. 

4. Yose-Nabe: Simple Japanese Hot Pot (from Kanako's Chicken)

If you'd like nabe with lots of seafood, you better check this site. 

5. How to cook Chanko-nabe (from Must Love Japan)

Do you want to know what sumo wrestlers eat? Then you have to try this chanko-nabe recipe.  

6. Nabe- A Love Letter to Japan's Most Underrated Food

To get a better idea of the "powers" of nabe, take time to read a foreigner's interesting perspective on nabe. 

So go and make your nabe now! (yum, yum, yum)