Interview with Vickie Campbell
What's your name?
Victoria Campbell, but everyone calls me Vickie
Where are you from?
I'm from Calgary in Canada. Near the beautiful Rocky Mountians.
What are your hobbies?
I like ballet dancing, reading, singing, and hiking in the mountains.
What schools do you teach at in Kanoya?
I actually don't teach at any schools in Kanoya. I teach at Koyama High School, Tarumizu High School and Minami Osumi High School.
What are some of the differences between Japan and your home country?
This is a diｆficult question. In some ways there are many differences between the countries, but in many ways the countries are a lot alike.
The longer I spend in Japan the less I notice the differences between Japan and Canada.
I think one of the differences that I notice the most is the food.
Japanese food has a lot of flavors that Canadian food doesn't have, the flavor of miso for example.
I'm amazed that many Japanese people eat rice three times a day.
I can't eat rice more than three times a week! In Canada we often eat pasta, bread, or potatoes instead of rice.
What surprised you most about Kanoya when you arrived here?
The thing that surprised me the most when I came to Kanoya was the beautiful scenery.
I grew up near the Canadian Rocky Mountains and was happy to see that I would still be living close to some mountains.
I was amazed at how green the mountains here are.
I come from a place that is very dry, so I am not used to the lush greenery here.
Plants grow everywhere! I think this is one of the most beautiful places in the world!
Tell us about your favourite shop/ restaurant/ place /area in Kanoya.
I think I have to say that my favorite shop is Nishimuta.
Some of the ALTs like to call it my favorite store because it is close to my apartment and it is very convenient.
It has almost everything I need.
I also enjoy the beaches.
Where I come from there are no beaches because we are far from the ocean, so I really enjoy visiting the beach, especially when the weather is very hot.
Tell us something about yourself that the people of Kanoya mightn't know.
Well, I took a recreational ballet class for three years just before coming to Japan and even danced in my ballet studio's recital.
I am an identical twin. There are six people in my family and, even though I'm about 170cm, I'm the shortest one!
Is there anything that you would like to achieve/ learn while you are here in Kanoya?
I want to learn as much as I can about Japanese culture while I'm here. I love Japanese festivals and want to participate in as many as I can.
Nathan’s Comments:
So how many of you out there knew that we had a Ballet dancing ALT here in Kanoya city? It was interesting to hear about how there was no beaches anywhere near the town where Vickie grew up, I couldn’t imagine not living anywhere near the beach (another reason why I am happy to be in Kanoya). Vickie’s comments about the similarities between Japan and Canada also made me think about the similarities between Japan and my own country. Sadly, Vickie will be leaving us at the end of July to pursue her teaching career back in Canada so if you see her between now and then try to invite her to a local festival.