Student Network

Contribute

Search

Saori Suzuki

STAFF INTERVIEW: Saori Suzuki

I just spoke to Saori Suzuki this afternoon. She was born in Gamagori, just south of Okazaki, where she lives with her family - two parents and her younger brother, a chef.

Euan: So, what brings you to Okazaki? and why did you start teaching Japanese?
Suzuki: When I worked for Toyota, there were a lot of overseas trainees - most of who couldn't speak Japanese. One day, my boss asked me if I would mind teaching Japanese to them. I really enjoyed it, so I started thinking about being a Japanese teacher. Also, I really like languages so...
E: What about languages? Which ones can you speak?
S: Japanese of course, and a little English, and then I studied Thai for a little while when I was traveling there.
E: Why Thai? What made you go to Thailand?
S: I made lots of friends working at my first company, so I went to visit some of them. Also, I love the sound of Thai - I think it's really beautiful - probably the most beautiful language in the world.

E: Where did you learn English?
S: I lived in London, near Finsbury Park, for a couple of years - from 1996 to 1998. I worked as a Japanese language teacher and for the last year, I studied English as well.
E: What did you think of the UK? What was your favorite thing?
S: Parks! I loved the parks - and the summers were great - lots of outdoor concerts, really exciting.
E: Was there anything you didn't like? S: The weather, of course. It was always cloudy, raining - horrible and gray in the winter. I like summer much better.

E: Hmmmm. Moving swiftly on, what about your hobbies?
S: I love travel. I've been to Asia, Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand of course, and the UK, the USA, France, Belgium, Australia, Egypt....
E: Egypt....what did you think about Egypt?
S: It was amazing! I think everyone has to go to Egypt at least once in their lifetime. It's just a fantastic experience.
E: Do you have any other hobbies?
S: I play tennis in the summer, but I like all sports generally. The sport I really want to do at the moment is scuba-diving. I took my license about 4 years ago before I went to Europe, but since then I haven't been able to afford it! Hopefully this summer I might be able to go....

E: What are you doing at the moment?
S: I make stained glass - I've made a wall lamp, a desk lamp, and a plant-pot holder, and I'm working on a jewellery box at the moment.
E: What about the future...what are your plans?
S: Carry on teaching at Yamasa, and become a better teacher. I really enjoy meeting so many people from all over the world - the mix of people is really interesting. I also want to start something new, but I don't know what yet!

Return to top of page