Mother tongue

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I was born and raised in a small town in Sweden.

A spontaneous choice to study abroad for 1 year in high school set sail to a long journey that would later change my life.

At the time, I was very eager to experience something different. Different place, different people, different culture, different language. I didn't really know what I was getting myself into, nor did I think things through enough, but uh oh, off I went and one sunny morning I wake up on the other side of the world.

I woke up in Japan.

`` Today

I've now been living here for over a decade and feel comfortable in calling Japan my home.

However, being so far away from were I grew up makes me somehow feel a stronger connection to it. Things that was taken for granted as part of my past everyday life, now feels special.

My everyday life today is mostly in Japanese and I seldomly use Swedish except with family. But just hearing someone speak in Swedish brings me some kind of warmth.

Even though I keep forgetting, Swedish, my mother tongue really is precious to me.