26/07/2019
We bring you yet another interview with a member of our team. Enjoy!
- What`s your name?
Nakai Ayaka
- How long have you been working here?
For about 4 and a half year.
- And what division do you work for?
Correspondence education division (通信教育 - it`s a system designed for students who cannot come to the school directly, for example, if they`re living overseas. They practice on their own at home and then send their works to the school. A professor then corrects them and they are sent back. It`s usually less preferable to direct contact with the teacher, but much better than having to self-study - interviewer`s note).
When I first started working here another person was doing my job. They had, however, already been scheduled to leave. I had to learn everything in 2 months and start working solo. Had it been today`s me I would have quit. I think it was my youth that carried me back then.
- So you`re doing everything alone?
Well, there was one more person here for about a year. She was the same age as me. She would often take an unexpected break on Mondays, which tend to be the busiest day in the week. That person was also living alone and one day she said she couldn`t afford her rent and would go back to live with her parents. Then one more person came - fresh graduate. She quit after three months. Now Sato-san is helping out a bit sometimes.
Wait...are you writing down everything I`m saying right now?
- Yes.
Oh damn. But you will edit it later, right?
- ...
..
- Okay, tell us about your favourite colour!
Colour? Colour....(pause). Colour, right...(another pause). Yellow.
- What about hobbies?
Hobbies? Hobbies...(pause). Don`t have any. But if I was to mention one thing, I`ve lately developed a bit of mania regarding anything related to Snoopy. It was all of a sudden - I used to have exactly zero interest in that character.
- By the way, where are you originally from?
Chiba prefecture.
- Who do you think would win in a fight - zombies or vampires?
Vampires. Why? Well, they drink blood and then get stronger, right. Wait, do zombies even have blood? Do you think they would drink the blood of a zombie?
- I don`t think so, the meat is spoiled and everything is rotting...well, anyway - do you practice Japanese calligraphy?
Yes, I do. Actually, that was the main reason I came to work here.
- What university have you graduated from?
Kokugakuin. My major was in Japanese (linguistics), but I also had calligraphy classes at the university.
- Have you ever travelled abroad?
No, never. If I had to pick a place I would like to visit in the future, then that would be Hokkaido.
- Is there anything you would like to tell people who are considering visiting Japan?
You should definitely come!
- What about your favourite animal?
I`m a cat person. Even though Snoopy is a dog (laughs).
Used to own a cat. Not store-bought though - I had picked it on the streets.
- Favourite food?
Well, I don`t have any food I hate per se...
- Alcohol?
Sure, absolutely. I like umeshu, however, the type that isn`t too sweet. If there is no umeshu, then I usually have either a highball or shochu (shochu is a type of alcohol made from either sweet potatoes, barley or rice. It`s much stronger than sake, Japanese "rice wine"- interviewer`s note).
- Your motto?
Now that I got asked I forgot...so let`s say that I don`t have any (laughs).
