Stuff contributed by laurahh
Dekasegi Story
Episode 39 (Part 2) What Japan Gave Me
Laura Honda-Hasegawa
Read the first part >> Around 6pm that day, Sumie's mother returned home from work. "I'm back! Hey, what did you buy? Aren't the baby clothes cute?" she said, as she hurried off to put her grocery shopping in the kitchen. But there was no reply. When he went upstairs, …
Dekasegi Story
Episode 39 (Part 1) What Japan Gave Me
Laura Honda-Hasegawa
After his beloved wife died of illness, Marco's father left his only son with his parents and went to Sao Paulo to work. After three years, he finally found a stable job and a place to live, so he called his son Marco over. Marco is 11 years old and …
Dekasegi Story
Episode 38: My Favorite Family
Laura Honda-Hasegawa
My name is Mitsuno, I'm an 11 year old girl. My dad is Japanese Peruvian and my mom is Japanese Brazilian. I was born in Japan and my mom gave me the name "Mitsuno" from my beloved grandmother. When Mama was 21, she left her 2-year-old sister Monica in the …
Dekasegi Story
Episode 37 We won't let Corona defeat us!
Laura Honda-Hasegawa
In 1998, when I was five years old, my parents took me to Japan. Until then, my father worked at a pharmacy and my mother worked at a supermarket. However, we were barely making ends meet, so we decided to go to Japan to earn money and live a more …
Dekasegi Story
Episode 36: Masatoshi's New Departure
Laura Honda-Hasegawa
Masatoshi and Rosana were childhood friends. They were always together, doing their homework and playing. However, after graduating from junior high school, Rosana went to São Paulo to work at her aunt's beauty salon. After that, they lost contact. Seven years later, Masatoshi went on to college, but was unable …
Dekasegi Story
Episode 35: Finally, Japan!
Laura Honda-Hasegawa
My parents met 24 years ago. My mother, who had been living in Japan with her family since she was nine years old, had returned to Brazil to attend a relative's wedding. My father, who was a close friend of the groom, attended the ceremony in a suit that he …
Dekasegi Story
Episode 34: Sudden return to Japan due to COVID-19
Laura Honda-Hasegawa
We came to Japan in 1997. My sister was 26 and I was 18. Her husband, Masao, had been working at a factory in Toyohashi for six months, so we looked for jobs in the same town so we wouldn't be separated. Finally, my sister got a job at a …
Kizuna 2020: Nikkei Kindness and Solidarity During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Community Bonding During the Pandemic – Part 2
Laura Honda-Hasegawa
Read Part 1 >> Reuniting with nostalgic Japanese songs During the stay-at-home period, I started to exchange more videos of Japanese TV programs and Japanese pop songs with my friends. The first video that arrived on my smartphone was "Ue o Muite Arukou." I felt very nostalgic when I heard …
Kizuna 2020: Nikkei Kindness and Solidarity During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Community Bonding During the Pandemic – Part 1
Laura Honda-Hasegawa
A new life in Londrina
Dekasegi Story
Episode 33 "Karen won't come back to Japan"
Laura Honda-Hasegawa
Toshie, a high school student, married her classmate Ivan and gave birth to twins five months later. Ivan, who was 19 at the time, gave up on going to college and changed jobs several times, including as a supermarket cashier, an auto parts store clerk, and a taxi driver. However, …