Aloha and welcome to my blog. My name is Jill; ‘Eiko’ is my middle name. I was born and raised in Hawaii, yet ended up attending college in the middle of nowhere–AKA Walla Walla, WA. I graduated from Whitman College in May of 2009 with a BA in Asian Studies (of all things), with minors in Japanese Language/Literature and Music, and moved home shortly thereafter.
My interest in Japan stems from my own ethnic background and ranges from traditional practices to present-day pop culture. I studied abroad in Kyoto, Japan on the Associated Kyoto Program (AKP) from September 2007 to May 2008 where I spent time researching the development and practice of the Suzuki Method (an educational system developed by the late Dr. Shinichi Suzuki after WWII that gained unprecedented international attention in the 1960s). At present, I am living in Nagoya, teaching English.
Music, has been my passion since I was very young. I enjoy playing the cello and the piano; playing music and teaching cello are the two things that I hope to continue for the rest of my life. While music is definitely one of the things I do best, I’ve always been told that I was a pretty creative person. I enjoy using my hands and I think that I have a decent albeit untrained eye for detail/composition.
This blog was created with the main purpose of allowing me to organize my thoughts, feelings, and emotions while exploring different means of expression. I’ve also always wanted to archive my work in one place and I thought it would be fun to actually use my blog for something. I’m working on adding more and more content, although realistically it’s nice just to have someplace where I can let off some steam about work or attempt to write something meaningful.
