Gaba Style 無料で英語学習

Like I mentioned in my previous post, when I decided to come to Japan, I had no idea what it would be like living abroad. I watched many videos on YouTube about foreigners living in Japan, but each one of them had a different experience, and I couldn’t find anything about Algerians in Japan. So, I knew it was going to be challenging!

To tell the truth, when I got on the plane, I was more excited than scared, but my family was worried about me because Japan is pretty far from Algeria. They didn’t know much about the culture either.

GABA helped with my relocation process, and because of their recommendations, I could find a place to stay easily. However, visiting city hall and opening a bank account was challenging because I don’t speak Japanese. The staff were really helpful though, and they did their best to make sure there were no mistakes in my process.

I was lucky because my new house was only a ten-minute walk from the LS, but I had to figure out how to use the train to get to the training site. It was a bit confusing because there are so many lines and exits at the subway station! I come from a small town, and we only use cars and buses, so I was confused at first, but I’m used to it now.

Grocery shopping was also a bit tough, because I don’t know much about Asian products and veggies. So, I often mistook some unknown greens for spinach and minced pork for minced chicken! Now, I always use the translate function on my camera to check what I’m buying. It works most of the time!

Also, I’m a Muslim, and in Nagoya it’s a bit difficult to find Halal products and Halal restaurants. So, I cook at home a lot, especially recently because of the pandemic.

In the next post, I’ll discuss some of the cultural differences between Japan and Algeria. More to come!