Brazil

I've been sick for the last few days, so I couldn't update my blog. This is the first time I got sick after I began my fieldwork in Japan.

There is one junior high school girl whose nationality eludes me. Some students say she is Japanese-Brazilian. And it is true that she was born and spent the first couple of years in Brazil. But when I interviewed her, she sort of avoided talking about Brazil. I should have asked her a more straightforward question about her national identity, but I couldn't bring myself to do it because I didn't want to make her feel uncomfortable. After all, many junior high schoolers, including her, are going through the so-called puberty. (So I will try to ask her questions about her identity as I win greater trust from her over the course of my fieldwork.)

I wish I could speak Portuguese.... Well, better late than never, they say. Okay, I will start learning the language.