Jamie Watterson

Jamie Watterson studied Japanese until her final year of high school but wanted to improve her speaking ability. After working fervently in hometown Nelson over the summer to save enough for the airfare to Japan she was on her way. For the first month of her year long stay she lived with her Japanese friends and her speaking level improved immensely. It did not take her long to find a job in Joetsu, Niigata in a bridal shop come French restaurant where she helped out with the day-to-day running of the business. She was also lucky enough to be able to try some Western-style wedding dresses and Wedding kimonos (uchikake).

Her Working Holiday Visa gave her the flexibility to move and work around the country and for the latter part of her time in Japan she lived and worked in Gamagori, Aichi prefecture. This time her job was as a kitchen hand in the Japanese-style inn ‘Wa no Resort Hazu’. There she was able to use Japanese on a daily basis as she was working alongside Japanese chefs.

Jamie returned to New Zealand in January of 2008. Since then she has been studying Art and Design at university while taking Japanese via correspondence. Studying this way allows her the freedom to work towards her degree while still getting exposure to Japanese on a regular basis. One day she hopes to return to Japan and become a manga (Japanese style comic book) artist.

(profiled by Fiona Boodée, 2009)