Write@Home
Winter 2015

Bios

Okinawa Miyako iland Beach

My name is Miyuki. I was born and raised in Japan and my first language is Japanese.

I was born and raised in Yokohama city which is located next to Tokyo. It is a famous city which has a large port. Shipping boats and luxury ships have come on and off from abroad since the olden days. My father was a carpenter, and he had his own factory and was very successful to run his business. He built our house and neighbors houses as well. My mother helped his business as a bookkeeper. I have a younger brother who is 3 years younger than me. My father loved the ocean and used to take us to swim and catch fish and look for shells during summer. So, I really like to go to the beach and one of my dreams was living by the ocean.

In my 20’s, I moved to Okinawa island which is south of Japan and it is incredibly beautiful place surrounded by the ocean. My dream came true. I worked at an art gallery and I met my husband who is 6 years younger than me there and got married. He has his own business as an artist. I have been working with him since I met him. I had to do everything related to his business such as a crafter, customer service, bookkeeper, and trained our employees. We worked hard as his business was quite good and busy. About 7 years later, my son was born. I lost my parents as they had both cancer since my son was born. They were sad events for me and my brother.

There was a huge earthquake and tsunami hit in the south coast of Japan in 2011. There were nuclear plants near there which collapsed. I was afraid that the radioactive contamination affected us, especially to my son who was only 4 years old. My husband and I decided to move out of Japan and moved to Toronto in 2013 looking for the opportunity to get a permanent residency status. We ended up getting the status in Canada and feel safe. My husband is still working in Japan and comes here back and forth. I moved to Kitchener about 4 years ago and we adopted a dog whose name is Hana whose breed is a Bishonpoo. She is adorable and makes us happy.

Since moving to Canada, my main job is a bookkeeping and operating online business etc. for my husband. Now my son is a teenager and I started to work at a local bakery which was my first job in Canada. I had not worked for a long under another employer as well. Now I am the counter service there and I started to think that I would like to work which I want to do working with my husband. I am looking for the opportunity to get a job getting a skill like cake decorating or baking to work at bakery or café.

I have been studying since I moved to Canada, but I have a still problem with English. My goal is that I could communicate with people with confidence and without worries.