Illustrator and May in Paris (2) - Stories of Finland and Hawaii

A country with delicious food, history, and culture

—So you came to France after that.

“Yes. For France, I looked for countries where I could use a working holiday visa as a process of elimination.”

—They say it’s very easy to get a visa for places like New Zealand or Australia, but were those not options for you?

“After Finland and Hawaii, which were both rather bland, I wanted a country with delicious food, history, and culture. That’s why Australia and New Zealand weren’t options.”

—Were there any other countries you considered?

“I was thinking of Europe then, but I was already over the age limit for the UK, and Germany… well, regarding the food. France seemed more fun.”

—Did you decide on Paris specifically?

“I was a bit undecided. I hadn’t been to Paris before, but I had been to the South of France, and I thought I’d prefer somewhere warm with a sea. However, considering work, Paris seemed better. The postal service seemed good, and connections with people would likely be better in Paris. It has a larger population too.”



—Where in Japan are you from?

“Tokyo.”

—Isn’t Paris small compared to Tokyo?

“It is small. It’s apparently about the size of Setagaya Ward. When I was in Tokyo, it took a long time to get my hands on what I needed, but in Paris, I can get things quickly. People who give me work, or people doing similar work. Last year, I had a small exhibition, but I didn’t actively seek it out; the opportunity just came to me.”

—By the way, what about the language? Finnish is Finnish, right?

“Finnish is a language with absolutely no clues, and even after studying it at school, it felt impenetrable. English is understood by even the elderly there, so I studied English. I came to France with no prior knowledge of French, so I’m struggling.”

—Wasn’t it difficult when you first started living in France? Did you do it without knowing French?

“Yes. My landlady spoke English, and she was a very kind person, so that was lucky. My landlady helped me with everything, including opening a bank account. At first, I was a little worried I might be getting scammed.”

—Many people who come on a working holiday don’t speak the language, and I’ve heard stories before about how helpful a kind landlady was. How did you meet that landlady?

“I saw an announcement on the bulletin board of the Japanese Association in France website. But when I later told my landlady about it, she said she didn’t remember posting there. She remembered posting in a French newspaper, though. Perhaps someone translated it and posted it without permission. She seemed puzzled because only Japanese people were coming to view the room. However, in my case, I could work in a similar way to how I do in Japan, so I experienced less stress in that regard.”

*Kanako Kokono's Website
http://www.geocities.com/kanakoinhawaii/

Illustrator and May in Paris (4) - Work and Life in France