O-Souji

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Soji: Hello.

Jared: Yeah, say hi a little bit closer to the microphone please.

Soji: Hello.

Jared: The microphone is here.

Soji: Hello.

Jared: Okay, yup, Soji, so, tell us a little bit about yourself.

Soji: Well, I'm 24, I'm black, and, I was born in Monrovia, Liberia which is in Africa, and I grew up in America.

Jared: K, great, and...what's your profession?

Soji: Well, the job that I just left in America was , um, a supply-chain analyst. I used to procure components for my client based on the forecast that they provided to me. And, I used my ERP-MRP system to flow it out to a component level to supply their needs on a weekly or a monthly basis.

Jared: I have no idea what that means, but...uh, sounds comp- complicated. Did you like it?

Soji: I like the job that I actually did, it was more so the people that I had to work with that I didn't like.

Jared: Oh, so you didn't like your coworkers?

Soji: Exactly.

Jared: Okay, I see. And do you want to do a similar line of work here in Japan?

Soji: I would like to. It's just proving difficult to do that with the obvious transitions that go with transferring from a country to another country.

Jared: Okay, cool, so have you been experiencing culture shock here?

Soji: Initially I did, but not so much anymore.

Jared: I see. And, what is the one thing that has surprised you the most about Tokyo compared to Okinawa?

Soji: Well, the one thing in Okinawa that I really really did like was the fact that you could buy cigarettes and beer at your convenience through a machine. And when I come to Tokyo, I've realized that you need a card to be able to purchase such. And..

Jared: From vending machines..?

Soji: From vending machines. And I find that to be a bit of an inconvenience. However, I understand that it's um a security precaution. And, it's something that I'll just have to acclimate myself to.

Jared: Okay, cool, and what are you looking forward to doing in the next week?

Soji: In the next week I'm looking forward to obtaining the potential contract that is currently in the air with my ex-employer. And I would like to fulfill that to my best abilities.

Jared: Hmm..okay, great. And what about Japanese culture? I mean, do you wanna eat sushi? Do you wanna go to Nikko? Do you want to, um, see a hot spring? What do you wanna do?

Soji: I wanna experience as much as I can. I want to, um, take karate lessons. I want to go out to all the restaurants. I want to go out to all the bars and all the malls and all the movie theatres. I want to experience Tokyo to its fullest.

Jared: Okay, cool. Okay great. Sounds like you have a lot of adventure heading your way. I hope you enjoy Tokyo. And thanks for letting us interview you.

Soji: はいよ。愛と正義のセーラー服美少女先生。セーラーソージーさん。

Jared: Oh wow. Okay. He just said "愛と正義のセーラー服美少女先生" It's like a Sailor Moon thing. Oh wow.

Soji: *boisterous laughter*

Jared: Okay, we're going now. Thank you! Come back again.