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This week’s campus cutie is Nanami Sato! This beach girl with a cute smile seems like she has been in California for years, but truth be told, she has never lived abroad in her entire life! There is so much mystery in her, but one thing you know for sure is that she is the most open-minded girl you will ever meet. For those of you who do not know her, you can get a little bit of her charming character in this interview.
Tell us a little bit about yourself!
I was born and raised in Tokyo. I went to an all girls’ high school and junior high school.
How was study abroad in California?
It was amazing! The beaches were so beautiful and the weather was nice everyday. The education system was certainly different though. College students in the States study so much more than Japanese students in my opinion. It motivated me to study hard too!
I know that ballet is special to you. Why?
I started ballet when I was three years old. My mother and I went out for grocery shopping one day and there was this ballet studio nearby. I was moved by the ballet dancers and decided to check it out. That was really the beginning of everything. Ever since then, I have been practicing ballet. For about 18 years now. Although I am not dancing as much as I used to, it is still a huge part of my life. When I went to study abroad in California last year, I actually took this ballet class, which turned out to be fantastic! It was certainly different from what I had experienced in Japan. Ballet in Japan can be overwhelming sometimes as they are very strict on the routines and the rules; however I felt that American dancers had more freedom to be original.
Being that you have never lived abroad, I’m curious to know where you acquired English.
That’s a tough question actually because I don’t really know myself. (*laughs) I started learning English when I was in junior high school. I remember how much I liked it, but there were not a lot of opportunities to speak English in school. So, I tried as much as I could to use it by socializing with friends in English. I also watched a lot of American TV shows and Hollywood movies such as Titanic. But the biggest change was when I went abroad for this ballet program in Canada. The funny thing is that one of my closest friends that I made during this program turned out to be in California at the time when I was studying abroad. So, we decided to meet up again. It was awesome to catch up with her! She inspires me in so many ways as she is a professional dancer now. She is actually in Rihanna’s new music video Work!
You seem to have a big circle of friends in my perspective. How do you overcome barriers with people from different backgrounds?
I guess if anything I am pretty biased-free in terms of meeting new people. I really enjoy talking to all kinds of people. It doesn’t matter whether they are similar to me or not. But my friends always tell me not to talk to random strangers actually. (*laughs)
Where do you see yourself in the future?
After graduating from Waseda, I am planning on staying and working in Japan for a few years. I feel that I need to acquire career skills here, but eventually, I want to go abroad. It’ll be the best if I get to go back to California again.
This is just a small preview, but I am sure you got the general idea of how hardworking and caring person that she is. Thank you for a fun interview, Nanami!