Long Islander has a yen for Japan

By Dave Paone
Campus News

Several years ago there was “Café Americain,” a television series where Valerie Bertinelli played Holly Aldridge, a young American who moves to Paris for what appears to be a great job.

But she soon learns her boss has other plans for her that aren’t in the job description, and the only other employment she can find is as a waitress at a café, which is famous for the expatriates who frequented it back in the day.

In the classic, Hollywood “fish-out-of-water” formula, Holly is an American living and working abroad and hilarity ensues.

In an example of life imitating art, Alexandra Hemp of Smithtown, Long Island, is having a similar experience to Holly’s.

She’s a young American living and working abroad. It’s not France but Japan. And she’s working at the job she went there to do.

That job is teaching English as a second language to Japanese children and adults.

Alexandra’s adventure started when she was in middle school when her friends were into manga and anime.

“And so by proxy, I wanted to get in on the fun and know what they were talking about,” Alexandra said.

Later on she was a psychology and East Asian studies double major at Ursinus College in Pennsylvania.

“I actually went in as a neuroscience major. And I took one neuro course and I sat back and I was like, ′This is not for me,′” Alexandra recalled with a laugh.

But she always had an interest in the human brain so she thought, “If neuroscience doesn’t work, let’s give psychology a shot. And it clicked.”

Neuroscience and psychology are a far cry from East Asian culture yet Alexandra found all three at Ursinus.

Additionally, she was on the swim team at Hauppauge High School and Ursinus had one as well.

“I was looking for a college that had a strong athletics program, but also the ability to study whatever I ended up falling in love with.”

She wet her toes (so to speak) on a few East Asian studies courses to see if they were a good fit. “After I started studying it, I was hooked,” she said.

Alexandra couldn’t wait for her first trip to Japan and took it in 2016 when she was 20. The program was language-intensive, so she was in Japan to study Japanese. By this point she had been studying the language for three years.

In the short-lived sitcom, the writers got a lot of jokes out of Holly’s lack of fluency in French.

“I walked into that classroom, and I sat there for the first day of class – which was all in Japanese – and I was like, ′I am humbled. I know nothing about this language,′” she recalled with another laugh.

In Japanese, the word for “husband” (shujin) is very similar to the word for “prisoner” (shuujin). So far Alexandra hasn’t asked any of her female colleagues, “How’s your prisoner doing?”

Then there are the cultural differences. Europeans and Asians just don’t understand the American custom of tipping.

“We do not tip in Japan,” said Alexandra.

Prior to her trip she was aware of other cultural differences such as removing your shoes before entering someone’s residence and bowing.

But the one she learned while there was at retail stores, the price on the tag is the same price at the cash register. Tax is already calculated on the item.

Japan is not America, so naturally there are no American holidays celebrated there. But come Thanksgiving and the Fourth of July, Alexandra finds herself yearning to celebrate with the other Yanks in her circle.

“Fireworks are legal in Japan and you can get a bunch of fireworks at the convenience store,” she said. “So my friends and I would go to the convenience store, we’d pick up some fireworks and then we would drive to the beach and set them off,” having their own Independence Day celebration.

It was after her return to the US from her first trip that Alexandra discovered cosplay during the lockdown.

“My friends here [and I] were all locked in the same house and there was nothing to do but watch anime and put on costumes and throw our own parties,” she said.

These were the same friends from middle school who had been cosplaying all along. Alexandra had been busy with the swim team as well as singing in a choir, so she was a little late to the cosplay party.

However, she’s made up for lost time by being a regular attendee at conventions. Campus News met up with her last November at Anime NYC at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center.

Alexandra was dressed as one of the three “Sailor Moon” Sailor Starlights who cosplayed together, along with a fourth character called the Princess. The costumes were made public outside of Japan at the con for the first time.

At Ursinus, all East Asian studies majors were required to apply for a position as an English as a second language teacher through the Japanese Exchange Teaching Program.

Alexandra landed the job. “I just shipped right off to Japan, six months after graduating,” she said.

At first, Alexandra was hesitant about moving halfway around the world. “I was on the fence. It’s a big commitment to move to another country,” she said.

“I was 20 years old and I was like, ′Am I gonna do this? Am I gonna leave everything behind? Can I do this?′”

She gave it some thought at concluded, “I have this job, this is my opportunity, and I’m gonna take it.”

Plus she had her mother’s blessing to make the move.

The “exchange” part of the Japanese Exchange Teaching Program is all about culture.

“One of the main goals of the JET Program is to use it as a cultural exchange mechanism for exposing Japanese people to foreigners,” said Alexandra. “We learn about Japanese culture and Japanese people learn about foreign culture.”

While Alexandra teaches the English language to Japanese people, part of the process is introducing “fun American things” which gets them excited and motivated.

Alexandra has been working in Japan for three years but thinks her time there may be coming to an end this summer.

But she’s not done with Japan! After she returns to the US, she plans on staying connected to Japan and its culture and language, as well as sharing all the things she’s learned while living there, especially to those in the anime and manga community.

“They already have their foot in the door in terms of being interested in Japanese culture,” she said, “but what they can learn from anime and manga is just such a small window into how beautiful and vibrant Japan and its culture actually is.”

As far as employment, life may be taking Alexandra in an entirely new direction: as a personal trainer.

Whatever is in store for her this year, she’s ready. “I am so excited for the future,” she said.