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For 14 years, Owensboro native Justin Whittinghill has referred to as Japan his residence.
In 2010 he married his spouse, Ayumi, who he met in Japan, and he has constructed a profession as an assistant professor instructing English at Kanazawa Institute of Know-how in Kanazawa, Japan.
Nonetheless, Whittinghill, a 2001 Apollo Excessive College graduate, by no means had plans to immerse himself into a special tradition till his senior 12 months at Kentucky Wesleyan Faculty.
“I went there simply almost on a whim,” he mentioned. “I used to be at Wesleyan in 2005 wanting down the barrel of commencement and had no actual path.”
Nevertheless it was an electronic mail he acquired about instructing English overseas that caught his consideration.
“I made a decision in about 5 minutes that I’d give it a strive,” he mentioned.
After a number of years in Japan, Whittinghill mentioned he realized that he “hit a ceiling” profession smart, deciding to return to highschool at St. Michael’s Faculty in Vermont, the place he acquired his grasp’s diploma in 2012. And shortly after, he was employed for his present professor place in Kanazawa.
Throughout his years residing in Japan, Whittinghill started being attentive to the cultural variations between it and the USA.
And in 2014, Whittinghill started writing a month-to-month column for the Messenger-Inquirer detailing the distinct cultural variations between the 2 international locations.
“At first, I had about 5 concepts,” mentioned Whittinghill, who’s now written 102 columns. “… Each month I attempt to discover one thing attention-grabbing and one thing with a bit little bit of depth to it.”
A type of cultural variations allowed the Whittinghills to return to Owensboro in late August to go to household right here.
Earlier this 12 months, the Whittinghills, each 39, had their first little one, Nico, who’s 7 months outdated.
Underneath Japan legislation, each dad and mom can take as much as one 12 months off from their jobs to care for his or her child.
Whittinghill mentioned the primary six months he receives two-thirds of his wage and the following six months 50%. And through that point off, dad and mom are additionally exempt from earnings taxes they usually don’t must make medical health insurance funds.
“I believe the key of it’s that in Japan solely 7% of the boys take any of the parental depart,” Whittinghill mentioned. “So it’s extra in Japan — firm is your loved ones, your faith; you wouldn’t dare depart. …It’s a really beneficiant system, and I believe the one cause it might probably exist is as a result of nearly nobody takes it.”
That is the Whittinghills’ first journey again to Owensboro since 2019.
On Tuesday, Whittinghill gave a presentation at KWC about his transition to Japan and the tradition shock that got here with it.
Ayumi Whittinghill, a Japan native, mentioned she enjoys returning to the USA, and that she, too, notices the variations.
What stands out to her is how the USA locations an emphasis on individuality whereas the Japanese tradition stresses collectivism — a follow that provides precedence to a bunch moderately than the person.
“Individuals right here I really feel are mentally freer … and other people appear to be having extra enjoyable and having fun with themselves,” she mentioned. “Japanese individuals do take pleasure in stuff, however not like right here.”
The Whittinghills will return to Japan on Jan. 4.
Whittinghill mentioned he doesn’t know if he and his household will ever transfer again to Owensboro completely, however that residing downtown has an enchantment since
“As a employee, I’m extra marketable in Japan as a result of I train English they usually need English academics,” he mentioned. “And right here only a few individuals must be taught it as a second language; my spouse speaks English and everybody wants an English speaker. However right here, nobody right here wants a Japanese speaker. …So all of that retains me there, however it’s much less enjoyable there.”
Whittinghill’s column seems within the Messenger-Inquirer’s Life-style part on the final Saturday of every month.
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