Blooming in Nihon-Japan

bloomingnihon.blogspot.com

How did you find out about blogland and what motivated you to join in?
My brother introduced me to blogs a few years ago after I asked him to help me set up a website. He thought a blog would be the ideal way for me to maintain a website since you don’t need any programming knowledge. I ran a parenting website for some years in the form of a blog.

How long have you been blogging?
I guess I have been blogging for about five years in one way or another. I have a blog dedicated to photos of my children, mainly so my family can keep up to date with their progress since we live overseas.

Please tell us a little of what your blog is about
My main blog is called Blooming in Nihon (Japan). I’m an expat from Auckland who lives in Japan. As much as Japan is a wonderful fascinating place to visit it can be incredibly difficult and frustrating to live here. The isolation and hardship faced by so many mothers is amplified by living in a foreign culture. My blog was born of a desire to feel satisfied and fulfilled in my life. I needed to be at peace with my decision to live permanently here in Osaka. It worked! I love my life these days.

What do you enjoy most about blogging?
Blogging is so wonderful. It’s like a therapeutic sympathetic ear, a diary to offload all your thoughts, a place to clarify feelings. Once people start to read it and comment you feel euphoric that people are interested in your boring life, you are not alone and can empathise with your situation. It’s very motivating. As a result of blogging daily I truly feel happy and blessed. My life really couldn’t be better.

I love ‘meeting’ other bloggers, I love making people laugh, I love reading the comments people leave. I love ‘composing’ my posts throughout the day, taking pictures to accompany the topics and posting links to cool things on the Internet. One theme I try to post often about is women who are successful and inspiring.

Where in NZ are you based?
I am not in New Zealand right now. I blog from Osaka, Japan. I am from Auckland and am very much a kiwi girl.

Anything else you would like to say…
It’s hard for me to categorise my blog. First and foremost it’s a mum-blog since I am a mother (of two boys, aged one and six). Apart from that it’s also a craft blog since I recently started a sewing business. Basically I blog about my life, day to day, how I survive parenting with being an expat thrown into the mix.