I have always been interested in Japanese movies and video games, and particularly the anime films of Studio Ghibli, like Spirited Away.  I started to learn Japanese at home, but I enrolled on the SOAS course to gain fluency and because it offered the chance to spend a year abroad in Tokyo. 

During the second year of my course, I worked part-time at a Japanese supermarket in London, and I have also done work experience at the Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation, opportunities I would not have had if I had studied elsewhere. 

There is always so much to do in London, with Japanese films at the BFI and several Japanese film festivals throughout the year.  When I graduate, I hope to work in Japan, perhaps in the world of media, where I can continue improving my language fluency.