Children and Young People Living in Changing Worlds

Abstract

'What is my identity? Although I was born in Singapore I never once had the opportunity to study in a local school and to mix with local friends. In fact I have had very few local friends because for the past seven years of primary education, I studied in a Japanese school, surrounded only by Japanese people. Naturally my spoken Japanese became slightly better than my English but, despite having a lot of Japanese friends, I still feel closer to Singapore and I'm proud to be a Singaporean. But sometimes I feel that I don't belong here because I don't speak Chinese. At times when I am with my local friends I feel that I'm a bit of a foreigner to them. I don't feel this way (like a foreigner) when I'm with my Japanese friends because I speak fluent Japanese. However, I hardly know much about the Japanese culture, so again sometimes I feel, what's my identity? Japanese? Singaporean?' A 15-year old girl placed in a special school within an international context as a result of her learning difficulties. 'The art of life lies in a constant readjustment to our surroundings'. Okarkura Kazuzo