I’m a geek, I have to admit it. But before being a computer and gadget geek I was an anime and manga geek. My interest in manga and anime led me to get interested in Japanese culture and language when I was younger. After years of studying on-and-off this hieroglyphic language I finally decided to give up, thinking that I will never ever manage to say anything coherent in Japanese, throwing all the invested effort to the dustbin.

Last year I came to Japan to visit a friend. Very much to my surprise I could still recall a few things, specially when I got lost and needed to find my way back to the train station (which used to happen rather to say often). Suddenly I was full of energy to take back Japanese again. This year has been useful to refresh what I have studied in the past, but that’s still very basic.

Considering that the best way to learn a language is to create an environment of immersion (or what I call the manage-yourself-to-buy-a-loaf-of-bread-or-die-of-starvation approach) I told my Igalian colleagues I’d like to spend some time in Japan learning the language while living and experience life in the land of the rising sun. I was surprised with the welcome and understanding of my colleagues.

There is not such thing as work and life, work is an important part of life and we spend there a big amount of our time as adults. At Igalia we believe in balance of work and life. This believe gets implemented in many manners: flexible work-schedule, telework, nursery service, etc. As time has passed by, I have realized we don’t give up on dreams, dreams stuck in your head and life is the trip where you try to fulfil them. Don’t let work be a blocker for your dreams, even if that dream is just a stupid thing as learning a language for a reason you don’t longer remember. I really appreciate having this opportunity.

And if you happen to be in Japan (Osaka) for the next 3 months and would like to talk about Igalia, free software or technology in general, please contact me, I’ll really enjoy the conversation (although I’m afraid I won’t be able to talk in Japanese, たぶんちょっとだけ ;-))