Hello Language Lovers,
Today, I have the pleasure of talking with Melita Issa of Miso Studios, an NYC/ Tokyo design studio with a focus on hospitality. dining and multi-family design interiors. Melita is an interior designer who has lived and worked in Japan off and on throughout her career. In this episode, we talk about how she developed a love for Japanese language, Japanese culture, Japanese design and Japanese food. We talked about youth culture, work culture, design aesthetics and of course, one of my favorite things... Japanese food! It's a love story, guys!
One takeaway from this episode that you'll notice is how important immersion within a culture is when it comes to learning the language. You'll hear in Melita's story how she has been able to embrace many facets of Japan and ensure that the Japanese culture remains a fixture in her life even when she's back in the US.
In this episode we talk about perception and Americanness. We also discuss the concepts of foreignness vs belonging in a society that is not your own and the reality of being "black and abroad" which both of us have faced in our lifetime of traveling the world. In this episode Melita talked to me about how Black American culture is interpreted in Japan and if you're not familiar with it then what she has to say will probably surprise you as much as it surprised me.
I hope you enjoy this episode and to find Melita and Miso Studios, be sure to click the links in the show notes. Ok, let's chat!
Miso Studios:
Instagram: @misostudios <--- Follow for many how to videos on cooking Japanese food, including Japanese soul food & much more!
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/wearemisostudios/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/misostudios/
Just One Cookbook: https://www.justonecookbook.com/start-here/
Okinawa Taco Rice Recipe: https://www.honeysweetliving.com/portfolio/taco-rice%e3%82%bf%e3%82%b3%e3%83%a9%e3%82%a4%e3%82%b9/
Giri/Haji: https://www.netflix.com/title/80190519
Soul Food House: https://soulfoodhouse.com/
"Ya Bai"
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