Walking down the memory lane

Last weekend, I visited Yokohama, where we moved as a family to be closer to the international school my sister and I attended for 6 years before moving to Australia.

I dreamt of walking down the high school corridors and graduating from my school called St Joseph International School (or SJIS for short) when I was in primary school but my time was cut short. Devastating as it was then and still is, as I was one of the last 4th grade students when the school closed down after being open for a 100 year.

Since SJIS, I attended 3 more schools but SJIS is the school that I am the most fond of and where I made so many memories in 5 short years.

I wasn’t the only person who holds SJIS so dear as every year, the alumni host an event to keep the memories alive.

SJIS school grounds turned into apartment blocks but its boarding house which later became a house for the brothers to live in called Berrick Hall is still present and now managed by Yokohama city.

Berrick Hall was a special location we visited as students to take the annual class photos which was an exciting trip for us as it was going outside the school ground during school hours (although it’s only across the road).

Revisiting Berrick Hall brought back my childhood memories and during the event, we learnt the student life from year 1 to 12 at SJIS as well as a tour in the boarding school area.

Even without the connection to SJIS, Berrick Hall is a worthwhile visit as it’s a beautifully preserved 1930’s architecture and is open for public between 9:00-17:00.

This was the second visit to the area since I moved away from Yokohama. Before we moved to Japan in 2019, my husband and I visited Japan in 2017 for a holiday from Australia. During this first trip together in Japan, I took my husband on my childhood tour to where my family lived in Yokohama, my daily walk to school and the place we used to hang out.

Unlike the first time when I was a mere visitor to Japan from Australia, having lived in Tokyo for nearly 3 years now, I have a different perspective about where I grew up: that my upbringing wasn’t typical.

The cobblestone streets connecting century old historical western buildings where a number of artists perch under a shade of hundred year old trees.

Not only was I surrounded by western like streetscape, my life was filled with interaction with my friends and teachers from America, Canada, Australia, Sri Lanka, China and other countries.

This have allowed me to make a big transition of moving to Australia when I was 12 years old possible.

Recently talking to my dad’s sister and learning more about my dad’s side of the family reaffirmed that I wasn’t born into this international environment but my parents consciously selected this environment for my sister and me to grow up in.

Because of their decision, my worldview was shaped to be open to people from different culture and countries.

Being a native expat who have live abroad and then to return back to my roots have made me appreciate the city I grew up in. I now see that behind the environment I lived in was my parents’ bold and unconventional moves that I am profoundly grateful for.

I probably wouldn’t have had this realisation have I stayed in Japan all my life or if I have stayed in Australia all of my life. Being a native expat allows me to walk down my memory lane with a fresh perspective to not take things for granted.

As of October 1, all state of emergency have been lifted off all over Japan (Tokyo is reporting less than 200 daily covid-19 cases now) so restaurants remained open an hour longer until 9pm. The ease of restriction and good weather have brought out many people out and about including in Yokohama.

We wandered around Yokohama’s famous Chinatown and ate all you can eat Chinese to end the day down my memory lane by creating more positive memories in Yokohama.