I took IELTS test last August. I thought I could use a bit of my spare time to prepare for the test after I closed Global Cafe and before I move to Sydney. I decided to take the test in case I feel like going to university or postgraduate in the future during my stay in Sydney.
I ended up not having enough time to study because I had too much other stuff to do, such as practicing driving, packing and so on.
Enough of my excuses!!
My results were as below. Overall band score–7.0 Listening–7.0 Reading–7.5 Writing–6.0 Speaking–7.0
I aimed to get an overall score of 7.5, so I was a bit disappointed. However, I was satisfied with the results in a way, because it was my first attempt and I only had one month to prepare for the test. Moreover, the results are good enough to get into MBA of the University of Sydney! I will share my tips and experience of studying and taking IELTS with you soon!
It’s sad that this will be the last blog before the cafe closes.
Ever since I decided to close the cafe and move to Australia, I have had such complex feelings. Part of me is very excited about going to Australia and part of me is very sad about the cafe’s closing.
Since the day that I announced the closing of the cafe, I’ve received many messages and comments which have encouraged and made me happy. Many customers expressed how sad they are, but at the same time, they thanked me, told me how much they cared, encouraged me and even celebrated my new life. Recently, I’ve been very emotional and tearing up often.
Closing the cafe has made me realize how much this cafe really means to me. Come to think of it, I established the cafe and built it from scratch. The cafe feels like my third child. I always think about the cafe (even without realizing it) and have put so much work into it over the last 4 years. We have created such a unique cafe here. It’s not only about English anymore. It has become a meeting place, a small community. It took a lot of trial-and-error, but we have finally created a place we can call our own.
Most importantly, we have so many lovely customers whose numbers have been increasing more and more. Closing the cafe is not just sad, it gives me a deep sense of loss.
However, thanks to warm messages from the customers, I think I have finally sorted out my complex feelings. I can finally feel that my effort over the last 4 years has paid off.
I had several people offer to carry on the cafe after I move to Australia. Unfortunately, none of them were feasible and didn’t happen. But, many wanted to continue the cafe because they appreciate our community and they don’t want it to disappear. I think many love the cafe’s cozy atmosphere as well as meeting with all the other wonderful customers who support the Cafe’s philosophy of cross-culture communication. These offers made me feel extremely happy and honored.
I am so grateful for meeting with each customer and all the staff here. I also learned a lot from all the conversations and from getting to know many customers. At the cafe we talked about various things and got to know each other’s background, life, dreams and stories through simple questions such as , Why are you learning English? or Where did you learn your English?.
I have also obtained a different perspective after having so many conversations. Many customers who have visited and lived in different countries, not to mention the foreign facilitators who work here, have shared their different ideas, opinions and points of view. By just listening to the conversation at the cafe, my worldview has expanded much more than I expected it would.
There are some customers and facilitators who had a big life event such as marriage, childbirth, changing jobs (changing jobs is still a big life event in Japan!), or studying abroad during the last three years and eight months. I feel so honored to witness and sometimes even participate in these important events.
Finally, I would like to thank my family. I sometimes had to sacrifice time with my family, but my boys always embraced me and showed me love when I found time to be with them. Whenever I had a tough time at the cafe they gave me strength and motivated me to get through it. Last but not least, I would like to express my appreciation to my husband. He is not particularly the sweetest husband, but he’s been the biggest supporter of Global Cafe and my passion for it.
As a farewell message to Global Cafe English learners, I would like to share a small conversation I had with our old facilitator Jesse.
Jesse: 「Your English is Amazing!」 Motoko: 「You really think so? I’ve got an accent and I still make some mistakes.」 Jesse: 「Why should you talk like us? I understand you perfectly. I like your accent.」
This conversation opened my eyes to a new idea. Speaking correct English is maybe one thing, but the passion to communicate and to learn about one another counts much more. English is a global language and so diverse. Nowadays, most English speakers around the world don’t speak ‘native’ English anyways. You’ve got an accent. That means you learnt a second language, English, in addition to the language you already have. That’s great. Learning a language takes so much effort and time! You should be proud of your English. Be confident and enjoy speaking English! Get to know people from across the globe and expand your world using your hard-earned English, whatever level it is.
I wish you all the best and I look forward to our paths crossing again someday.
Hi Everyone! Global Cafe recently had its 3rd anniversary on the 12th of September.
I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude and write a bit about the last three years since the cafe’s opening.
I remember the very first day we opened the cafe. I had been very nervous for a few weeks before the opening. I was worried if any customers would come to the cafe. I was worried people would not even understand our concept.
So when we had our very first customer and received the very first payment I was so happy and it felt surreal.
These last three years have gone by very fast and have been super interesting. I like being at the cafe so much. I meet many people (customers) there and standing at the counter at the cafe listening to the conversation has become my favorite pastime. I don’t even consider it as work. I probably should do so but it’s too much fun to take it as work. By listening to the conversations I learn not only English but also a lot about various cultural stuff, the latest news and trivia and so on.
The customers at the cafe vary a lot too, age-wise and background-wise and everything and they meet at the cafe and sit at one table, talk about the same topics in English, and share ideas with one another and that makes me very happy. They might not have ever met if there was no Global Cafe.
I’ve also met many teachers from different countries at the cafe. They are also very interesting and I always enjoy talking with them.
Many teachers left Japan and had to leave Global Cafe. I am always sad when a teacher leaves Global Cafe but I have become friends or even like family with many of them so it does not make me too sad now.
I feel like all of those who worked at Global Cafe are alumni or family of the cafe. I would not have met them if I hadn’t opened Global Cafe so I’m really happy about opening the cafe.
Since the cafe’s opening, there are many changes in my private life. My eldest son is tuning four soon and I have another baby boy too. During my pregnancy I left my work to my staff. Until then I did everything in my own way and there is no clear instruction or manual about how to run/handle things in the cafe. So I had to make the everything clear and systematize the thing and I had realized how irresponsibly I did my job and how difficult it is to manage a business.
There were some difficult times too. My sons were hospitalized twice. My husband has been to transferred to Tokyo from this August. Actually the idea of closing the cafe had crossed my mind a few times but each time I thought about our lovely customers and the cafe as a community place which we have created and then I kept going.
Without the support from the customers and staff Global Cafe would not exist now and would not continue.
I am really grateful to our customers and Global Cafe staff. Thank you so much everyone!!
Hi everyone, It’s been so hot! How are you coping with the heat?
It’s been three months since my boys started going to the nursery and we have finally got used to our new lifestyle.
Recently we went to Karatsu for the weekend. We wanted to go around this time partly because my husband will soon be transferred to Tokyo…
It only takes an hour and a half to get to Karatsu by train. Taking the train is nice because you get to see the beautiful ocean view.
Toshi, my older son, likes playing in the water, especially the sea, so the main purpose of this trip was so he could play at the beach and take it easy, and we could all spend some time together.
As soon as we checked in at Karatsu, we headed to the beach. The water was a little murky and the sea was rough. It was very different from what we saw on the train. We were a little disappointed, but Toshi ran and ran along the water’s edge and seemed very happy. It was only the second time for Toshi to see the sea so he didn’t have any expectations. Even though I was knackered from carrying Aoi, my younger son, and our baggage that still made me smile.
After we left the beach we strolled through the arcade in the downtown area and then went back to the inn.
At the inn, we took a bath and enjoyed a nice meal in our room. Toshi loved the big bath because I’m sure it felt like a pool for him.
In a Japanese-style inn, the staff comes to the room and sets up the futon for us after dinner.
An elderly lady came to our room. She was very nice and let Toshi help her set up the futon and the sheets. He got so excited and loved doing that.
The next day after taking another bath in the big family tub, we went back to the arcade to let Toshi have a soft-serve ice cream. When we went there the day before, Toshi licked a giant size soft-served ice cream replica. For some reason there are many of them in the arcade, Toshi got very crazy and wouldn’t stop licking them… So we decided to come back to let him have a real one.
After that, we visited a different beach from the day before and had lunch at a hotel with an ocean view.
We took it easy and headed back home after that.
After we came back, I asked Toshi what he enjoyed the most, and his answer was that he enjoyed swimming in the big bath and setting up the futon with the old lady.
Hmm, did we really need to go all the way to Karatsu?
Hello everyone!! It’s already May. I guess many people have started a new life since April. My family has started a new life since this April as well.
My two boys, Toshi and Aoi have been accepted to a licensed nursery and I am back at Global Cafe now. We are trying our best to adjust to a new environment and a new life style but it’s not that easy..
Since my second boy, Aoi was born last summer, I’ve been crazy busy and realized how hard it is being a mum of two boys. Thinking back on when I only had Toshi, my elder son, I think I was very naive because I thought having one child and having two are not so different and having one more child would make things only a little bit harder. Now I have realized I was so wrong.
Before Aoi was born, it was relatively easy to manage everything: my work at Global Cafe, looking after Toshi and house chores. Toshi spent his weekdays at a nursery and he was a very easy boy to look after. Toshi was just a cute, small, adorable and easy boy for me.
Nowadays there is a trend that “a mum should enjoy herself and never give up anything for her kids” and I think I interpreted it to my own advantage and didn’t really understand what raising a child was.
So when Toshi started acting funny seeking attention from me or being rebellious and insistent toward me just after Aoi was born I didn’t know how to handle him. He has become a small monster with more of his own personality and I was not ready for it at all.
It was good that I was on leave from the cafe and I could take some time to reflect; how to deal with my kids, especially with Toshi, what should be prioritized in my life or how I can balance and manage everything in my life.
Another good thing was that my husband took paternity leave from work and did lots of house chores and took care of the children. It was nice not only because he helped me but also because we could share the very precious moments of the first few months of our newborn baby. Newborn babies grow very quickly and I guess many dads in Japan miss that precious short time and don’t see their baby’s everyday progress. By sharing work at home and taking care of the children together, my husband could appreciate how joyful and at the same hard raising children can be.
Working at the cafe is so refreshing and makes me happy. I get to see so many of our regular customers. Senior customers at the cafe are very, very active. Some senior customers are studying English very hard and taking English proficiency test, and another customer is even going abroad to do volunteer work. They are really inspiring.
I also like to see young people trying hard to learn English. They encourage me too. There is a young customer who has started his own business recently or who is going abroad to study.
Also there is Global Cafe staff who gives me energy to keep me going. All of them are super positive and nice!
Of course it’s my sons who drive me the most. When I drop them off at the nursery in the morning there is still a bit of tears from them and I cry too. But I know they can do it and learn a lot there so I just have to believe in them and try my hardest!
Last Sunday we had a special charity day at the cafe. We were very happy to see that many customers also supported the idea, and turned up to contribute to a good cause. Thank you very much for your support! It was such a good way to finish off this year. All money collected went towards UNICEF.
Also big thanks to Thomas, Keith and Rintaro for contributing to our charity day. Our popular facilitators, Thomas and Keith, are students here and make their living by themselves, so they don’t have much spare money. But despite that, they gave up their time to participate in this charity day! Rintaro, our new staff also contributed a lot.
We would like to use this opportunity to say thank you to all our customers here.
Thank you very much for your support this year.
We wish you all a happy New Year with much love and laughter!!
We are looking forward to seeing you at Global Cafe next year!
As announced, Global Cafe is holding a fund raising event on Sunday, Dec 24th. This Sunday will operate the same as usual (Cafe time English) but all the money collected will go towards charities such as Unicef.
I would like to write a little about this charity event to explain its purpose.
Being a non-religious person myself, I have always felt rather strange about making a big deal of having parties on Christmas day. (Of course, I respect people who celebrate Christmas.) In my adulthood I have come to realize that I don’t really like how commercialized Christmas is..
However I have many good and warm Christmas memories with my family from childhood. When I was little my parents bought me Christmas presents and we ate Christmas cake together every year. I believed in Santa Clause as well. Even today, I still enjoy the warm Christmas atmosphere with friends and family..
So I thought it would be a good idea to use Christmas to hold a charity event for children in need who aren’t able to spend Christmas day with their family, children who need financial support for education or those whose lives might be threatened. It would be great if we can contribute, if only just a little bit, and we can feel like we are offering a small, but hopefully meaningful Christmas for them.
All money paid by customers on the 24th goes towards charities (Unicef), so please come and join us!
Today I want to write about a dinner my family had at “bills” with Cameron, our old staff at Global Cafe, and his wife Yuhsi.
Cameron started working at Global Cafe soon after the cafe opening. Unfortunately he became busy and unable to work at the cafe, but he still helps out us when an emergency pops up.
We have been talking about going to bills for long time since bills’s owner is an Australian celebrity chef and Cameron, being Aussie, probably felt he should go and eat there sometime.
I knew about the restaurant for long time because bills was in Sydney when I lived there, but I had never been there and always wanted to go, so going there with Cameron was a very good opportunity for me!
The reason we decided to go there this time is to have a farewell dinner.
Cameron got married with a lovely lady, Yuhsi, from Taiwan recently, and they are moving to Taiwan next year.
Although it was a bit pricey, the food was very good and the atmosphere was very nice too.
We shared some starters and then the main dishes followed by pancakes, their signature dish!
Cameron and Yuhsi had Pavlova, a famous desert in Australia (You can see it in the photo below), and I got to try it for the first time.
They both were very surprised by the amount Toshi ate! (He had some of starters, some fried chickens, a pasta dish and then two pancakes!! I thought he would be almost full by the time he finished his main dish and we could share one pancake dish but I barely ate any…)
Anyways it was a very nice night and we all enjoyed it a lot.
It is a little sad that Cameron won’t be in Fukuoka, but I am very happy and grateful for the friendship with them.
Cameron is a person with the Aussie sprit of `*mateship‘ and ‘*fair go‘ and he is one of the most genuine people I know.
I hope all the best for their new life together, that our friendship lasts for a long time and that we will visit them in Taiwan or Tasmania some time!
