Alamu: OK. Báwo ni. Yeah. And if you want to say “welcome,” you say ekaabo. Yeah. Thank you very much, yeah. Yeah. You talk about introducing myself? My name is Olagoke Alamu. I’m an associate professor of Yoruba language. I’ve been in university just since 1987. And then I major in dramatic literature and theme. But I don't read a lot of work on sociolinguistics and applied linguistics, especially on foreign language teaching. And I believe that’s what I, uh, why I’m here in Japan.

Interviewer: So this is your first year teaching in Japan. How have you come to Japan. . . teach in Japan?

Alamu: Yeah. It’s through invitation. Since you have Yoruba, I say, course here in the university. I believe they need, you know, for teachers in this language, you know. __, you know, to look towards Nigeria and for Yoruba expert. So I just got __ invitation and then through the Internet I was asked to do __, which I did and then I was invited. That’s how I got here.

Interviewer: Did you teach, uh, do you have teaching experience before you came to Japan?

Alamu: Yeah, like I said I’ve been teaching for. . . for almost twenty-one years now. Yeah, I came from the National Institute for Nigerian Languages in Nigeria. It’s a research institute on Nigerian languages. That’s where I’ve been teaching since 1994. But before then I taught for some time at University of Ibadan. That’s a premier university in Nigeria. And then from there I had a stint with the __ education, a federal __ education __ education in the southeastern part of Nigeria, yeah, before I joined the institute from where I proceeded to Japan, yeah.

Interviewer: So you are a distinguished teacher.

Alamu: Thank you very much.

Interviewer: As I said this is you first year in Japan and so could you tell me your first impressions of Japan?

Alamu: Yeah. I’ve been here for almost four months now. I came in October, precisely first of October. I think I can do a kind of assessment, you know, of Japan and the people. I’m quite impressed because I just found out that in Japan, you know, there’s this culture that is similar to my own culture and that’s the culture of respect, you know. And then everywhere I go, you know, I feel at home because you find some people, you know. . . the culture of, you know, bowing, bowing down, I say, you know. How are you is similar to my culture because we’re the culture of respect. And the there’ve been no discrimination, you know, since I came here, yeah. The __ are very warm they’re accommodating. And then well of course I __ I love your food culture too. I’ve tasted a lot of delicacies, Japanese delicacies, which is just. . . . Yeah. So, I love the culture of the people. And I love the country. The environment, the city environment and. . . yeah. It’s good.

Interviewer: So don’t you have any trouble living in Japan?

Alamu: No. No trouble. No trouble. I feel at home, yeah. I feel I’m in second home. Yeah. I said the people are warm and __ are nice. So I don’t have any problem.