Magalhães: OK. In Portuguese, “hello,” we can say “Oi” or “Olá.” My name is Fernanda, Fernanda Torres Magalhães. I'm from Brazil, from São Paulo. And here at the university, I teach Portuguese.

Interviewer: So, you're teaching in Japan now. When did you come to Japan?

Magalhães: Well, I came to Japan like, well, almost six years ago, now. And I came in 2003 for this job. Yes.

Interviewer: Did you teach in somewhere else before you started teaching here?

Magalhães: In Brazil, I used to teach also, but here also I teach in another university just once a week like. . . as a part-time job. But I was a teacher, too, in Brazil.

Interviewer: Then what's you major field of study?

Magalhães: You know, my major is history. It's not language. For me it was a big challenge and very interesting thing to come to Japan for teaching not just language also and then the culture. But my major is Brazilian history.

Interviewer: What's your impressions of Japan when you first came here?

Magalhães: Well, __ when I arrived __ . I think Brazil and Japan are very. . . it's a long distance, it's a very far country, Brazil and. . . We have some. . . we have some impressions like Brazil, eh, Japan is a very. . . as a place for high technology, for example, and a place for old traditions and. . . . We have this stereotype, but after I came here I was surprised but of course. . . . My impression when I arrived was I was very shocked at first, for us, because I could realize that Japan is not this high technology country that I suppose I was thinking about, but. . . . I think these are, because I'm very interested in technology and I was, I was really, really surprised when I see in some place in Japan they don't even have a DVD, for example. That was very funny experience for me.

Interviewer: Maybe it depends on which part of Japan you visit.

Magalhães: I don't know. Maybe. You know, even at a university like. . . . I was surprised even simple materials to deal with, you know. I think every Japanese could deal with technology, you know. How to operate a DVD or __ doing. Something like that.

Interviewer: Especially older generations?

Magalhães: Yeah, and I was surprised also with my. . . I remember I had a class with my students when I teach Brazilian photography. And I asked my students to take pictures and we __ to send it by mail. And most of them just say, “I don't have a camera.” And that for me was, “What? Don't have a camera. Are you a Japanese?” or so kind of stereotype, I know. But they say, of course, they have the camera in the telephone, in the cell phone. As for me, it was funny. These. . . this image of technology and it was. . . yes.

Interviewer: So, instead of being a technological country, what do you think Japan is like? Traditional?

Magalhães: I like very much Japanese culture. I'm very interested and I study a lot about Japanese culture. And I try to discuss about Japanese culture with my students. And I realize that, sadly, the younger generation, they're not that interested in Japanese culture. Like they don't read the classicals of Japanese books. They don't know some stories. They don't know Japanese cinema, movies. And I realize of course these don't happen just here in Japan, maybe. Maybe the matter of younger generation. In Brazil, also, the younger generation, they're not interested in the old. . . knowing about Brazil. And here I could see the same kind of situation. The Japanese younger generation, they don't know about Bra-, uh, Japanese culture. Traditional, you know, bushido, some cause and. . . That I'm very, very interested in it. And this is a quite interesting question for me to think about.