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Chuzai Living: Living overseas
Have you ever wondered what it’s like to live life frequently moving from one country to another – while at the same time playing the roles of mother, wife and also art enthusiast? If you don’t know, read Kaho’s stories on her blog
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ave you ever wondered what it’s like to live life frequently moving from one country to another – while at the same time playing the roles of mother, wife and also art enthusiast?
If you don’t know, read Kaho’s stories on her blog. The blog (www.ChuzaiLiving.wordpress.com) is run by Kahori Matsui or Kaho, who is a Japanese national and currently living in Indonesia.
When she first started her blog in March last year, she was still living in Arlington, Virginia, before she moved to Jakarta in July. Kaho has also lived in Senegal, Japan, and Texas, the US.
“In Japanese, Chuzai means living overseas for an extended period of time due to an occupational assignment,” she writes on her blog.
In short, Chuzai Living translates to Expat Living. Kaho’s husband has a job that requires them to move quite frequently every two to three years.
The mother of two, who comically refers to her daughters as “monkeys” for their active, playful ways, wrote that she wanted to have a place where she could document and share her family’s life overseas while exploring her interest in photography, design, fashion, traveling, food and parenting.
“This blog is a place where I can become myself, away from the daily routine and hectic life as a parent of two small children. It stimulates me to be active and enjoy and gives me opportunity to appreciate my surroundings to a fuller extent,” she added.
Kaho organizes and themes her posts according to days of the week. On Monday she posts on fashion, on Tuesday she posts about random things that grabs her attention, Wednesday she posts on interior design using the title Wednesday Wall2Wall – as she is involved in Project KOI.
On Thursday she posts on KOI Restaurant and Gallery and on Friday her theme is Friday Finds, where she posts about restaurants, galleries or other unique things she visits and recommends.
She writes in English with a Japanese translation — and never forgets to include photos.
Jakartans and other Indonesians can use her blog to find out about places and activities they may not yet have known about or have simply forgotten.
For example, taking a bajaj with her daughters for the first time last year, or eating local oranges from Bali, when local Jakarta people mostly choose to eat imported fruits.
It is also a nice blog to read during your spare time, even just to be entertained by the photos of her two little “monkeys”.
