Priscilla Knoble - Adobe: Why Localization Gets You In the Door, Culturalization Keeps You There

Now, you mentioned, I heard you mentioned before that you missed something called the Japanese factor.

And at some point, and what does that mean exactly? And how did that whole first grade classroom prepare you to where you are right now?

Yeah, yeah.

Well, you know, so I mean, I think this is probably true of anybody that has lived in one country, you know, whether they were their parents were from there or not, if they spent a significant portion of their life in a given country where that's the norm.

And, you know, like I said, I dream in Japanese, like I think I speak in, you know, both.

uh, equally when you move to another country where primarily that other side is not there, you know? And so in this case, it was most people, it was English and, you know, and they meet you and they, they would look at me and they go, oh, well, you look like us, right? You look white American Caucasian.

So there's nothing in their head that suggests that I was born and raised in Japan or flew in another language.

So their assumption in meeting me and talking with me is I'm the same as them, right? And I think, you know, now that the world is so global, it's a little bit different, but especially, you know, 30 years ago, that was definitely the case.

And so just in the natural world, you know, life that I would walk through.

I didn't meet people that spoke Japanese.

You know, there was no, I mean, there was no, back then they didn't even have cable television, right? So there was nothing like that.

You actually had to

go to a classroom and learn it, right, Priscilla? Yeah.

Yeah, I mean, you know, you really think about it's crazy.

There was just no iPads, no Internet, no computer.

So everything was very manual.

And you literally had to meet somebody that was Japanese in order to have a conversation like that.

Unless I flew back.

So teaching school, I loved teaching.

I loved my first graders.

They're brilliant.

Six year olds are brilliant.

But I would and we all had in a different first grades.

We had certain themes that we would all the first grades would do like animals or plants.

But we always had a month or two where we could do our own thing.

Now, you mentioned, I heard you mentioned before that you missed something called the Japanese factor.

And at some point, and what does that mean exactly? And how did that whole first grade classroom prepare you to where you are right now?

Yeah, yeah.

Well, you know, so I mean, I think this is probably true of anybody that has lived in one country, you know, whether they were their parents were from there or not, if they spent a significant portion of their life in a given country where that's the norm.

And, you know, like I said, I dream in Japanese, like I think I speak in, you know, both.

uh, equally when you move to another country where primarily that other side is not there, you know? And so in this case, it was most people, it was English and, you know, and they meet you and they, they would look at me and they go, oh, well, you look like us, right? You look white American Caucasian.

So there's nothing in their head that suggests that I was born and raised in Japan or flew in another language.

So their assumption in meeting me and talking with me is I'm the same as them, right? And I think, you know, now that the world is so global, it's a little bit different, but especially, you know, 30 years ago, that was definitely the case.

And so just in the natural world, you know, life that I would walk through.

I didn't meet people that spoke Japanese.

You know, there was no, I mean, there was no, back then they didn't even have cable television, right? So there was nothing like that.

You actually had to

go to a classroom and learn it, right, Priscilla? Yeah.

Yeah, I mean, you know, you really think about it's crazy.

There was just no iPads, no Internet, no computer.

So everything was very manual.

And you literally had to meet somebody that was Japanese in order to have a conversation like that.

Unless I flew back.

So teaching school, I loved teaching.

I loved my first graders.

They're brilliant.

Six year olds are brilliant.

But I would and we all had in a different first grades.

We had certain themes that we would all the first grades would do like animals or plants.

But we always had a month or two where we could do our own thing.