Episode
An Alien in Japan, A Local in Romania?
- Published
- Jun 3, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 5816
- Processing state
not_requested
Actions
POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/whereabouts-tales-stories-of-belonging-and-immigrant-experiences-7144981/episodes/an-alien-in-japan-a-local-in-romania/transcription-requests
Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode.GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/whereabouts-tales-stories-of-belonging-and-immigrant-experiences-7144981/an-alien-in-japan-a-local-in-romania.md
Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource.
Summary
In this episode, I had the immense pleasure of sitting down with Miyu and Valentin, a truly captivating couple whose journey spans continents and cultures. Their honesty and openness instantly drew me in, setting the stage for one of the most refreshing conversations I’ve had. Miyu's upbringing alone is fascinating, born in the UK, moving to traditional Japan at 11, and navigating two vastly different worlds. She shared her unique perspective on growing up bilingual and the cultural nuances, like differing senses of humor, that made her feel like an "alien" in her own homeland [4:25]. Her adventurous spirit then led her to Egypt and ultimately to Spain, where fate and Flamenco, would intertwine her path with Valentin's. Valentin, a Romanian who, by his own admission, "never really liked" Bucharest but always finds himself back here, shared his incredible story of discovering Flamenco through a mysterious blank CD [12:08]. His natural ability to pick up Spanish from telenovelas is truly remarkable! It was in the vibrant heart of Sevilla, where their shared passion for Flamenco blossomed, that their love story truly began [15:20]. I loved hearing how Miyu had already heard "crazy rumors" about Valentin before they even met, his reputation truly preceded him! Their decision to move to Romania was deeply personal, driven by Valentin needing to support his family during a difficult time [30:04]. Miyu, despite knowing almost nothing about Romania, bravely joined him. Her impressions of Bucharest, from loving our shawarma to appreciating the unexpected warmth of Romanian people (and even being mistaken for a local!), were both surprising and endearing [39:30, 44:14]. We delved into the stark differences in working cultures, especially the intense…