Heather’s philosophy of life could boil down to 2 quotes from Monty Python: 1)Always look on the bright side of life and 2) I cannot wait til lunchtime and 3) a ruthless inefficiency… Okay, three things.

She is an avid lover of Japanese sweets, Gudetama, Chico-chan, and green characters from Mario.

She lives in Western Japan with her husband, new little friend, and a collection of stuffed toys from UFO catchers. She speaks in puns, terrible jokes, movie quotes, and/or “kodomo nihongo” (what she calls her Japanese. She’s still learning!)

She rebels against the idea of “those who can’t learn, teach!” and does her best to learn something new every day. She will also cheer you on to learn more too!

She cohosts the Japan Archives with her awesome friend Thomas, a podcast about Japanese history, mythology, and literature.