I’m Meagan.
I live by the ocean in a house whose personality overrides functionality, with a bilingual existence and a half-Japanese family. The eucalyptus trees swaying in the breeze are my soundtrack; the fireplace is my heater most nights. My days blur into a routine of writing, surfing and cooking, all while drinking copious amounts of coffee and talking aloud to myself.
I have various identities, all overlapping confusingly.
Writer
I’ve always loved words. Growing up, I would write, travel, think, dream, write. I had so much time and so many blank notebooks, so many pens to bleed ink to the end, so many musings about people, about life, about Japan. After working with words in various domains, I’ve come back to my starting point: writing my own words.
My writing is heavily influenced by my linguistic background and predominately focuses on themes like language and culture, as well as Japan.
I also enjoy writing fiction.
Cultural mediator
I work and live in both English and Japanese, interacting with both native English speakers and Japanese nationals in my daily life. I have a deep understanding of Japanese culture, language and people, and hope to share this through my writing.
As a translator and interpreter, I’m constantly juggling various identities and bridging communication between people from diverse backgrounds.
Educator
I teach in both English and Japanese.
For Japanese-led instruction, I run courses for Japanese nationals about English and translation. I have experience in teaching both face-to-face and online, as well as curriculum creation and writing textbooks for English-language education.
For English-language instruction, I use my Japanese knowledge to help English native speakers attain Japanese competency.
I’ve written a handy guide to help learners of Japanese build an effective learning strategy – Speak Japanese Like a Native, available as an ebook on Amazon.
I’m also in the process of writing an ebook series marketed for Japanese learners of English (text in Japanese).
Interpreter
I am the voice of other people, the keeper of their secrets. When working as an interpreter, I take on someone else’s identity and become their shadow for the duration of the assignment. I strive to convey the exact same nuance of their words in the other language.
Every day, I’m someone new and unfamiliar, working toward resolving a different problem, in a different domain – the courtroom, the hospital, the police station, a conference, a business meeting.
Translator
As a translator, I write other people’s thoughts and intents, replicating the meaning into a different language. Translation is the act of written words, and my work ranges from marketing, legal texts, theses, subtitling, education and tourism.
For my translation and interpreting work, please visit Meagan & Matsunaga Translation.