Christina Shears Ozeki (PhD student, 3rd year, Department of Geology and Mineralogy, Division of Earth and Planetary Sciences)

Date of Interview: June, 2021

Before Coming to Kyoto University
I had graduated my BSc (Hons) in Palaeobiology and Evolution from the University of Portsmouth, United Kingdom, in 2002. I then took a postgraduate teaching certificate in science education and taught science to junior high and high school students for approximately 5-6 years. Realising this was not for me, I went back to working in the geosciences for approximatively 6 years as a geologist. Although, palaeontology was always my passion, so I went back to the University of Portsmouth and did a Master of Research in Palaeontology, whilst working as an editorial assistant in academic journal publishing for both Springer Nature and Macmillan, as well as doing stand-in science teaching and tutoring when schools needed.
Although I had originally been intending on doing my palaeontology PhD in the UK and then move with my Japanese husband to Japan once I graduated, we needed to come here sooner for family reasons. In May 2018, we moved to Japan and then I began my PhD in palaeontology at Kyoto University in April 2019 under Professor Matsuoka.

Life at Kyoto University

-What did you enjoy most during your time at Kyoto University?
There have been very many new experiences for me in Kyoto University, I have had the opportunity to travel to new places for my research. These include going on fieldwork to the Gifu Prefecture with my sensei and assisting him with outreach work for the local school children. Also, I have travelled to Noto Marine Station on the peninsula above Kanazawa, to work on whale bones that had been left on the seabed for approx. 6 months. As well as, visiting Wakayama Museum to see a fossil specimen that I am working on and being able to see round their exhibits.
Additionally, I have had the chance to assist at the university museum on a special outreach event bringing science in a fun way to the general public. Another happy moment was meeting friendly, interesting and diverse people both in my department and through teaching and office assistant positions I had in my 1st and 2nd year of the PhD.

-What were the biggest challenges you met?
Learning the language, so I could communicate in my daily life outside of the university. Even though I can read some kanji and I knew most of the hiragana and katakana, I am shy to speak another language to native speakers. Subsequently, communicating even a basic sentence in Japanese to someone else has been one of my biggest challenges. I am still shy to speak in Japanese, but I am working on that issue.
Funding, because I am a self-funded student. (Additionally, the pandemic has caused me many delays and cancellations of fieldwork, which were essential for my research.)

-What did you work on to overcome the challenges?
To help with my Japanese language proficiency, I took lessons in both my 1st and 2nd year of the PhD. During this year, my final year, I have not had any time to spend on extra curricula activities, because like many other people, the pandemic in 2020 and the early part of this year (2021) has delayed some of my research, so I have been busy catching-up with the analysis. But I also plan to continue working on my Japanese language proficiency once my research has completed. Especially, because that will help with a future career and daily life.
Regarding the funding, although I worked hard to secure external funding, I was unsuccessful in my 1st year and relied on research,. teaching and office assistant work for various professors. In my 2nd year I was very fortunate to be awarded the departmental scholarship, which paid my fees. Plus, I secured a special student loan. Normally the loan is not available to foreign students but because I was married to a Japanese national, I was entitled to apply the loan, which was huge help last year and this year. Concerning the delays caused by the pandemic, I found alternative sources of fossil material to compensate for not being able to go and do my own fieldwork in the UK. Plus, I am working hard to complete all my analysis.

-How smooth was your experience adjusting to life in Kyoto?
Honestly, I did not have too many difficulties adjusting to life in Kyoto because firstly, I had previously lived in other Asian countries/regions (Malaysia, China, Hong Kong); plus, secondly, I am married to a Japanese native. Consequently, I have been living an Asian lifestyle half my life, so I did not experience any culture shock when I came here.
But in my first year in Kyoto (2018), I experienced many natural disasters, which I did find difficult. I experienced the biggest earthquake I had felt before; then a few weeks later the area I live was heavily flooded from unusually heavy rains; later in the year we had an extremely hot summer of 40 degrees with extremely high humidity and finally an extremely strong typhoon. All in the space of a few months, it was like Kyoto was giving me a crash course to the worst possible scenarios of its natural disasters. But that was an unusual year and usually it is a peaceful place to live.

Life during COVID-19

-What were the beneficial/challenging aspects of life during COVID-19?
I am quite introverted, so I really enjoyed being able to work quietly from home. Also, because I live quite far from the university it meant I did not have to do at least 2 hours travelling every day.

Research at Kyoto University

-What do you hope to do after graduating from Kyoto University?
I am in the process of applying for a postdoctoral position at another university in Japan. Eventually, I would like to do research and/or university lecturing. But I am not sure if this will be in Japan or elsewhere since research and university positions are extremely competitive both in Japan and globally.

Message for Future International Students
Most importantly, enjoy your time in Kyoto, discover a different world and culture and try as many new things as you can. Keep your future goal in mind and do not let challenges bring you down, keep persevering. Above all, always remember that if you put your mind to something you can achieve it.