At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, I lost my grandfather in India. It was also around this time that I befriended a group of older people in Sendai and found a lifeline in the unlikeliest of places.
I’d moved to Japan in 2019 with generous support from a scholarship and expected my life to be a colorful tapestry of intellectual challenges in my chosen field of linguistics, loving friendships and occasional karaoke outings.
But when my grandfather passed, my motivation to continue my Ph.D. faltered — it had been his long-standing dream for me to become an academic. Struggling to sustain friendships, I spent most of my time watching cooking shows and drinking more sake than I should have to distract myself. On days I was able to pull myself together, I ventured out for a run.
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