Task 1: What’s in my bag?

Hi there! My name is Didy.

Born and raised in Montreal, Canada, (bonjour tout le monde!), I am the eldest daughter of Chinese-immigrant parents. After graduating from McGill University with a B.Ed. in TESL, I moved to Akita, Japan, to teach English as an Assistant Language Teacher on the JET Programme, where I taught at the elementary, junior, and senior high school levels for about 6 years. I currently work as an English teacher at Seirei Women’s Junior College.

In my free time, I enjoy playing video games, listening to music, and binging on Netflix shows. I’m also excited and a little nervous to take on the challenge of balancing full-time work, the MET program, and my role as a mother to a newborn!

My Daily Needs

Here are the most recent contents of my every-day bag.

  1. Canvas tote bag: large enough to carry all my things, and washable!
  2. Wallet: filled with bills, coins, cards and grocery store receipts.
  3. Hand sanitizer: a staple item since the pandemic started.
  4. Mirror: I may or may not use this way too often in one day.
  5. Reusable grocery bags: saving the environment, one less plastic bag at a time.
  6. Eau de cologne: a light, clean-scented perfume that I’ve been using consistently since I discovered it seven years ago.
  7. Pocket tissue: a convenient item to have on hand, especially during pollen season.
  8. はんこ (hanko, personal seal/stamp): in Japan, personal seals are used in place of signatures/initials.
  9. Earphones: used less often now since I don’t take public transportation.
  10. Hair claw: great for getting hair out of the way when enjoying a hot bowl of ramen.
  11. 母子手帳 (boshi techo, maternal and child health handbook) and case: a new addition to my bag as of this year! Used to record my and my baby’s health details during pregnancy throughout babyhood. The case also contains our health insurance cards and hospital cards.
  12. Makeup and makeup pouch: a comb, eyeshadow stick, eyeliner, eyebrow pencil, and an unnecessary amount of lipsticks and lip balms. The Crayon Shin-chan (my favourite cartoon) pouch was a cheap find at a second-hand thrift store.
  13. Essentials pouch: wet-wipes, body wipes, sanitary pads and other things that might help a girlie in need!

My Items as Texts

These items provide a glimpse into where I live, the culture that surrounds me, and my identity. Certain items, like the personal seal and maternal and child health handbook, are texts specific to the country and culture where I reside: Japan. The maternal and child health handbook in particular is a “text” that represents my new role as a mother. Other items, like the cosmetics, mirror, etc., represent my vanity/unnecessary obsession with upkeeping my physical appearance!

The text technology that would usually be in my bag, my smartphone, was used to take the photo. My smartphone is how I do most of my communication with others now, through instant messaging, social media networks, and email. Aside from that, the contents of my wallet (cards and receipts) and the health handbook are texts that were digitally produced. These items, written in English and Japanese, show that I can communicate in both these languages. Furthermore, with some contents of my bag being in a language other than my mother tongue English, this shows that I have been able to grasp certain literacy skills necessary to live abroad. Had this photo been taken 15 years ago, all the contents of my bag would only be in English and French (the two languages used in Canada).

The contents of my bag are also a fairly accurate representation of the image I outwardly present to others: I am organized (contents are separated into compartments/pouches), prepared for anything (the essentials pouch, hand sanitizer, and pocket tissues are good examples of this), and somewhat vain (the mirror is always in the outer pocket of the bag so that I can use it right away, and I never leave the house without my makeup pouch).

An archaeologist many years from now may find the personal seal the most interesting out of all the contents in my bag in contrast to the other items. Whereas many countries and cultures use signatures to sign official documents, some East Asian countries will not accept signatures and instead require your personal stamp. Comparing a somewhat old-fashioned item like a personal seal to a digital device like the earphones in my bag, you can see a contrast between tradition and modern times.

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