How long have you been at ASIJ?

“I am currently a sophomore. I have been here since kindergarten, with my twin sister, Nadia.”

What are you passionate about? 

“I like to swim. I swim year-round. I have been swimming since I was two years old. I hope to make it to the nationals. I like to swim in long-distance races, and my favorite races in the pool are the 400 meter and the 1500 meter freestyle. In the ocean, I like to swim the 5 kilometer and the 10 kilometer races. Next year I will participate in swimming the Tsugaru Strait, and swim 22 kilometers.”

What inspires you to swim?

“My parents forced me [to swim] as a child, but I ended up liking it. They wanted me to do a sport. It’s really nice being able to swim and spend time with my sister. Her favorite is breaststroke. My closest friends I have are from swimming, and I see my swim coach as a second father. While swimming, I began to understand limits and what I’m able to do and also be realistic.”

What are your favorite memories of swimming?

“A recent one is when our relay team wore Pokémon trainer hats in a relay against college students. We were with college students because our coach didn’t put us in the right age group. I think my favorite meet was my first OWS (Open Water Swimming) meet. I was nervous but ended up having lots of fun. It was completely different from normal swim meets. The energy there felt more like a community than any other meet I’ve been to. I swam three kilometers in 36 minutes. I was 12 or 13 at the time. I also remember that my mother was there to support me. Like I said before, I’ve made a lot of close friends through swimming. I think right now, my closest friends are Charlie, Kai, and Louis. I have a lot of fond memories with everyone in my swim club.”

Have you experienced any challenges living in Japan as a “gaijin”? 

“Japanese people often talk about their English homework when they see me. They also assume I don’t understand what they say which is very amusing. If they say anything mean, I usually just turn around and stare at them. Overall I just get stared at. Also whenever I get called into my race for some reason they can’t pronounce my name even though it’s カジイ in katakana. But being a foreigner in Japan has not stopped me from doing anything.”

Do you have any other hobbies?

“I like to hang out with my friends but also do video editing. I help my friend, since he’s still learning. I also like doing other forms of exercise like going to the gym and biking or running. When I am with my friends, I like to hang out at Akihabara, go eat the oreryu shio-ramen in Shibuya, or go eat the Kyushu jangara ramen in Harajuku.”