Sendai ¨C 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 ¡ª 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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