In 2015, Yumi Nagashima was feeling a little uncomfortable. In fact, she had been feeling that way for a few years. It was like being bothered by a tiny thorn, barely perceptible but still there, reminding her that she wasn¡¯t living the life she had envisioned when she left Japan.

Rewind to 2008, when Nagashima was 28. She was teaching English to kids at a conversation school in Japan. She had always loved English, and majored in English literature at Bunkyo University. Life was fine but uneventful, until she fell in love in with a fellow teacher from her school. ¡°I thought he was just amazing,¡± says Nagashima over Skype. ¡°His name was Kevin.¡±

They started dating, but before long, Kevin, who was Chinese Canadian, decided to return to his hometown in Vancouver.