‘Sayonara’: Chloe McLeod will miss family, local bakery while teaching in Japan

MONROE — Chloe McLeod will soon be saying “Sayonara” to her hometown. Next month, the 22-year-old will be leaving for Japan to embark on a career as an assistant English teacher.

Making a list of what to pack and pondering on things she’ll miss most about Monroe, a local bakery on North Monroe Street comes to mind.

“Lately, I’ve really been into the gluten-free, dairy-free cakes by Cakes by Stephanie,” Chloe McLeod said. “I can’t eat dairy and gluten so I go there all the time. I think I’m going to miss that.”

Learning how to speak Japanese started out as a hobby for McLeod, a 2019 Monroe High School graduate.

“I started studying the Japanese language when I was 17,” she said. “I had gotten into Japanese media and music. I remember listening to the language and thinking it was beautiful and elegant.”

Through self-study, she learned the foreign language made up of three types of characters: hiragana and katakana (two syllabaries of 46 characters each) and kanji, made up of thousands of characters.

As a college student at the University of Toledo, she participated in the school’s Japanese language program.

In December 2023, she graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry, minoring in green chemistry and engineering.

Last month, she traveled to Japan as part of a cultural exchange program called the Kakehashi Project.

Funded by Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and organized by the Japan International Cooperation Center, the project promotes friendly relations and cross-cultural understanding between Japan and the United States (among other nations).

“I was selected as a participant due to placing first in the Japan-America Society of Central Ohio’s Japanese Speech Contest last March, during my time as a student in the University of Toledo’s Japanese language program,” she said.

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McLeod, along with several other exchange students, stayed with a host family for part of the project.

She said the experience allowed her to practice and improve her Japanese communication skills.

As a participant with the Kakehashi Project, McLeod committed to share her experiences on the project and what she learned during her time in Japan.

“While I was in Japan, one of the things that shocked me the most was how clean and organized everything was,” she said. “The shop owners sweep the sidewalks outside of their shops, something you rarely see in the United States.”

McLeod was also impressed by “the coexistence between history and tradition with the modern side of culture."

“Japan is known for its innovation and technology but they also have a lot of shrines and temples that coexist in their daily lives,” she said. “Students will go to a shrine or temple to pray for good grades.”

At the end of March, McLeod and her mom, Stefanie McLeod, will fly to Toyohasi, a city in central Japan where she will live while working as an assistant English teacher. She was recommended by one of her college professors for the position.

She said her monthly salary of $1,800 (in U.S. dollars) will be enough to support herself. She’ll rely on the public train system to navigate the city known for its gardens and warm climate.

Although she’s excited about her future, McLeod admits leaving her family — her mom and dad, Ryan McLeod, and sisters, 24-year-old Kate and 20-year-old Emilia — will be difficult.

She’s uncertain if she’ll stay beyond her one-year commitment but has the option to renew her teaching contract.

“I know my mom is quite worried. She keeps joking that I’m never going to come back," she said. "I think my parents are a bit nervous to have their child so far away.”

"I could not be more proud of Chloe," Stefanie McLeod said in a written statement. "She has always done exceptional things, so her choice to do this was really no surprise to us. As much as I’m going to miss her, I’m so excited for her to experience all that Japan has to offer!"

— Contact reporter Lisa Vidaurri-Bowling at lvidaurribowling@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: ‘Sayonara’: Chloe McLeod will miss family, local bakery while teaching in Japan