The days and weeks leading up to my first day at Colorkrew I was of course brimming with excitement, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous. It would be my first time living outside of my home country in a place that I’d only ever been to once for a week long trip 4 years ago. A place where people spoke a language that I had been self studying for the past half year or so but still didn’t have a grasp on. A place halfway across the world from my family and friends who it’d be hard to talk to because of the difference in time zone. A place where I didn’t have any friends yet.

Yet, all those nerves were washed away when I stepped into the office for the first time and met everyone. I was welcomed with open arms and immediately felt like I belonged. One of my favorite things about coming into the office is that it’s part of the company culture to encourage people to get to know each other better. We get awesome benefits like “Go to lunch” and “Go to drinks” where we get reimbursed for going to lunch with coworkers or going for dinner and drinks after work. I always look forward to coming into the office and hanging out with everyone so I go in to the office as often as possible, but we’re also given the flexibility to work from home a few times a week which is incredibly convenient. Recently, the temperature has been rising so I’ve been working from home more often, but if it wasn’t for the overwhelming heat of Japanese summers, I’d still be going into the office every day.

It’s only been 4 months since I started working here and I already feel incredibly close to all my coworkers. Colorkrew culture creates an environment that truly fosters the relationships between everyone and it made the transition for a very big life change seamless. I’m very grateful that I now have a community of people that I’m able to hang out with even outside of work.