Makiko Fujiwara-Skrobak

Professor

“SMC is a great place to come to make experiments and to try out new ideas.”

Makiko Fujiwara-Skrobak, now in her third year of teaching Japanese at SMC, is an intriguing blend of cultural influences which are reflected in her passion for cooking. “I love combining elements of various cuisines,” she says. “But I don’t necessarily think a combination of Japanese and French dinners would be a good choice for everyone.”

Makiko speaks Japanese, English and Norwegian as a result of her world travels. Born in northern Japan, she went to study in England on a scholarship and then met her Norwegian husband. They moved to America in 1980 and “through sheer chance” she found SMC. “I have been very happy here,” says Makiko. “We have very good students from different backgrounds who are extremely motivated,” she says. “And I like the evening students, most of whom have full-time jobs, because they are very dedicated and tend to be very interesting people.”

Makiko says that rigid societal pressures often force Japanese people to seek independent thinking overseas. “But it’s important for people to understand our culture through our language,” she says. “It is ‘different’ but not necessarily ‘difficult’,” she says of learning Japanese. “Once you get used to seeing things the Japanese way, the language is very straightforward and logical. And I must say,” she adds with a laugh, “compared with English, studying Japanese is a heaven.”

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