The Good, the Bad, and the Frustrating: Evangeline Neo’s Firsthand Account of Living in Japan

If you’ve ever studied or lived abroad, you know that culture shock is real. It can impact your perspective, especially if your home country is drastically different from the one you are visiting. Evangeline Neo experienced this firsthand when she studied in Tokyo from 2010 to 2014. She noticed a lot of cultural differences and decided to navigate them by portraying her experiences through comics.

More: Evangeline Neo, Instagram, Patreon h/t: boredpanda

Evangeline’s comic series, called Evacomics, can be found in her two books: “Eva, Kopi and Matcha” and “Eva, Kopi and Matcha 2.0,” which are available on Amazon and other eBook platforms. The comics cover topics like opening a bank account, renting an apartment, and other aspects of daily life in Japan that aren’t always accurately portrayed in anime, manga, or dramas.

Initially, Evangeline posted her comics online to find her niche and a topic that her readers would enjoy. Her first comic went viral, and for the first time, strangers were liking, commenting, and sharing her work. She continued to create over 300 comic strips about cultural differences, with consistency and quality maintained by talking with her readers and thinking of new topics to draw.

Evangeline’s comics serve as a reminder that experiencing culture shock is normal, and it’s okay to feel frustrated or miss home while abroad. Her comics also show that finding ways to express those experiences can help cope with culture shock. So if you’re feeling overwhelmed by cultural differences, try channeling your experiences into something creative – who knows, maybe you’ll inspire others to do the same.