Santiago has been playing professional volleyball in Japan for nearly five years.
It’s been a while since Filipino volleyball fans have seen Jaja Santiago in the Philippines.
The volleyball star has been busy making a name for herself in Japan as she continues to thrive with the Saitama Ageo Medics in the Japan V.League.
It takes a special kind of player to be able to play that well despite being in a different environment—and Jaja certainly has the dedication.
On her Instagram story, Santiago posted a photo of her studying Japan's vernacular at the Japanese Language Research Center, which is one of the top online language learning centers in Land of the Rising Sun.
Learning a new language definitely takes time and a lot of mental effort, but Jaja is up for the task.
After all, Santiago has has been playing professionally in Japan since 2018. The 6-foot-4 middle blocker is also engaged to her team’s assistant coach, Taka Minowa, who is Japanese.
And as Santiago goes through the process of becoming a Japanese citizen herself, then being able to speak Japanese fluently is naturally the next step in her journey.