Shana Ryan is a writer at Linguaphile Magazine. Shana was born and grew up in Japan as an American citizen, born to American parents. She spent most of her adolescent life, immersed in Japanese language and culture. Shana’s first languages are English and Japanese, having learned English at home and Japanese at school. After finishing high school in Japan, Shana moved to Melbourne, Australia. She studied a Bachelor of Arts in Linguistics and a Master’s degree in Applied Linguistics. Her multicultural upbringing and lived experience fueled her passion for language, culture, and communication in multicultural contexts. Shana has a special interest in the intersection of cultural linguistics and social psychology. Her keen interest and ability to learn about different communication styles, behaviors, and values across cultures prompts her to develop skills in multicultural storytelling and writing. She believes that authentic and emotional stories of people’s experiences navigating the complexity of identities in cross-cultural contexts. She feels passionate about creative writing and capturing stories related to language, culture, and identity.