Heena Shah-Engineer, Blogger, Traveller, Japanese Teacher.

Heena Shah is a single individual with multiple identities. She is a mechanical engineer by profession. Apart from this, she is also a blogger, a traveller, a lover and teacher of the Japanese language and the list goes on.

To get a better picture of this one of a kind person, the ItsGoa team got in touch with Heena and got to know a lot about her life, her career, her hobbies, her passions and much more…

Tell us about yourself…

I was born and raised in Mumbai, India but I grew up in Sikkim, Manipal, Montenegro, Japan and all over the world. I enjoy exploring cultures, foods, sights, languages and meeting people. I have travelled through all union territories and most states of India. I have experienced about 20 countries including 45 of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Apart from blogging, I spend my time looking for greener alternatives in daily life, working out, and collecting and writing postcards. At the moment, I work remotely as a mechanical engineer, help SMEs in improving efficiencies, own a postcard shop and study the Japanese language at Mumbai University. I also teach Japanese and English language, do interpretations and translations and conduct postcard making and writing workshops.

What was that one moment that changed everything?

Taking the flight to Japan for the very first time, 10 years ago and returning with the idea of wanting to live there.

Your Instagram handle is: @explorer.heena

Any funny or inspiring childhood story or memory you want to share that shaped your life... I never went for tuitions and my French teacher back at school told me I’d not make it by myself in my 10th grade exams. I managed to score a 39 on 40 in the written exam and that was a lesson learnt that one can take you down only if you let them.

What's the biggest challenge when pursuing this full time?

Time management and discipline to be able to pursue everything I am doing.

A bit about your role models.

My parents are definitely my role models when it comes to working hard.

What role did family and friends play? Any quick incident you recall?

My family inspired me to do more than what I always did and friends were family.

What would you tell yourself if you went back in time?

Your dreams will come true so keep at them.

Any person/celeb from the past you'd want to meet? Why?

Probably Einstein because he was a genius.

What is the legacy you want to leave behind? And for whom?

That I made a difference and left behind a slightly better world for generations to come.