Blogs from Midori-ku, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan, Asia

Nagoya is the home of my grandfather. He arrived in the US at the age of 16 in 1896, having graduated from high school at age 14. I know very little about his life before our family started farming in Kingsburg. He started as a houseboy for a family in Los Angeles. They taught him to read and write English, one of the few first generation (Issei) who were truly bilingual. I will digress with a story that perhaps sheds considerable light into our family. My grandfather passed away peacefully in the summer of 1965, under his favorite shade tree in the back yard. During the days preceding his funeral, an elderly man showed up at the Greyhound stop in Kingsburg (it was at an old gas station on Simpson). They sent me to pick him ... read more

ONE MONTH I absolutely cannot believe ive almost been here a month, its unreal. Whilst talking to Rochelle (my little American friend who rides all my buses and subways with me each day and generally takes care of me) at the weekend who’s only here til Christmas we realised she only has another 10 Saturdays left-which is horrendous, and it means I’ve spent 1/9th of the time with my host family already. Its nuts; I’ll be home in around 10/11months! Anyway that’s the negative thinking over, I just have to do loads of stuff and not waste my time here! This week was fabulous in many ways-much hilarity has been enjoyed. To kick off, the teacher of my festival class recommended we check out the annual festival of a nearby community-Imaike festival. So we toddled along ... read more