Nearly a year has passed, quicker than I ever imagined possible, and after a brief interlude at home I return to embark on a second year of adventures. The first year, it goes without saying, was a time of first; some could only have only happened in Japan, others were universal. I bought my first car, lived by myself for the first time, drank sake, had a full-time job, visited a leprosy village, celebrated New Year’s on the beach, conducted my errands in a foreign tongue, traveled by the fastest train in the world. It has been a quite successful year. I made friends, both Japanese and Americans, improved my spoken Japanese beyond my expectations, traveled to nearly a dozen major cities in Japan and beyond to South Korea and a memorable three weeks in Vietnam.
... read more
