I never would have imagined myself living in Japan. As a matter of fact it wasn't so long ago I could have listed Japan as one of the last places I would want to visit. So surprise! Instead of moving to India like we had originally planned - my dear husband accepted a job in Tokyo. A 'boondoggle' he calls it. One of those crazy once-in-a-lifetime opportunities you cannot refuse. The job offer came out of nowhere just days before we were to leave on a trip floating the Missouri river in Montana and a couple of weeks after I had graduated from Palo Alto University with a BS in Psychology. We were able to pack up our lives in San Francisco in about a week. I arrived in Minato-ku two days ago on August 3rd, 2009.
I have found myself living in culture I am unfamiliar with and surrounded by a language I do not understand. I am not a city girl - but a nature nerd/river guide who is more at home sleeping on the ground next to the river than in a corporate apartment building in Roppongi. I have often described myself as a modern day explorer - so I am delving into this Japanese adventure with as much enthusiasm I can muster. Although I am completely out of my element I relish this opportunity and find myself incredibly grateful for the chance to experience a year living abroad.
Navigating the subway is a class V experience- just google map 'tokyo subway' and you will see what I mean! Here my hair seems blonder, my eyes rounder, and my body larger than when I left San Francisco but I LIKE being the only white girl on the subway! An avid voyeur, I am doing my best not to get "Lost in Translation" but to translate Tokyo in a such a way I will find myself falling in love with Japan.
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