The Difference Between Me, a Mentally Handicapped Adult and a Baby

The next time you go into a restaurant and order something to eat, I want you to take a good long look at any toddlers or young children that may be in the building. What are they doing while their parents order? Are they looking up at the ceiling or focusing on the exchange happening between their parent and the restaurant staff? When it's your turn to order something, listen to the words that come out of your mouth. Did you order some complicated French dish or perhaps the "Rooty Tooty Fresh and Fruity" (Don't act like you don't know what that is!)

So while you're doing all of this observing, I want you to imagine what it would be like if you couldn't read, write, or understand what anyone around you was saying. Imagine that whenever you went somewhere to fill out important paperwork, you had to rely on someone to negotiate everything for you and then explain in the simplest English terms possible what it is that's happening. Imagine walking into an eating establishment alone and watching people smile at you out of pity as the restaurant staff show you menus with big colorful pictures and the only thing you can do is point and grunt. If you can imagine what that feels like, you would know what it's like to be a mentally handicapped adult, a toddler or . . . me, in Japan. You may think I'm being a little harsh, but honestly, I'm not. When you get down to it, I can't read, I can't write, I can barely speak and to put it bluntly, I'm not considered to be the smartest crayon in the box out here in Japan . . . wait, I think I said that wrong.

Me and a Baby

So me and a baby have a lot in common. When we walk into a room, people smile at us. It's not expected for us to know how to speak or read and we always live up to that expectation. The main difference between me and a baby is that a baby understands what's going on around them a lot better than I do. They understand the language, but just don't have the motor skills to be able to repeat it in the sophisticated way that an adult can. If I had the brain of one of these Japanese toddlers walking around (first of all . . . does that statement alone give you a glimpse into the twisted mind that I have?) but yeah, if I had the brain of one of these Japanese toddlers, I would probably be navigating my way through this country a whole lot easier. I just wouldn't be able to read.

Me and a Mentally Handicapped Adult

So this category is a little muddled, because there are different levels of mental illness. While I could compare myself to someone with an extreme mental handicap, maybe like Sean Penn's character in I Am Sam, I'd rather go the route of the Idiot Savant like Dustin Hoffman's Rain Man or Tom Hanks in Forrest Gump. I bring up the latter characters because - for the most part - they walked around looking like your average "special" person but it's revealed gradually throughout the movies that they had an advantage, a kind of genius uncommon to the so-called "normal" people around them. In my case, my genius would be my sudden ability to speak English fluently and with "general American dialect." Honest to goodness, these people are very impressed by that. And that is the ONLY thing that lets them know that beneath all of my idiot-ness there lies a savant. . . a genius if you will. (And oh! . . . I will.)

Just one of those little things floating around in my brain from time to time.

:-)

Getting Lost Finding Myself in Japan

After a long Saturday featuring a bunch of screaming children and "judgey" parents, 7 o'clock finally hit and the weekend was officially upon me. I was a little happier than usual because I was looking forward to having some Yakiniku with friends in a neighboring city. Long story short, that plan fell through and I found myself alone, standing at the train station at 8:30pm, trying to figure out what to do with myself for the rest of the night. So almost instantly a shuttle bus appeared. I'd been told earlier that week that there was a shuttle bus that goes back and forth between the train station and the mall. Segoi! <---that's Japanese for "Great!" I thought to myself, I'll just take the shuttle bus to the mall and see a movie. So I straightened up my backbone, and with head held high, marched up to the shuttle bus, and barely heard myself squeak out a feeble "Sumimasen" (which means excuse me) before the driver shut the door in my face and drove further up the parking lot. I should have taken this as a sign from God that this was the part where I turn around and go home, but instead I chased the shuttle bus up the road like a lost puppy and asked the driver if I could board. He waved me on and 10 minutes later I was at the mall.

And boy was I happy!

So I decided to see Sex and the City part 2 because it was the only English movie that I hadn't seen yet. (The other 2 English movies were The Book of Eli and Iron Man part 2.) I anxiously waited in the lobby, trying to decide what to eat while I enjoyed my first American movie . . . in Japan. I decided on a hotdog, a coke and some caramel popcorn <--- that I'd heard was really good.

"Cheese dog, chili dog or normal?" the clerk asked.

"Chili dog" I said and he handed me what looked like a slim jim with some tomato sauce on it.

I settled down into my chair, took a bite of my disgusting hotdog and began to panic. What if I just walked into the wrong movie just now? What if the whole movie is voiced over in Japanese and the subtitles are in English? I sat through a few corny/confusing commercials (Japan's specialty) and listened as the Alica Keyes/JayZ "unofficial New York City anthem" started. When I heard Sarah Jessica Parker's voice speaking English, I took a huge sigh of relief and silently thanked God for allowing me a couple hours of sanity in a public place.

I watched the movie and despite the fact that I am thirsty and desperate for all things American, it was not enough to quench my thirst. The movie was okay, but not good. After it was over, I walked out of the mall and noticed how empty and quiet everything was. I checked my cell phone and saw that the time said 00:06. "What the heck does that mean?" I thought to myself. There were three people in the parking lot and one of them was headed to their car. The other two sat at a bench, waiting for something.

I waited too. Maybe there was another bus coming. I waited for 15 minutes and decided that it was time to try to head home. So I took a deep breath and walked across the parking lot, secretly praying that that very same shuttle bus that appeared out of nowhere to take me to the mall, would appear again and take me back to the train station. No such luck!

I made it out of the parking lot and decided to turn left. I wandered along the sidewalk, beside a wall of dark trees and loud bugs. Things got darker and darker the further I got away from the lights in the mall parking lot. Then I decided that I was going the wrong way and turned around. I did this about 5 times before deciding that I needed to flag down a car and ask for directions. All of the cars were too fast and being that it was so dark outside, I'm sure they didn't see me. At some point, however, a man on a bike appeared and I was able to ask him (in broken Japanese) what direction the train station was. He pointed down the road that I'd gone up and down a few times already. I thanked him and started down the long country road, lined with houses and dark garages. Things got creepy, especially when I walked alongside the rice fields which buzzed with all kinds of disgusting creatures.

After a half an hour, I reached the train station and five minutes later, I was home. I then realized that this whole trip would have taken less than 10 minutes if I'd just taken my bike. In other words, I was pacing back and forth, on the verge of a nervous breakdown, about 10 minutes away from my own home.

And that ladies and gentlemen is how a bill becomes a law.

Goodnight!

Silly Ahmeddicans

Okay, so I've already covered the common stereotypes that (most) Americans have about Japanese people. But do you reeeally think that they don't have some stereotypes about us? Well, if not then you're sadly mistaken and you might want to prepare yourself, because I plan to name a few of them right now. To a degree, I feel like this post is a little premature because there are some students that I have yet to ask about American stereotypes and they are a colorful group so their input would be greatly appreciated. But I'll list what I have so far and if there are any additions, I'll give you an update. Let's get started, shall we?

#1 - Americans LOVE to party

We party every single night, my student told me. We just love to get our "fun" on. But what's a party without beer and about 50 or 60 of our closest friends. This leads to the next 2 stereotypes.

#2 - Americans LOVE liquor and drink a lot

"Americans can drink lots and lots of liquor," my student said.

"Really?" I asked her.

She nodded.

"Well, I can't."

She tilted her head and looked confused. "You can't?"

"No," I told her. "One drink is enough for me."

Her - "WOW!"

And at that moment, an angel got their wings.

#3 - Americans LOVE large bars

The bars that we go to have the ability to hold hundreds of people and we fill those suckers up. People everywhere, with lots of yelling, drunken dancing, and spilled drinks. Now I've gone to a couple of those in my college days, so I had nothing but a smile and a guilty expression when she mentioned this stereotype. Also, it's important for me to note that a lot of the "watering holes" (at least the ones that I've gone to in my little town of Kurashiki, Japan) are very small and quiet. They can hold a capacity of maybe 20 people.

#4 - Americans Will Drive a Car Until the Wheels Fall Off

In Japan, people change their cars every 5 years because it's cheaper that way. Otherwise, they have to pay really high fees to get their yearly checkup. When she explained that it costs the equivalent of 1,000 American dollars a year JUST for the checkup, not counting of course the oil changes (which get more expensive, the older the car is) as well as the taxes, I understood why one would just shell out the bucks yen to buy a new car. She said that Americans drive cars until they die. After living in a country where every car is shiny and new, I can totally understand why she feels that way.

#5 - Americans Eat Hamburgers Every Day

That's prettymuch it. We eat them every day, kind of like the equivalent of English people drinking tea at a certain time every day . . . except our tea would be hamburgers. Big, greasy, hamburgers.

#6 - American Children Are Fed Ice Cream Every Night

And not just a regular bowl of ice cream . . . a huge bowl with scoop upon scoop of ice cream, towering as high as the child's head. I only say this because when I repeated my student and asked, "Children eat ice cream every day?" she shook her head vehemently and said, "No, no, no . . . BIG . . . big bowls of ice cream." and began to make what looked like a hand signal for humongous mountain or something and began shoveling it into her mouth. "Got, it!" I said.

#7 - Americans Are Very Nice

Maybe she just said this because she'd unloaded a few gut punches on me - with the "Americans eat hamburgers every day" (and drink, and spoil our children and pretty much have no class, LOL). But I don't think so, I actually think she meant this. She made a reference to a famous Japanese comedian who has a funny skit where he goes to America and jumps out of odd places, attempting to scare (and anger, I guess) the Americans. She says that everyone just laughed or smiled but no one got angry. She said if he'd have tried that mess in Japan, he would have gotten punched in his face. I laughed. I suspect that if some small, asian man jumped out of an odd place, attempting to scare me, my laughing, getting angry (or crying) might depend on the situation. Either way, it was hard for me not to think about the guy from "The Hangover," when she mentioned this.

#8 - America Is At the Top of the Technology Food Chain

According to my student, America has the latest gizmos, gadgets, whatchama-doozits and computers. I was shocked to hear this particular American stereotype because I assumed that Japan was the technology capital of the world, but when she said it . . . I couldn't help but to nod my head and grin. Yeah! One point for us!!! :-)

#9 - Americans Put Our Children to Bed Early

I then asked her, "What's early?"

And she says, "Nine pm."

So then of course I had to ask her what time Japanese people generally put their children to bed. She said maybe around 12am. Now, of course this is a subjective question. Maybe there are some Japanese parents who put their children to bed before 12, but generally all of my students have told me that they go to bed pretty late. Either way, my bedtime (and all of the bedtimes of the children that I grew up with - who had decent families - went to bed at around 9pm.) I thought it was really strange that she thought this was early. But if this is a stereotype about Americans . . . I feel comfortable enough to generalize and say that it's true.

#10 - Americans Have Happy Children

Because they all eat so much ice cream and go to bed early, of course.

#11 - Americans Travel All Over the World

I told her that only the Americans with lots of money and lots of time to do this. When she mentioned this stereotype, however, it helped me to understand why so many people looked at me cross eyed when I told them that this was my first time out of the country. A lot of times when the Japanese mention to me all of the places that they've been, they'll ask me if I've been there too. "No," I say. And then comes, the look followed by, "Why not?" Either way, my student told me that it's a common belief that Americans are very worldly and it's nothing for them to hop on an airplane and go to a foreign country. I guess my very presence in Japan does nothing to discourage that stereotype.

#12 - All Americans Have Big Houses and Big Yards

Well, not all of us, I told her. But yes, there are a number of big houses and spacious yards in America. Especially where I used to live in New Jersey. In Japan, I've seen a few nice, large homes . . . but I have yet to see a large yard.

So that's all I got for now. Personally, I thought about a lot of these stereotypes and I can totally understand why some of these views about American culture exists. You can really see the differences between the Japanese and American culture by examining some of them. Either way, I refuse to substantiate or oppose any of these stereotypes . . . I'll leave that to you. What do you think?

Why I'm Here

The Wicked Witch of the "West" (yours truly) on the ole' bicycle

One thing that I've failed to mention . . . really, the most important thing is What I'm actually doing out here in Japan in the first place. Why, teaching English of course! Teaching English is something that a lot of young Americans do when they want to put "the real world" on hold and experience life in another country. The only thing that "us" young Americans fail to realize is that "the real world" doesn't just stop because you're in another country, teaching English. If anything, there is nothing "real-er" than educating other human beings. And there is also nothing real-er than being in another country - specifically Japan.

I'll just get straight to the point. My days here are long. LOOOOONNNNNGGGGG!!!! I start at 12pm and it doesn't let up until 9pm. I wake up and go from laying in bed staring at the ceiling-wondering where the heck I am- to hopping onto my bicycle and riding like the wind as the Wicked Witch of the West theme loops itself over and over in my head. At the most, I'll have 7 classes in a day, with students ranging in age from 1 years old to 69 years old. Some students are sweet and nice, while others are cynical and rude. Some students are full of energy while others barely breathe. Some students scream at the top of their lungs while others don't speak at all. And it's safe to say that I go through more ranges of emotions within a 9 hour period than most people go through in a lifetime.

Some classes are like this . . .

and other classes are like . . .

So after my last class is over, I do everything that I have to do in order to get out of the building as soon as possible and try to salvage what's left of my day (blogging, chatting on Skype, watching American television on the internet and cooking dinner - because I'm not smart enough to prepare it in advance.) After about 2 hours of this, I go to bed and repeat the cycle. The only good thing about this "circle of torture" schedule that I have going on is that it allows me to talk to my friends and family at a decent time and it makes the work-week just fly by. Mainly because it all feels like one very long day. I couldn't tell you any details about what takes place in my work-week, but I can tell you every single thing that happens in a weekend. Everything else is a blur of singing, dancing, confusion, broken English and sign language. Oh, and packing tape. Lots and lots of packing tape.

So that's pretty much it. Any questions?

Whatever You Heard About Japan...It's ALL True...Well, Some of It

So what are your thoughts about Japan? Have you bought into any myths or stereotypes? I don't care how "open-minded" or "non-prejudiced" you might tell yourself you are, if you're an American, there are probably some pre-conceived notions in your mind about the "land of the rising sun" that have yet to be addressed. So consider this post my way of getting straight to the point about some of the stereotypes that happen to hold water, along with the ones that are completely wrong and some of the things that you will probably never see coming.

Okay, time to play . . . FACT, MYTH or WILDCARD?

These people eat a lot of rice.

Actually, I covered this in my last post. Yes, rice is it's own food group in Japan. These people eat rice like it's going out of style. Onto the next subject, already! I'm sick of even talking about rice.

Verdict? FACT

Japanese people, specifically women, are submissive, docile and quiet.

Some people may debate me on this, but in my experiences I have not been in contact with a bunch of docile women. If anything, I can't even walk down the street without hearing a loud "Hello" and turning to see a random Japanese woman attempting to make conversation with me. This is especially common amongst the teenaged girls. One can argue that it's a young person thing, but even the older women that I've seen are talkers who seem to get straight to the point. My Japanese coworkers (who are all women) are very "straight up" and each bring their own brand of "sass" to the table. I love it!

Verdict? MYTH

Japanese neighborhoods look . . . well, Japanese, of course!

First off, define a "Japanese" environment. If you're envisioning a bunch of bonzai trees and open fields with majestic, solitary temples then you're sadly mistaken (unless you seek out the historical places). The majority of Japan does not look like a scene out of "Memoirs of a Geisha." You will rarely see people walking around in traditional Japanese garb. The days of the "Samurai" are long gone. Yes, the architecture is traditional Japanese architecture/most of the buildings have those cool, shell-looking rooftops and my neighborhood has a historic district that looks very . . . well, very historical. It's beautiful . . . but it's not the norm. The majority of my neighborhood has a very industrial look to it. A lot of department stores, little restaurants, businesses, and apartment complexes. It cracks me up how surprised everyone in my family was when I skyped them some video of my neighborhood. They were like, "That doesn't look like Japan!"

Verdict? MYTH

Things are cheaper in Japan.

The American dollar is slipping into nothingness and, sadly, the only people who don't realize it are the American people. I'll just make this simple. There's not even a dollar yen menu at McDonald's. Everything is expensive, and let's not even talk about the fact that at one point, $10 used to translate to about 1000 yen so all you had to do was move the decimal point over two times. But now, 1000 yen is like 1000 U.S. dollars. I'm exaggerating . . . maybe it's around $13 dollars? Either way, I had to buy a decent pocketbook and the cheapest one that I came across was about 4800 yen. For a split second, I thought about getting some cheap stuff shipped over so I could start selling it and make a fortune. So yeah, if you're looking to save money . . . go to Thailand (or just go back to America) because things in Japan are expensive.

Verdict? BIG MYTH

The Majority of Japanese People Are Really Short

For the most part yes. I'm 5'8 and at any given time, odds are I'm taller than everyone in the room . . . including the men. When I get down about it, I tell myself that Supermodels are often the tallest women in the room . . . soooo, yeah. But there are some exceptions of course, and it's always refreshing to see a fellow tall person. And it's funny, because they kind of acknowledge you a little . . . kind of like the "Black person nod" (yes, we have a nod). They'll give you the "knowing glance."

Verdict? FACT

Japan is the technology capital of the world.

Maybe . . . but I haven't really gotten to see it. I know that finding wifi out here was nearly impossible. Oh! . . . and when I got here (3 weeks ago) every time I pulled out my Ipad, the Japanese people would gasp in amazement. I remember shaking my head and thinking "technology capital of the world, huh?" half a dozen times. But to be fair, from what I've heard, the Japanese put a lot of their technological innovations into their phones. I've been told that my phone is capable of doing all kinds of awesome things. If I can figure out how to use it (and read kanji), I'm sure I would be able to verify that.

Verdict? WILDCARD

Japanese people work really hard.

They do. Ever hear of karoshi? These people actually have a word for working oneself to death. They have a word for it!!!

Verdict? FACT

Japanese children are very disciplined, serious minded and well-behaved.

These kids are just like any other kids. They are emotional, whine, cry, complain, get tired, act a fool, eat their own boogers and fail math tests. There is absolutely nothing different about these kids EXCEPT the fact that they do waaay more hours of school in one year than any American child will ever do in their lifetime. I don't know how these poor kids do it and yeah, maybe American people should value education a whole lot little more . . . but I still don't think it's healthy for an 8 year old child to be sitting in a classroom looking half-dead at 8:45pm when they should be at home digesting their dinner and getting ready for bed. A lot of these kids are miserable and cantankerous. Sometimes I feel sorry for them, but then I have to wonder to myself if maybe the Japanese people feel sorry for the American children who are currently getting cheated out of a good education.

So the Verdict? MYTH

Japan is full of bad drivers.

I almost died within 10 minutes of being driven to my apartment.

Verdict? FACT

and last but certainly not least . . .

All Japanese People Look Alike

So while at the train station a couple of days ago, I saw a bald man with a goatee walking down the stairs. He was kind of a stocky guy with a football player's build and was wearing some really stylish glasses, white jeans and a button down shirt. The thing that caught my eye about him was that he had a certain kind of swagger that looked really familiar and I couldn't stop glancing over at him. Long story short, I could have sworn this man was my cousin "Bookie." Even though I was in Japan, thousands of miles away from America, and this man was obviously Japanese, I had to literally stare at him to convince my brain that I wasn't looking at family. So my point is . . . ALL humans look alike. These people have the same faces that you see every day in America and every other country. Yes, the majority of Japanese people have naturally dark hair (just like the majority of Black folks have naturally dark hair) but at the end of the day, they all have differences that distinguish them from each other. I have not mixed up any two people yet. There are so many different "looks" in this country and yes, some people are going to share the same look but it's just like anywhere else. You're going to see people who remind you of someone else, but at the end of the day these folks come in very different packages just like the rest of the world.

Verdict? I cannot express enough how much this is a MYTH

And that's all I got for now. Goodnite Folks! (Or Good Morning!)

Japanese Food

One of the first things my sister (who is a chef and, of course, a huge foodie) asked me when I told her that I was moving to Japan was . . . "what do Japanese people eat?" And sadly, I did not know the answer to that question.

"Sushi, I guess," I remember responding. Well, I've been in Japan for about 3 weeks and if she asked me the very same question, I think I'd probably be able to add only about 3 or 4 things to that list. Rice, beef, pork and noodles. I have eaten more beef, pork, noodles and most of all rice in the past 3 weeks than I've eaten in my entire life.

And while I love all of those things, I don't think that I have the same kind of enthusiasm for those food items that the Japanese people have. The other day, while at work, one of my adult students asked me with all of the exhilaration that a grown woman could possibly muster, "Do you like rice?" I remember looking at her and saying "uh, yeah. It's okay." But in my head I was thinking I used to like rice. It was when I was on the train later on that day that I saw a young girl eating a rice ball - which is quite popular here - and I thought to myself (because that's what your mind does when you don't speak the national language of the country you're living in . . . you become a more quiet and thoughtful person) so I thought to myself, this rice thing really runs deep with these people. I mean, these people eat rice for breakfast, lunch and dinner and here this girl was on the train, having a mid-meal snack which consisted of a big ball of rice.

rice ball

So yeah, the whole "rice" thing is not a stereotype. If you don't like rice, then you might not want to come to Japan.

Either way, here are some other foods that I happened across while exploring my new surroundings.

Believe it or not THIS is ramen noodles. And I'm not talking about the college dorm, 5 packets for a dollar, chicken, oriental, shrimp, or the spicy flavored (in the purple packet), melt some butter on top and pop it in the microwave type Ramen Noodles. No! This is the real deal! And boy is it greasy! I had the beef Ramen noodles with all kinds of spices which made it extra yummy. The thick, tender noodles sit at the bottom of the bowl, but watch your shirt as you slirp them up. If it gets on your clothes, it's not coming out.

In my city there is a dish that is very famous to the area. It's called Okanomiaki (I could be terribly, terribly wrong with the spelling and pronunciation). Either way, it's basically a big pancake with a bunch of goodies inside. Beef, eggs and all kinds of spices and stuff that I have no idea what. I know my sister is probably reading this and shaking her head. (Sorry sis!) Either way, you're supposed to put mayonnaise on it. The verdict? It was okay. Yes . . .just okay. The Japanese people in my area SWEAR by this stuff, but I thought it tasted a little like a burger, especially when you put the mayonnaise on top of it.

Now as far as food goes, my favorite thing thus far has been what you are about to see in this picture coming up. I wish to God I could tell you what the name of the dish is, but I can just give you a summary of what it is and how it's served. The waiter comes out with a dish full of raw beef, seasoned to the hilt (as my mother would say . . . what a "hilt" is, I have no clue). So he brings out the seasoned (to the hilt) beef and you place it in a burner in the middle of the table.

Usually, I am not a big fan of having to do ANY kind of work when I go to a restaurant besides opening my mouth and inserting food and opening my wallet and extracting cash . . . but let me tell you . . . if they would have asked me to mop up the floors and clean out the bathroom after this meal, I would have done it! This was by far the best beef I have ever had in my life. Point blank! Now the sad thing is that I have not been able to find this restaurant since. That's the thing about Japan. There are so many little shops and stores, and small back alley restaurants hiding in little nooks and crannies of the city that you can walk out of a place and never find it again. It's like Brigadoon. The restaurant is not destined to appear again for 100 years. Either way, I will continue my search for that small, back alley restaurant where they served the best beef (pretty sure it was beef) I could have ever tasted in my life.

Last but not least is another personal favorite of mine. This little gem of a dish is not signature to Japan, but I'm glad that they serve this stuff in my little city. It's shaved ice. Yes, plain ole fashioned shaved ice. As someone with an ice addiction, this is like discovering a crack house right down the street. I come here and get ice so much that I'm pretty sure my nickname is probably "mizore" now. That's what I say when I walk into the door and sit down. "Me Zor Ray" and then this heavenly little mountain of pure, white snow is placed in front of me.

Num, yum, YUMMY

All right, well, I'm sure this is the most annoying food post ever but that's what's been popping on the food scene in Japan (as far as I'm concerned). No worries, though, I will be sure to post more in the food category as I expand my horizons and eat at more places.

The Grand Tour DuJour

So welcome into my apartment. When you walk through the door, you will be in this room.

And if you turn right, you will walk between the little pantry area and the small toilet room

. . . into the small sink and washer machine room. The washer machine is not in the picture, but it's to the left.

To the right, however, is the small shower/tub room. You can either step into the tub and soak or you can wash yourself in the little area outside of the tub.

When you exit from that little area, and head back into the kitchen, you come face to face with my sink and stove (with one burner).

Make a right and you'll be entering the living room.

My bed, which consists of a bunch of mats is in that closet that you see to the right.

In the picture above, you'll see the world's smallest adult couch.

And last but not least . . . this, ladies and gentleman is the desk where the magic happens. The only thing missing from this picture is the very computer that I am typing on this very second. I love this desk.

So there you have it! Welcome to my VERY humble abode!

Hello!

Hello!

I am the aforementioned Mad, Black, Geisha (MBG)! Actually, I'm not mad in the angry sense (maybe mad as in crazy) and I'm certainly not a Geisha, but I am a woman of color, living in Japan - Kurashiki, to be exact - and I wanted to share my experinces with all of you.

First of all . . . there's not a lot of Black folks or "Gaijin" (which is the Japanese word for "alien" or "non Japanese") in Kurashiki. Just for fun, I'll ask you to go to your refrigerator and grab something to drink . . . anything.

Got it? . . . Good! Now pour the beverage into a cup and take a sip, but don't swallow! And while you're at it, click this link

http://mingle2.com/online-dating/aichi/kurashiki/black-singles

. . . and scroll down a little . . . a little bit more. Okay, stop! Did you see the very angry looking, orange-clad "single" gentleman? You did? Good! Now if you haven't already spit all of the liquid out of your mouth, I'd like you to read the first couple words of this guy's description . . . Okay, now you can wipe off your computer screen. My point is, if that's the first picture that is showcased on this website to advertise the variety of single, Black individuals in my part of Japan then you're in trouble if you're looking for Black love out here, LOL.

Either way, I'm not out here to "look for my Black soulmate" or to "look for other Gaijin/American folks." I'm out here to expand my horizons and enjoy a year in another country. Something I've never thought that I'd ever do.

So far, I've made a bunch of friends and been able to meet some amazing and interesting people. On top of all of this, I've been documenting everything with pictures and have high hopes of sharing them with all of you every week. So stay tuned, there is more to come!