Control your gestures. Keep your hands at your sides. The Japanese find big arm movements threatening. Speak slowly. Keep your voice calm and even… It may be difficult to do. The Japanese can be irritating. You’ll probably find them irritating tonight. Handle it as best you can. But whatever happens, don’t lose your temper…...
Read more »
Why do white people always ask this? They have this obsession with heritage: “I’m part this! I’m part that!” Who gives a shit? One of the advantages of being back in the US is the ability to blend into the crowd. As a white, brown-haired, green-eyed, 20-something man with no physical abnormalities, I can...
Read more »
Full disclosure: I am receiving a stipend for writing this blog entry. Not on the topic itself, but just for using one of the links you see below. However, it is still an interesting subject, one I have wanted to put out to the blogging community for a while. When I first started my...
Read more »
I navigated the currents of the Great Material Continuum this morning and came up with… a sword! This is definitely one of the most random and fortunate things to happen to me in such a small time. I was running to Candlestick Park as I always do midmorning, hoping to build my mileage and...
Read more »
Disclaimer: Based on initial impressions, I realized I really should have been much more specific when referring to “expats”. In this scenario, I’m certainly not referring to the zainichi and those with Japanese citizenship, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say I wasn’t considering foreigners with permanent residency. In any case, this is...
Read more »
Four years ago I was doing pretty much the same thing I am now: staring at my computer screen and contemplating life abroad. The difference is, I was fresh from wrist surgery at Imakiire Hospital in Kagoshima, having shattered my distal radius in December 2007. How could I possibly feel nostalgic for such a...
Read more »
My latest article on Matador Network is now up. Here’s a taste: Once, after a fellow English teacher and I had enjoyed a bottle of soju in Samcheok and didn’t modulate our voices during the long ride home, the bus driver pulled over, speed walked to the back of the bus, and confronted and...
Read more »
