Why did you come (go) to Japan?

• I studied Japanese in college and wanted a chance to get better at it.
• I met many Japanese people in the U.S., and through them I became interested in Japanese culture .
• Friends who had lived in Japan or returned to Japan urged me to come.
• I wanted the experience of living and working abroad for awhile.
• Adventure!!!

How long will you stay in Japan?

Now that's an interesting question. When I first came here, I expected to stay for only two years, but my plans have certainly changed. Over the years, I have made many friends here, and I've become more and more used to living in Japan. And now that I've married a Japanese guy and I have a sennin (tenured) teaching job, so it seems that I will stay here forever!

It's not such a hard thing to decide to settle in Japan because I can keep in touch with my family and friends by phone and e-mail, and I usually can fly back to the U.S. to visit once a year or so. I think it must have been much harder for immigrants 100 years ago.

How did you meet your husband?

We met on the internet! I wanted to meet some guys, so I put an add on the American Singles web site, and he answered it. We exchanged some mail, decided to meet, and when we did, we decided we wanted to keep on meeting.

I feel like there was a big element of luck in all of it, though. I put up the ad for only one week. During the one week, I got e-mail from six reasonable sounding guys in Japan, who I decided to meet, and lots of strange sounding guys in other countries. Since six seemed like a good start, I took down the ad. Then work got very busy, so I didn't answer my e-mail.�@After not getting a reply for two weeks, Masashi sent a message asking "Why don't you answer your e-mail?" So I did, and I'm really glad I did.

When I asked Masashi why he wanted to meet me, he said, "Well, I sent e-mail to a few different people, but you were the only one who lived in Tokyo...

Can you use chopsticks?

Yes! I wish people would stop asking. :-)

Do you like Japanese food?

• Of course, I like most Japanese food. These days, I eat a Japanese-style breakfast four or five days a week: rice, miso soup, natto (sticky, slimy fermented soy beans), and usually some kind or pickles or stir-fried vegetables. The other days, I eat a more American-style breakfast, but I've started having soup along with my toast and eggs, something that is not typical of American breakfasts.
• I also like to cook and eat grilled fish (especially salmon), tofu, and lots of Japanese style-vegetables, such as daikon radish and eggplant.
• In restaurants, I'll eat almost anything. I like sashimi and sushi, ramen, and also okonomiyaki (a kind of pancake thing with lots of vegetables).
• For a long time, I didn't like tarako and ikura (kinds of fish eggs), but lately I've started to want to eat them sometimes. I still don't like unagi (eel) very much, although I sometimes do eat it.
• The only things I definitely won't eat are whale meat (because I don't want to eat intelligent and endangered animals) and "iki-zukuri", sashimi in which the whole, still-moving fish is served and you are supposed to pick out some pieces and eat them. I want my food to be definitely dead before I eat it.

What language do you speak with your husband?

When we first started dating, we spoke Japanese almost all the time. Once we started living together, I started speaking English more, especially when I was tired. Masashi would usually answer in Japanese. Now, though, he is practicing English so that he can speak with my family, so we speak a mixture of Japanese and English.

What do you like about living in Japan?

• Life is convenient: the trains run on time and go almost everywhere; I can easily find what I need and want in the stores.
• Japanese people are pretty friendly and I've made a lot of friends here.
• Traditional Japanese culture is very interesting--I especially like visiting shrines and temples and looking at Japanese art.
• Japanese holidays are interesting too. I love making, sending and receiving nengajo (New Year's cards), and I also like going to the shrine at Shogatsu (New Year) to buy good luck charms.
• The winter in Tokyo is much warmer than in the places I've lived most of my life (Wisconsin and Chicago), and cherry-blossom season is wonderful!
• Izakayas! An izakaya is a kind of restaurant and drinking place; the key feature is that instead of ordering meals, you order lots of small dishes (kind of like tapas or dim sum). You just keep ordering more and more until you are full. Of course, you don't usually go to an izakaya alone because sharing the food with friends is a big part of the fun. My favorite izakayas are the ones that have a mixture of Japanese and foreign dishes, with some of their own creations.
• Finally, Tokyo seem to be getting more and more "internationalized." I can meet people from many different countries and try food from all over the world. I could do that in Chicago too, but since I am a foreigner here, I feel a different kind of connection to my fellow foreigners.

What don't you like about living in Japan?

• Although the trains are convenient, they are too crowded.
• It seems like everyone is very busy all the time, so it is hard to find time to meet with friends. (That's why we have big parties a couple of times a year--it's the only way we can get to see some of our friends.)
• My American friends and family are too far away--I can't go home for the weekend!
• I don't like the weather from June-September. First, there's the rainy season, then the incredible heat.
• But the thing I really HATE about Japan (or at least about Tokyo) is the earthquakes! I've never felt a really strong one, but even the small ones are pretty scary, and we have them often, usually once or twice a month.