About two months ago, I was interviewed locally about my book Live From Japan! Anecdotes on the People and Culture of Contemporary Japan from the Perspective of an American Expat.
The organization that interviewed me was the Sasayama International Center of Understanding, aka Kokusai Rikai 日本国際理解教育学会.
This is a non-profit and my connection with them goes all the way back to 2008. I taught English there three times a week for the entire year. The people there are wonderful and we’ve kept in touch.
They have a host of wonderful programs and activities, all dedicated to promoting knowledge and appreciation of other cultures. We have a variety of people from other countries here in Tambasasayama, including Peru, Brazil, Vietnam, South Korea, Philippines, even African nations like Senegal, and of course, the United States (like me!). Japanese language courses are made available to the immigrants, and English is taught to local Japanese who wish to build on the basic skills they got in elementary and high school. That was where I came in.
By the way, here is the message featured at the top of the home page for the organization:
戦争は人の心の中で生れるものであるから, 人の心の中に平和のとりでを築かなければならない。Since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defences of peace must be constructed. — Preamble of the UNESCO Constitution
In any case, one of my students from all the way back in 2008 who I’ve kept in touch with — she’s into organic farming, sustainable agriculture, and during her high school years was an exchange student somewhere in Florida — recently took a job at Kokusai Rikai. She alerted them to my Live From Japan! book. Next thing I know, I’m getting interviewed for a monthly publication they do (pictured on the left).
I thought the interview went well. It certainly was fun!
They asked me what page people should visit first. Without a doubt, The Naked American! Then they wanted to know my favorite story. That would be “There is beauty everywhere!” Finally, they wanted to know what my three favorite things were here in Tambasasayama.
- My wife.
- Riding my bike all around town.
- The beauty of Tambasasayama — the mountains, shrines, temples, rice and bean fields.
Here is the interview. It helps if you can read Japanese . . .
Indeed . . . it’s like living in a fairy tale!
By the way, if you’re interested in the book, in addition to the stories about living here in Japan, there are over 450 photos . . .
