I don't much watch anime anymore ( Read more... )

Two months have already passed since my new life in Shanghai began ( Read more... )

At this time last year I was in Japan packing my things.  I was worrying about the classes to be planned, the children to be taught, the plane tickets to be bought and how I would spend my final days in a country that I very warmly called home.  The summer was relentlessly hot, and the cicadas outside hummed their echoing melody with a humming ( Read more... )

At this time last year I was in Japan packing my things.  I was worrying about the classes to be planned, the children to be taught, the plane tickets to be bought and how I would spend my final days in a country that I very warmly called home.  The summer was relentlessly hot, and the cicadas outside hummed their echoing melody with a humming ( Read more... )

My roommate Yan Zou and I were walking side by side down a typical Chinese street in the suburbs.  There were various dirtied and scattered shops lining the streets; one was littered with broken glass and metal parts sprawled on the cement, with workers smoking and chatting as they postponed their work.  The neighboring shop was a chicken butchery ( Read more... )

Nodame and Chiaki.  Nodame Cantabile.  The drama the sent me into a flurry of tears, that had me screaming like a giddy school girl, that soared me into laughter and pushed me to the edge in suspense.  It's a touching tale not just about love, but about achieving your passions and believing in the power of ambition.  I watched this show with so ( Read more... )

In Japan I made quite a few connections.  In my small town of Niigata I bonded with the entire community and befriended a plethora of people that included councilmen, the mayor, and the head of the PTA.  I had my "connections" in Niigata, and in addition to that they became more than fellow acquaintances--they became family to me.  It is no ( Read more... )

I learned of true strength in high school.  It was when I believed Hali to have left me, and I was left alone with nothing but my thoughts.  I strove in school for achievement, to redeem for my past sins, and I worked to ease the burden on my parents and to provide for myself.  I remember going to school until 4 PM, working from 6Pm to 11PM  and ( Read more... )

I went through a lost phase, and thanks to family, friends, and books from my past I was able to come to a decision that feels right in my heart ( Read more... )

A heart crushing breakup.  I was talking with one of my best friends today that also recently experienced a break-up.  I knew talking to her would ease any worries I might have about possible regret in the near future, and it did.  The usual was said: “Break ups are the worst,”  “there’s nothing worse except maybe a loved one dying-but even then, ( Read more... )