WASHINGTON -- As a born-again nonsmoker (when I was three a great aunt tied a white ribbon around my wrist signifying a commitment never to smoke, a promise on my behalf that for years I chose not to honor), it is a joy to ...
When I first arrived in Japan more than 40 years ago, one of the first words I learned was sayonara and that it meant "goodbye." As I stayed on, I began to learn that sayonara did not mean goodbye in the sense of "till ...
Here is a quick summary of some of the activities that are available as you look for ways to fill what should be, but rarely are, the less demanding summer months. 1. Writing classes by Liane Wakabayashi, which have helped many improve their skills, are ...
Several readers have asked me to repeat my favorite column. That is quite difficult. Actually, there would be two but neither was ever written. There are many questions that are never selected to be in a column. The first was from a young woman who ...
"Sensei." Along with "sayonara," that is one of the first words most of us learn when we come to Japan. Though the image has been somewhat tarnished in these recent years of school disorders and juvenile delinquency, traditionally the word sensei, or teacher, has ...
A high school graduate who wants to wait a year before going home for her university education was invited to attend the University of Maryland University College graduation in April. There she heard reference to a program that provides online courses at a global ...
A part of this is from a column written in 1993 about "ijime" (bullying). It was not the first, and today I can't even recall that specific case. There have been so many. At the time I objected to the newspaper comment that ijime ...
Does it happen to you? You are looking for something which you can't find, but what you do find are all sorts of things you have looked for previously but have not been able to locate. One "something" I found was about indiscreet remarks ...
I have perhaps the world's longest list of You have been here too long if. . . It is often easy to see oneself in such lists, recognizing a trait you have absorbed since living here. It has become an automatic reflex, unnoticed until ...
In Sunday's column, I told readers why I will be leaving Japan while, appropriately, explaining what is required for foreigners to get married in Japan, which is what we did. I also said I would explain what would replace this column. Actually, I can't ...
