I’ll tell you something else that I missed when I lived in Japan; something huge, bigger than cupcakes or couscous or Letterman or Marie’s Crisis. Women. I missed women. Or, more accurately, female friends – we had plenty of women prancing around Osaka, just none I was able to emotionally connect with until last few […]
Living Overseas
Nihonjin, I presume?
There’s a Japanese grocery store just a few blocks away from my brother’s apartment. I’ve been eyeing it since before Sean left. Every time I pass it, though, it happens to be closed. It doesn’t help, of course, that I rarely leave the apartment before 8 these days. I’m inside, avoiding the siren call of […]
For Better, For Worse: Ways I’ve Improved Thanks to My Time in Japan
Great success – Diego has, in fact, noticed that I am the New and Improved Liv with Increased Sudsing Action! Not only did he high-five me several times on Cleaning Sunday, but I even overheard him telling his girlfriend on the phone that I am “earning [my] keep.” This pleases me greatly; I did so […]
Your 321-Word New York City Mini Culture Lesson
I’ve never understood why people claim that New York City can be a lonely place; I’ve always found it extremely simple to foster new relationships here. Note: acquaintances, not friendships. But who needs more bothersome full-fledged friendships when you can make a new, red-hot acquaintance that feels like a life-long friendship every few blocks? In […]
Tango at Home
While I lived in Japan, my trips home tended to be exhausting marathons of breakfast, lunch and dinner dates. Rush, rush, rush, don’t leave anyone out. Pack every available time slot because the chance won’t come again for another year. Though these visits were always soul-nourishing, I invariably came away feeling somewhat disappointed. The disappointment […]
Last Dance
On my last day in Japan: It is glorious weather – cool, bright and breezy, smelling of new green life. I am hungover from the previous night’s hot sake bomb marathon It is a Good Japanese Day; I can conduct my final bank transfer with ease and ask appropriate questions at the Post Office Bleary-eyed […]
Your 304-Word Vietnamese Mini Culture Lesson
The traffic in Viet Nam never rests. Motorbikes rev their engines at the stoplights – so many they appear to be contestants in a grand prix. When the signal comes, they careen through the narrow streets from what seems like several directions at once. Cars and pedestrians exist only as obstacles for their frenetic racecourse. If there are […]
Hoi An: An Old Town for You, a New Obsession for Me
There’s too much. There’s just too much. We’ve been here in Hoi An, an old city in Central Viet Nam, for 2 days and my mind just teems with images, smells and sounds. How can I write, though, when there are white rose wontons wrapped in delicate rice paper to be eaten? When there are […]
Duplicity
We arrived in Danang this afternoon; flight 4 of our 10-flight itinerary down. It’s only about 50 minutes from Hanoi to Danang but we soon discovered that the climate changed dramatically – cool and romantic in Hanoi; sultry in Danang. Upon feeling the first fat drops of sweat trickle down my nose, I steeled myself […]
A Cab Ride in Hanoi
It takes us maybe 20 minutes to get tired of the Ho Chih Minh museum. Sean was done the second an official back at the Mausoleum asked us where we’re from. I, on the other hand, was fine with the security checks, fine with the questions (“Obama!” said the official when I answered), and intrigued […]