Falling in love with you was easy / You were always meant to have my heart / I was broken all to pieces / You were there to be the missing part. – JJ Heller, “Until You Came Along” It’s our third wedding anniversary. It feels both like we’ve just met, and like we’ve been …
What I Learned This Winter
It is only by reflecting on the past that one can create a better future. – Rithy Panh I’ve been following Emily Freeman’s What We Learned blog posts for years now (You can find some of her old entries here). While she used to compile them more often, a while ago she moved them …
6 Must-See Spots in Yokohama
The traveler sees what he sees. The tourist sees what he has come to see. – G.K. Chesterton It’s no secret that Husband and I do our best to get out of the house as often as we can. When we first moved here, we were told “In three years, you can go out every …
The Dutch Renaissance Visits Japan
Vermeer found a life’s work in the corner of a room. – Irwin Greenberg Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time. – Thomas Merton Back in October, Husband took me on a very special day date. We went out on a whim, not quite sure how the adventure …
My 2019 Word of the Year
Times of transition are strenuous, but I love them. They are an opportunity to purge, rethink priorities, and be intentional about new habits. We can make our new normal any way we want – Kristin Armstrong Here we are, already a few days into 2019. How are you feeling? For me, the start of …
A German-Style Christmas in Japan
Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful. – Norman Vincent Peale It’s our first Christmas in Japan and things are in full swing. Our house is decorated, including our first attempt at outside lights. All our gifts to family and friends have been wrapped and mailed. …
Tokyo: Robot Restaurant
Human reactions to robots varies by culture and changes over time. In the United States, we are terrified by killer robots. In Japan, people want to snuggle with killer robots. – Daniel H. Wilson Before we moved to Japan, we did very little research on popular things to do and see. This was mostly because, …
Kamakura: Hiking and Holy Places
“Hiking is a bit like life: The journey only requires you to put one foot in front of the other…again and again and again. And if you allow yourself opportunity to be present throughout the entirety of the trek, you will witness beauty every step of the way, not just at the summit” – Unknown …
Why We Host Thanksgiving
We have all known the long loneliness, and we have found that the answer is community. – Dorothy Day Hospitality means primarily the creation of free space where the stranger can enter and become a friend instead of an enemy. Hospitality is not to change people, but to offer them space where change can take …
6 Tips to Thrive When You Move to a Foreign Country
“My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.” -Maya Angelou Have you ever been in a place where it was difficult to communicate with other people? I’ve spent plenty of time choosing not to talk to …