Today’s Adventure in Ho Chi Minh City

Today was actually not so adventuresome. However, today the Buddhist funeral infront of my house ended. The old lady who spoke to me in French not 6 months before and told me to “Firmez le porte doucemont” passed away. They then erected a shrine and had chants, prayers and visitors for three days. It was…… Continue reading Today’s Adventure in Ho Chi Minh City

Nationalism and Integrating with the Host Culture

Controversy for the whole family! By tok_matthew January 19th, 2005 @ 1:19 PM  I just had a chat with someone we shall refer to as “the patriot,” which got me thinking about this subject. Most of us hard core ex-pats who truly try to integrate with the host culture often find ourselves in a complex situation.…… Continue reading Nationalism and Integrating with the Host Culture

New Years – Snowboarding in Fukushima

I think we were supposed to post a picture of what we did on New Years. I spent mine in Fukushima snowboarding in peace and quiet. Luckily for me it was the coldest day of the year and there was a snowstorm.

Racism in Japan

Racism in Japan By tok_matthew January 4th, 2005 @ 5:06 PM Law & Order, Racism In today’s Japan times there is an article on page 13 entitled “Racism is bad business.” It addresses the issue of foreigners being barred entry to certain Japanese establishments and how this hurts international business in Japan. Over my 3 years in Japan…… Continue reading Racism in Japan

Back in Tokyo

Back in Tokyo By tok_matthew January 1st, 2005 @ 12:00 PM Entertainment I’m back in Tokyo for one week and it feels like a homecoming. I really missed this place and it’s good to be back. There wasn’t much culture shock like going to America and my first experience was interesting. I sat and chatted with a…… Continue reading Back in Tokyo