Introduction

“I cannot remember a time when I didn’t want to learn Japanese. Before I knew anything else in the world that I wanted I knew I wanted that. I’m sure my obsession with the country began out of a love for anime, as with most lovers of all things Japanese. But from that simple introduction something more powerful grew. I don’t want to go to Japan because I used to love Sailor Moon, fanatically, nor do I want to go because I love Final Fantasy, also somewhat fanatically. I want to go because I want to experience firsthand the strict beauty of the tea ceremony which so captivated me at the young age of 10 that I convinced my closest friends to build a tea house in the nearby corn field (which my mother promptly put to an end). I want to go because I want to learn from those who know best how to cook the Japanese meals that subtly play with your taste buds without ever overwhelming them and how to present those meals in such a way as to tempt the eyes with the richness and contrast of colors and artful arraignments. I want to go because I want to learn to throw myself unhindered into what I do with as much determination and strength as do the people who live there. I want to go because it’s the only thing I’ve always known that I wanted to do. ”

These were the introductory words I wrote to convince some anonymous panel of judges that I deserved to fly half a world’s distance and stay in a place I’ve been fascinated about since I was a child. This summer I go to Japan. This will be the first time I have ever truly left the country (I don’t really think Canada counts), and it will also be the first time I set out on my own, without the shelter of my family. It will be hard, undoubtedly, but all the more worth it for that struggle. I write this blog for those I leave behind, and for myself, in some future place, to look back on and smile.

“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” - St. Augustine