I am doing a term as VP of the social group, which revolves around Embassy events. My Japanese counterpart is related to the Imperial Family and speaks often of the Princess, her daughter. (Does it count if I named my daughter after a princess?) French is her first language, as she grew up in Paris in the 1930s. We communicate by FAX as she resists 21st century technology.
A fellow Board member is also a key player at the Tokyo American Club. We gaijin live in a small world as Tokyo is only 1% NJ (non-Japanese). The up side of this is that even those of us of un certain age are not invisible as we are at home: Whenever in public all eyes are assessing what we are wearing. My compatriot has promised to send out an APB to help me fill the room with sudoku fans, including the Japanese contingent.
After adding financial terms to the annual report for the Treasurer ("allocation," "shortfall" "cutback", "variance") I check my e-mail. G-san has written! His staff has put together a minute by minute schedule for the Fun Day. The most important lesson of living in Japan is that perfection is attainable, but it is time-consuming. G-san will translate it for me tomorrow. I can't wait.
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