Bound for Fukuoka! Thanks Mai-chan

My first ride is cheating a bit because Oyama Mai, known to the ALTs as Mai-chan, gave me a ride from Sata to the Expressway, which is about a two hour drive north. I got a late start tying things up in Sata, so she helped me make up some lost time. She has been a good friend of mine while living in Japan and has always been willing to give ALTs a hand. She speaks English very well, so I didn't get to practice much Japanese. I did, however, learn the Japanese word for cardboard, danboru. She also helped me write the Japanese kanji for the city Fukuoka and word for direction.

On our way to the freeway, she told me that she thought I'd forever live in Japan and start a business somewhere in larger city since I enjoyed living here so much. In the two hours it took to get to the Expressway, we talked about how living abroad is difficult because you develop emotions and ties in both places and learn to love two countries equally. Mai-chan lived in Vancouver, Canada for a year and studied cosmetology. Besides working with horses in some fashion, her main dream was to become a makeup artist for films and work and live in Canada. However, she decided that it would better suit her interests to come home and help her aging parents with their gift shop, Meruhen. She still dreams about having an international life style, so she is studying Chinese with the hope to use it in future business pursuits. I told her that she can become a cosmetologist for horses in movies someday if she really wanted. Ganbatte ne!