My Japan

• the Japanese couple who my parents corresponded with in my childhood.
• eating seaweed crackers on a "Japanese Day" at primary school.
• tracing maps of japan for school projects.
• making origami.
• collecting stamps commemorating the World Expo.
• learning about our sister-city, Susono.
• listening to my children counting and singing "Mary had a little lamb" as part of their Japanese studies.
• being mystified by their Japanese homework in early high school.
• watching Japanese exchange students make their "debut" alongside my daughter.
• enjoying Susono vistors contributions to community events.
• admiring my aunt for her solo travel to Japan.
• eating my first sushi.
• being welcomed into the home of a Japanese mother and her baby for a photo shoot for ABA.
• meeting up with that mother again at conferences in Hobart and Melbourne and her gleeful embrace.
• hearing about my husband's experiences of work trips to his company's home base.
• seeing my kids embrace the Japanese cultures of anime and manga
• constant background music and dialogue in Japanese coming from my son's computer.
• farewelling two of my oldest friends for a year living in Japan for his work.
• meeting Japanese migrants coming to the Breastfeeding Centre.
• regularly eating sushi.
• disbelief at the devastation caused by earthquake, tsunami and nuclear power stations.