It is said that a man can see the value of his life, not by the money he has or by the things he owns, but by those who will remember him when he is gone. Some would say then that teachers are the richest people in the world, for the lives that they touch every day with the words that they say. I have been a teacher for the past six years and have seen little children grow into responsible adults. It is true that sometimes I am living on cup ramen while waiting for payday. When a single yen is all I have to my name. Yes, I said yen. I live in Japan and have lived here for seven years now. There are times that I wish I could go back to America, to my mother and father. However, there are times that I can look outside and see the wonders that are Japan.
My life in Japan started after the last major earthquake hit Fukushima and caused a meltdown in a few of their reactors. My parents thought I was nuts for wanting to go to a place where I could become sick from radiation poison and I didn’t know how to tell them that my life was leading me to leave America to come to Japan for a long time. No, I am not an anime and manga otaku and no I am not only fixated on Japanese women. While all three are fine on their own, it is not something that drew my full attention. I guess the thing that really drew me was the spiritualism of Japan. How they believe there are deities in almost every living thing and monsters that cause stuff to happen. It was close to those traditions that my ancient ancestors believed in, before the west came west and destroyed their home and heritage. I found peace here. It might not have lasted and I am currently looking for it again. But I know it’s here.
For the traditional people, my name is Zack. I am here in Japan to expand my horizons and learn more about myself. I have a daughter and she is a wonderful jewel in my life. It is painful that I can’t see her as much as I would like to. That’s the life of a divorced father and the pain we go through during the time that we can’t see our children. It’s worse in Japan, since I have to worry that my ex-wife might change her mind and not allow me to see my daughter anymore.
I might talk about her some on my blog posts, but I love to write but I haven’t been able to write for a while. I hope that you guys will come back and learn more about me in the future.
Thanks
Zack R.
