WAKAYAMA, JAPAN

After graduating from Wesleyan University in 1998, I moved to Wakayama, Japan on the JET (Japan Exchange Teaching) program. I co-taught English and Spanish at Seirin public High School for two years. During those two years, a deep friendship formed between me and Tamaki-sensei and his wife, Fumi-san, a master doll-maker. Tamaki-sensei was a sumi-e artist, and my sumi-e teacher. Several nights a week, I would bike down the quiet backstreets to their home, where we would paint while snacking on o-manju and sharing stories on relationships and life. Leaving Japan was difficult for me. I had to learn to let go and, ultimately, grow up. "Yuki's Ride Home" is about that journey.