living in the "deep south" of the kii peninsula (紀伊半島) in japan has opened my mind to foreign concepts such as genuine hospitality and neighborly kindness. maybe its the japanese culture; maybe its the small town life; or maybe it means ive only lived in mean american cities. whatever the reason may be, i am thankful to experience just how nice people can be to random strangers here in the dirty south.

to the lady working at the car repair shop just outside of town:
i promise i didnt mean to get off at the wrong bus stop in the middle of nowhere. in my defense, it was my first time riding that bus and i was busy thinking about how i should introduce myself in front of an elementary school full of curious kids. i would have told you all of this if i knew any japanese or if you understood english. but despite our complete lack of communication, you somehow knew that a gaijin (外人, "foreigner") with a guitar in one hand and a bag of teaching materials in the other was hopelessly lost and desperately needed some help. thanks for taking time off of work to give me a ride to school.

to the nice japanese family who makes amazing meals for me:
when you invited me over to your house the other night for dinner, i didnt know what to expect. i was delighted to discover your hospitality knows no bounds! thanks for (possibly catching and) preparing fresh tuna sashimi (まぐろさしみ), giant shrimp tempura (天ぷらのえび), and teriyaki fish (照り焼き魚) - not to mention all the other things i dont know the names of, like that soft omelet in a cup thing and those fried vegetable cakes. i also want to thank you for the limitless amount of yebisu (ヱビス) - the only japanese beer that doesnt suck. and to top it all off, you sent me home with a warm loaf of homemade bread. you guys may be old, but youre rad as hell to me!

to the teachers who constantly bring me apples and mikans (cause thats all you think i eat):
i feel like i should remind you all sometime soon that i do in fact eat non-fruit related meals occasionally. but until then.. thanks for all the free produce.

to the nice business man in the ridiculous looking sports car:
i really did check the weather online before i left my house that morning, and it didnt say anything about rain. nevertheless, thank you for pulling over and picking up this soaked foreigner who didnt have an umbrella to protect him from the sudden torrential downpour. and thanks for going out of your way to drop me off right outside my house. i hope your overpriced sports car didnt smell like wet gaijin for too long.

to the lady who owns the liquor store:
thanks for letting me borrow your ママチャリ ("mamachari"; an old woman's bike, usually with a basket in the front) for the entire year. i can assure you its helped me maintain at least some level of sanity so far. oh and thanks for giving me a bottle of your homemade plum wine (梅酒) - it was delicious!