I've got a book for you that will bring you such joy! A Passion for Japan, edited by John Rucynski, is both an ode to building community, and an interesting, in-depth ethnographic look at being a long-term expat resident in Japan. I LOVE it.

Sixteen elementary school students from Nature’s Way Montessori School in Knoxville, Tennessee will travel to Paris, France on October 4, 2018 to meet their French online video pals from Jean Zay Elementary School in Paris for a week-long French/American cultural exchange program. While in Paris, the Knoxville students will tour the city, visit the Pompidou Center Museum, and spend one night with their host families. 

The idea of travelling abroad alone has always intrigued me, because I believe I could discover so much about the country and myself with tremendous amount of flexibility. Japan seems like the perfect place for female solo travelers, given its safety, convenience, and culinary satisfactions. Nevertheless, I have to admit that the only knowledge I had of Japan was obtained from a couple of Pokémon episodes I watched during my childhood, if that qualifies as part of Japanese culture.

Though we might have the best of intentions, it’s all too easy to commit cultural faux pas while abroad.