Do Americans Romanticize Japanese Culture?

One early spring evening Noriko said “We go to Japanese Cultural Festival” dis Saturday…” This announcement surprised me a bit, since Noriko usually disdains events featuring Japanese culture. Her point of view is that Americans tend to romanticize Japanese culture in a way that distorts their perception of the culture. But I [...]

Noriko Talks Politics

We arrived at Chow’s, our favorite Chinese restaurant in Santa Fe. Although we had just been seated, Noriko was ready to go. “We takuh two Melut, please,” she instructed a waiter who had just happened to walk by. After I clarified for him that Noriko meant “merlots”, the waiter still looked disoriented. [...]

My Shameless Japanese Wife

Noriko and I had a light dinner and took our three dogs to the plaza, the heart of Santa Fe’s tourist district. We parked at our usual spot on Galisteo Street, just outside of the old town area, in front of some very official looking government buildings. As the dogs piled eagerly out [...]

A Japanese Girl Sings for Doughnuts

Noriko and I had gone out for dinner to a restaurant called Jinja, one of the few good Asian restaurants here in Santa Fe. Noriko was very happy with the meal, although there was one moment of drama between her and the server: “Uh, excuse me, dis all veddy good, but it [...]