Anyone who has an "ethnic" name gets asked how it's pronounced all the time. Usually they explain, proud of their unusual name and their heritage, indignant that North Americans are so provincial. (Learn some different languages, why don't you?) But if you asked me the correct pronunciation of

As most of you will remember, Japan was struck by a massive magnitude-9 earthquake in March of 2011. The offshore originating earthquake caused a vicious tsunami to crash upon the eastern coast of Japan's Tohoku Region. As of April 2015, 15,891 deaths were confirmed, 2,500 are still listed as

When I was walking home late last night from a friend's home, I couldn't help but take stock of my life with amazement. It was nearly midnight, but Hong Kong bustled around me. People were still rushing places, so many different languages swirled around me, only half of which I understood, and

"Not tap...SLAP!"The Japanese sales lady with flawless skin demonstrated with a healthy slap to my hand. "I slap my face everyday, so did my grandmother. We don't age!" she told me with glee. I examined her smooth, luminous skin and wondered how old she really was. 30? 40? 80? It was ...Continue

Within the past five weeks, 12 boats carrying approximately 22 dead bodies have drifted into Japanese waters. Who are these bodies? It's nearly impossible to say at this time. Having floated into the waters off the coast of the Ishikawa Prefecture and the Fukui Prefecture, the Japanese ...Continue