I live in Urayasu, Japan, a suburb near Tokyo. If you arrive at Narita Airport and travel to Tokyo by bus, you will pass through Urayasu. Most Japanese know this town as the home of Tokyo Disneyland. They are envious that I can see the Disneyland fireworks from my window.

I’m married and have two children – a teenaged son and daughter. My wife, Lek, is from Thailand. She teaches the Thai language in a nearby university. Our children were born here in Japan. They speak three languages. So we are a foreign family that has made our home in Japan.

I’m originally from the San Francisco Bay Area in California. When I was 11, we moved to the Napa Valley. It’s a famous wine growing region about 100 km north of San Francisco. My parents purchased land on a mountain, and we planted a vineyard. So I grew up on a farm, surrounded by grape vines, fruit trees and redwood forests.

Later I felt the “country life” wasnít for me. I moved to San Francisco after I graduated from university. But after one year of living in the city, I decided to take a big trip, backpacking around the world. At age 23, I took off for Australia, Indonesia, Thailand, Burma, India and Nepal. I was gone for about a year.

The trip to Asia changed my life.  As a result, I decided to pursue a career in teaching. I studied for a Masters Degree in Teaching English as a Foreign Language so that I could live and work abroad. In 1987, I moved to Thailand to teach in a Thai University. I met my wife in Thailand. After we got married, we decided to move to Japan. We came here in 1990.

So, I’ve been living in Japan for almost 20 years. This has been a wonderful place to live and work and raise a family. We plan to stay as long as we can.