We met up for with Tom for dinner in Kobe after the conference. We hugged him and immediately peppered him with all the questions we hadn’t even been aware we’d been saving up, “What’s that yellow thing we keep tripping on?”
He took us up the hill into an old neighborhood that was a fascinating blend of colonial western and Japanese architecture to seek Italian food.
We were a bit ashamed to admit how nice it was to have someone navigate the restaurant like a native.
We talked careers, kids, culture, family, religion, politics and the nitty gritty of kanji for hours! The food was impeccable and the wine was abundant. It was great seeing him and listening to him tell the story of how he experiences his identity living between two cultures.
