15 Years

I don’t remember the exact day we started dating, but both of us are sure that we came to the U.S on June 1st, 2004. It has been 15 years since we met at Narita Airport as strangers and arrived at JFK NY. Then we took a bus to Boston to enroll in English learning program during Summer. Time flies!

We don’t do crazy anniversary whatever, but 6/1 is kinda special for both of us, so it is the day we appreciate each other and reflect the past. My active/training/fighter’s days haven’t been changed since day 1, but that has been happening because of her. I asked her what she wants. I love to share how we spend the special day.

We started the day at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston. MFA Boston is offering special galleries organizing an exhibition of rarely seen works by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. Both of us felt in love with his art when visiting Paris, so it was inspiring for us. The exhibition includes approximately 200 works and is composed of thematic sections highlighting Lautrec’s formal innovations, such as dramatic lighting effects and color combinations; the changing artistic and social landscapes of Paris, with scenes of the city by day and by night; cafés, cabarets, and theaters; and celebrities of the age.

It is popular that picture late 19th century Paris and a cat poster by Lautrec, but we enjoyed many others are on display in the newest exhibition at MFA. The exhibition explores Lautrec’s fascination with the personal lives of “Les stars” as well as the roles that they played. With expressive lines and brazen colors, he depicted the defining gestures, costumes, and expressions of spectacular performers. Many of whom were his personal friends and habitués of Montmartre where I stayed when visiting Paris and the place I got so inspired, the focus of Parisian nightlife and a haven for acrobatic dancers and impoverished students, reprobate aristocrats and middle-class pleasure-seekers.

After we enjoyed the exhibition at MFA, I picked up “Omakase Sushi“ by Chef Suzuki, a good friend of mine, at Izakaya Ittoku. He is also a special guy to us because his wife is also coming to the U.S as the same group of studying abroad. I told him to make something special to celebrate, and this is what we got! How amazing is this? I had been saving my special Sake bottle for something unique. Time to open!! Dassai is my favorite and well known as the most luxurious and expensive sake from Japan. DASSAI sake is created using a careful combination of tradition and cutting edge technology. We spent the best moment for lunch as Japanese.

At night, I took her to the opera house for Cinderella by Boston Ballet in downtown Boston. We enjoyed our favorite Japanese principal dancer, Misa Kuranaga’s performance. San Francisco Ballet just announced some major news: longtime Boston Ballet star Misa Kuranaga will be joining the company as a principal dancer for the 2019-20 season. So that was her last performance in Boston! Oh Nooooooo! But we made it for her last in Boston. On reflection, I was 18 years old with horrible English, and life in the US has been studying and training through Martial Arts and academia. I will never forget my beginner’s mind and gratitude for my family, friends, and supporters. Without you guys, I couldn’t survive life overseas. Though we didn’t know each other, I met my best 15 years ago in the US. Life is good.

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