Honorary Japanese

The picture above is me in Singapore with my 4 Japanese classmates from NUS-UCLA EMBA program. We're at Marina Bay Sands hotel at an expensive Japanese restaurant.

We ordered some sushi and other dishes they recommended. I've really gotten a good taste of Japan the past 5 years and have a deep admiration and respect for the culture.

Christie is part Japanese and speaks it fluently. The first night I ever met her parents, we had shabu shabu and sang karaoke! A very Japanese evening, but I enjoyed it a lot.

Over the past 18 months in San Francisco, I've made several close Japanese friends and was introduced to many more business connections. One common thing I found is that it takes a while for them to open up, but once they do, they're incredibly open and loyal.

I've been learning a lot about Japan from business school because the program has an Asia-Pacific tint. I'm lucky that the program has 4 Japanese students in it (all in their 30s and 40s) and we've built good relationships with each other. They make me feel very welcome and I'm honored to get to know them.

We plan to visit Japan for about 2.5 weeks in July and I can't wait. It will be my first time there and I'm so excited to experience this rich culture.