My Friend Rei

Before coming back to Tokyo, I needed to find a place to stay, and my friend Rei was very gracious in letting me stay with him. 

We met back at ICU because he was still living in the dorms at that time. The Keyaki OYRs for that year were loud and proud (perhaps -no, definitely- a little too much of each). The four year foreign students understood where we were coming from, though, and weren't afraid to join us in feast-making, clubbing, and late night "study" sessions in the main lobby. I swear, we actually did get work done at school, but all work and no play makes for a dull time abroad, no? One of the four year foreigners to join our group was Rei, the playful-yet-chill, movie-making, super-confident, Aikido-flipping, gourme-food-sampling, yo-yo-spinning New Yorker. Rei was not to be confused with Rei-chan or the Soul Run Rei. Those were different people.

When I spoke of the boys protecting the girls when we went out dancing, Rei was in that group of guys. Even if they didn't realize it, their presence did a lot to repel unwanted attention for our smaller girls. Having Rei around during down time at Keyaki was also great for conversation. He is witty and a deep thinker, who was willing to try and find all sides of an argument. As a four year student, he also had inside knowledge about the school, teachers, program, and life in Japan that we OYRs didn't have or were developing. He is part of the reason I tried Aikido; his personal testimonies and knowledge of the art made it sound so appealing, I needed to give it a shot! Sadly, my time was already stretched too thin as it was, so I couldn't keep it up. But he has! And was even able to show me how to fold hakuma, although I need quite a lot more practice.

I would like to take this time to thank Rei for being such a great friend and for giving me a place to stay, good conversation, and new perspectives on life! Good luck in all your future endeavors, Rei!!

If anyone is interested in seeing his take on Japan and life (his "Half Plus Half Does Not Equal One" helped me put into words a lot of my own feelings), I'll leave the link here.