Feel kind of like Andy Rooney today. "Have you ever noticed..." Today's theme is experts. NHK has a radio show on Sunday nights where various people from various parts of the world call in and tell about what is happening there. Ms. Abe from Finland, Mr. Suzuki from Alaska, and they talk about the festivals, or weather or something. They are instant experts on the country about which they are speaking. I assume they are actually in that country. They could as easily have people call in and suggest they were calling from Mars. IN any case, they tell us about what is happening in their area and about life there in general.

I could be here for half my life, and no one from NHK will ever mistake me for a Japanese expert. Students are still intriqued that I eat natto. Very often I am driven to hysterical laughter because someone will be amazed that I can choke down raw fish.

There was a time when it was cute, a novelty. It has warn off.