Friends Across the world!

Last Christmas, I spent Christmas in Périgord, a rural area in southwestern France. It's a two-hour ride from Paris to Bordeaux on the French equivalent of the Shinkansen, followed by a local train ride and a 20-minute drive from the station—far, far from Japan. My best friend and his wife, whom I met while living in New York, live here. It was our first reunion in six years. I first met them in the freezing New York winter, at a public indoor swimming pool with almost fresh water, a cost-saving measure. The locker room needed a padlock, so I bought the biggest and heaviest one I could find and installed it, but the thieves in this city are skilled, and they stole my watch, jacket, and other belongings. This experience led to my becoming friends with these French people. Getting to know them opened up a new French connection. It wasn't just a connection with the French people, but also with a world I had never known before, including Belgium, Haiti, Tahiti, the French Caribbean Islands, and Morocco.

Through this couple, I also got to learn about the local world of France. Vivian, a former farmer's daughter, was an expert foie gras maker and her grandfather an expert at extracting truffles from pigs. The village was also featured in National Geographic. My other grandparents also raised rabbits for meat on their farm. I stayed at this farm about 40 years ago. In the morning, livestock takes priority, followed by human meals. I started the day with vegetable and rabbit stew, which I ate with mixed feelings after seeing a rabbit the day before. Finally, I poured red wine into the same dish and drank it all down. For an aperitif before dinner, I steeped walnuts, a local specialty, in red wine. The astringency of the walnuts turns the red wine black when it's ready to drink—this is called Vin Nore. The people of this village are simple, frugal, and strong. They live lives that suit their means, and everyone looked happy.

On Christmas Eve, about 20 people gathered, including Vivian's two younger brothers and their families, her niece and nephew, and their families. Eating and drinking are central to the French life, whether in the city or the countryside. Dinner, which began at 5 p.m., ended at midnight, and everyone cleaned up and went to bed at 2 a.m. I assumed they'd be sleeping until lunchtime the next morning. But around 8 a.m., the aroma of bread and coffee began to fill the air, and we began discussing what to cook for lunch. I enjoyed lively conversations with the young English-speaking French people. None of us had been to Japan yet, but my nephew, who runs a bistro in Paris, is knowledgeable about Japanese dashi and other ingredients and expressed his desire to learn more about Japan. Vivian's daughter, who works for a wine export company in Bordeaux, also spoke of her desire to expand the centuries-old Bordeaux wine business in Japan.

Our encounter at a rather unexpected swimming pool in New York sparked connections not only between us, but also between past, present, and future generations. However, we must not forget the communication skills necessary to build those connections. The world will expand even more if we have three things: a common language like English, the initiative to speak to others, and tolerance for different cultures.

As I write this essay on a plane, a conversation with a young girl sitting next to me began about the snow in Detroit. She asked me if I knew about GBP MCP, and when I replied no, she told me that I could use this app to enter the country when customs was busy. It's probably an AI feature, but considering that connecting with people can also lead to new knowledge and information, the next generation, whose current gaming obsession has significantly reduced their ability to converse with others, should learn to speak to people more and create opportunities to meet them. This isn't taught in schools, so parents should start by setting an example. If the world suddenly goes dark, neither GPS nor ChatGPT will work. Remember, your own words are your only source of information.