As I have learned well over the last 5 years, Japan and the U.S. are separated by a big ocean. A non-stop flight from San Franscico to Tokyo takes nearly 11 hours, and covers something like 5000 miles! It can get a bit stuffy being cooped up for half a day in a plane. Nevertheless, it's a small price to pay if good ol' home sweet home is waiting for me at the end of the journey.

I was home in Massachusetts for this past Christmas, after having spent the previous Christmas in Japan 'on my own' for the first time. It wasn't until this year, when I was back in my traditional Christmas pattern, that I realized how much had been missing in my first Christmas away from home, and how good it feels to spend Christmas back with the family in Brookfield. It was also great seeing some of you, my faithful readers. Thanks so much for your encouragement and ideas for future articles. Talking with you was a wonderful Christmas present. My e-mail box (and regular mail box too) will always stay open. If something comes to mind, a question, some advice, an insight, or you just want to say hello, please be sure to write.

As Tokyo lies at about the same latitude as N. Carolina, the big snowfall we received on the 23rd was a welcome surprise for me. Apart from all that beautiful heavenally cottton, you may be wondering what else struck me during my brief return to Brookfield after nearly a year in Japan?

Here is a short list:

* Super-Sized Large drinks: They are huge! You can almost take a bath with this things. (Although a bath of 7-Up does't sound too appealing!) In Japan, a drink this big would probably be split amon four or five people.

* World/International section of the T&G: It's pretty darn small. The U.S. is a great country and the home of an inspiring culture and tradition, but we don't have all the answers. There are many lessons we can learn from how other countries have grappled with similar problems to what we are experiencing now. For example, school uniforms. All students K-12 wear them over here in Japan. Look for a future Asiatalk on this topic.

* Wide streets & big yards: I spent a little time visiting rural areas in Japan, and everything is much more jammed together over here, even in the countryside. But that's what happens when 125 million people inhabit an area that is a just hair smaller than California. I wonder what it's like in Bangladesh (a country near India) which has 123 million people in an area no bigger than the state of Georgia.

There is no question that there are many, many differeces between the U.S. and Japan, and the peoples of these two nations. However, I think there are even more similarities. The differences get talked about much more. They are more more exciting and we naturally find talking about differences fascinating. But isn't it even more astonishing that a culture in such a different part of the world and with such a different historical background can have so many similarities with our culture in the U.S. What are all these similarities, you may be wondering. Well, there are many, and I plan to highlight some in future articles. But let me close this month's Asiatalk with one similarity which stikes me literally all the time.

If I don't allow myself to get hung up on the many different ways the ears, eyes, skin, cheeks, hair, and so on can look, and instead peer beyond these physical characteristics to what lies underneath, I see the same faces both in Japan and in the U.S. The hardworking face of a nightime jogger. The smiles of grade school kids as they playfully tease each other. The furrowed brow of an angry businessman. The welcome of a shopkeeper as a repeat customer enters. The loving look of a mother watching her kids as they peer accross the pews in church. The lazy look of a construction worker who has to wave his flag as a warning signal to oncoming cars. The unmistakeable fervent joy upon a reunion in a train station.

Knowing that the same faces can be found both in Japan and in Brookfield and all around the world, brings me great peace. I hope you too have found some peace thus far in 1998. Until next month, Daniel Heller.