World view beneth cherry blossoms and maple leaves

I am a Japanese female who used to see the world in geographic picture books during childhood. When I became a university student studying economics and law, I started traveling outside Japan islands — two months in Europe and a month in Asia.  After working for several years, I left Japan and spent a year in the U.S. — San Francisco, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C. and New York City.  Then I came back to Tokyo instead of Osaka and started working again and took short trips to Australia and Canada while I was dreaming of my return to San Francisco.

I really enjoyed the diversity and the eccentricities of people in San Francisco, where I felt I was really able to be myself. When I walked down the street, I saw so many different people. I saw Asians, Hispanics, African-Americans, and Japanese people who looked like aliens with their hair dyed many colors. I saw hippies, tidy homeless people stroking beautiful cats, and grimy homeless people with shopping carts. I saw gays holding hands and lesbians kissing. I saw people in wheelchairs, people with mental illnesses, and suspicious people who exchanged money for something on the street. At night I saw a fat prostitute wearing a pink dress, standing next to her tiny manager who stood about the height of an elementary school student. I saw people from all walks of life, the rich and the poor. I loved it.

I live in Toronto, Canada now as I found in Tokyo that many Canadians are intelligent and open-minded.  My impression of Canadians remains the same but I often miss San Francisco and the sense of freedom in the U.S.