How did I get here?

I found myself wondering this morning how it was that was eating raw fish at 8 in the morning. There I was--in new and beautiful country, that speaks a language I don't understand, writes in characters I can't read, and has customs that I don't know-- sitting crammed into a counter between my brother and a little old lady at a Tokyo sushi bar a stone through from the largest fish market in the world. As I took the first bite of the, melt in your mouth, freshest raw tuna in the world that is the moment that I paused to wonder how it was that I found myself in that particular situation to start with.

The story starts nearly 5 years ago. When I first arrive in Washington, DC, the fall after my graduation from college I moved into an apartment with my older brother. He had already been in the DC area for awhile and among other things was busy training several night a week in a martial arts dojo. One day I went along with my brother to see what it was like and that was the start of this story. I had always been interested in martial arts but never had the time, before then, to try it. It was both the mental disciple and the desire to be able to defend myself were the situation ever to arise that drew me in to training and has kept me there ever since. The style of martial arts that we train in was originally founded in Japan a long long time ago and that is where the current grandmaster of the art continues to pass down this beautiful tradition to students from around the world. After training for 3 years, I left DC, and my wonderful dojo family there, and moved to Atlanta for graduate school and where I was lucky enough to find a new dojo family that welcomed me with open arms. Before I left DC my brother and I decided that when I graduated from my master program we would travel together to Japan and train with the grandmaster and visit that mysterious and alluring country ourselves.

That is why just 2 weeks after I added the title of MPH after my name I was on an airplane to Tokyo. The trip to Japan on the horizon got me through the craziness of these last few months as I finished my thesis and prepared for my move to Africa (which for the curious reader will be in mid-August). This first week of our trip we are busy training with the grandmaster and several other highly regarded students of his. Mixed in with the daily training session, which we attend with about 70 other people from around the world, we are visiting the city of Tokyo.

One of the must see sights of Tokyo is the Tsukiji Fish Market. This is the largest fist market in the world, boats from around the world come there to sell there catch to feed this small island nation that loves seafood. We arrived at the market at 7 AM, long after the boats had unloaded their cargo and the wholesalers had bought their wares at the auction all of which starts as early as 3 AM. When we arrive the market was bustling with activity and the various tourist that wandered through the cramped aisles seemed not only out of place but in the way. The market was a sensory overload, sights, sounds and smells. Though actually contrary to what one might thing it didn't spell fishy at all. There were so many different fish, shellfish, and other water dwellers all lined up in different stalls ready to be bought by restaurant chefs most especially sushi chefs from through out Tokyo. Most importantly is the huge red tuna, some that weight in at over 100 pounds!

Tradition gives that once you have visited the market you should have breakfast at one of the many sushi bars in the neighborhood that serve fresh fish from the market. So that is how I found myself eating raw fish at 8 in the morning on a gray rainy day in Tokyo.

There have been other adventures in Tokyo and most to come next week in Kyoto and Nikko. Expect pictures on my new blog photo site in the next few days (see link to the right). The highlight so far has by far been the market and specifically that moment of taking the first bite of the tuna and as it melted in my mouth knowing that how exactly I got there is far less important then where I am going. That as the grandmaster has been teaching this week it is in the blank page that one can find the story.