Hello from Las Vegas

Hello from Las Vegas, where my wife and I have come for some R&R without the kids, which is always a fun thing for married couples to do. While sampling the various casinos and other attractions the city has to offer (including Penn & Teller, which I recommend to everyone), we’ve been having some interesting conversations with the other tourists we’ve met here, including many Europeans, getting into debates about things like how there can be so many distinct accents in the U.K. My wife was taken aback at my talking with strangers at first — after all, it’s rare to have a deep conversation with someone you don’t already know in more reserved Japan unless you’re already comfortable with each other, and to an extent, aware of each others’ role in the group, if there is a group. But she came around, realizing that it’s quite interesting to strike up a conversation with someone nearby and learn about Oklahoma or Florida or France. I feel sorry for the many Japanese tourists who come to America but miss out on the chance to make new friends, either because of language barriers or needless clinging to invisible social rules.