East Meets West

Rui Kanai first came to live in North America as a toddler. His father did post-doctoral studies at the University of Texas, followed by research in Calgary, Canada. After a few years, the family returned to their native Japan. Rui spent his childhood in Nagano and his teen years in Osaka. Today the family lives in Tokyo, where Dr. Kanai is an executive with a large pharmaceutical firm.

In high school, Rui took top honors for English language skills. He expected to attend a university in Japan. Instead, his parents urged him to return to Calgary to polish his English.

"My parents still had friends in Calgary, so it seemed like a good opportunity. I didn't remember the town. My impressions of life in [North] America came from television. I thought all cities had giant skyscrapers with lots of people," Rui said.

Rui anticipated a metropolis like New York. Calgary was not what he expected.

"I was astonished by the empty streets. It was not an urban landscape." Rui tackled the books, graduated from junior college and transferred to San Francisco State University.

"I love San Francisco. It will be hard for me to leave. I will miss the city views, the mix of old and new. The whole city seems like art to me," he said.

Rui plans to relocate to Los Angeles, after graduation in June, to search for a job in the entertainment industry. My daughter Gretchen met Rui through mutual friends. We enjoyed hosting him for a summer visit and invited Rui to spend the holidays with us.

What a treat it was to have the luxury of time to get better acquainted. I have read volumes on Japanese history, art and cuisine and studied briefly in Japan. Rui told me domestic details about daily life that weren't in the books.

On New Year's Eve, the Kanai family ushers in the New Year with a midnight meal of buckwheat noodles. "My mom, dad and sister eat cold noodles. I'm the only one who likes them hot. We make rice cakes and give money to children on New Year's Day. You would love the look of the colorful New Year's food. We use special serving dishes to best display the food. The dishes are gorgeous, gold on the outside and black on the inside," he said.

Like many married Japanese women, Rui's mother stays home to care for the family. Mrs. Kanai also volunteers as an interpreter for the deaf. She likes to experiment with new recipes and often cooks American, Italian and Korean dinners.