My first official duty as Communications Coordinator for my prefecture, Yamanashi.  A prefecture in Japan is like a state in the US.  We stayed in the capital city Kofu for one week.

I sat with the Japanese  Consulate General for San Francisco. Being one who hates small talk I was a little nervous at this task. However I quickly learned that the General Consulate and his wife lived in Amherst for four years while he studied American History at Amherst College. She took ESL classes at UMass. Needless to say we did have a lot to talk about.