After breakfast four days into my two week exploration of Japan my friend Spencer turns to me and says, “I need to leave (back to the US).” “When?” I asked. With a deep sign he replied, “Tomorrow.” His reasoning was completely justifiable but for a moment I felt vulnerable. In less than twenty-four hours I would be lost in translation, a foreigner in an exotic land. Spencer, the Boy Scout, helped me plan accordingly. Being fluent in Japanese and have had extensive travel experience in Japan, he was a fountain of information. We figured out the bare essentials that I would need: a few phrases and words as well as an understanding to how I would get around. We departed the next day with tears in my eyes. ‘All right Japan,’ I encouraged myself, ‘here I go.’