The Christmas Present

About Sae Okihara: Growing up in her beloved Kobe, Japan, one of Sae's favorite memories was of the trips she took to Mt. Maya with her father and the family's black shiba inu, Saburo, then coming home to talk to her mom about the trip like a broken record. Ever the adventurer on a journey to find herself, she left Japan at 27 with a dream to immerse herself in the cultural melting pot of the United States. The plan may have been to stay for just one year but it didn't quite work out that way. Many years years later she lives in NJ with her husband and two crazy Godzillas where she enjoys offering lectures about Japanese language and culture at various corporations, indulges in her love of baking, and occasionally jumps out of planes for fun. She's still looking for herself and this story is a part of her journey.