A BIG こんにちは to all you who have been following our adventures here at X_border.
The name is 29...that's right, a number! Actually, you pronounce it "Nik," and NO there's no "c."
Sound strange? Weeeeell, does it help if I explain that its Japanese? No? Hmm...ok, let me break it down for you: 2 in Japanese is pronounced "ni" and 9 is pronounced "kyu" or "ku." Get it? See, Japanese isn't so hard!
I'm originally from America, near a little city you might have heard of called Boston. I was born and raised out there, and then ran away from home to go to university near Chicago...ok, just kidding, i didn't run away, my parents threw me outta the house.
After that, i got a job here in Tokyo, and for now, this is me home!
I'm 24, an Aries, I like long walks on the beach....oh wait, different kind of 自己紹介...
How I got involved in X_borderI owed them money and now they use me for hard labor until I pay off my debt.
Just kidding.
Back in 2007 when I first moved to Tokyo, a good friend a co-worker called me up on a Friday and the following "conversation" ensued:
him: "Hey, its me. You free Sunday at 6pm?"
me: "uhm...yeah, i think so..."
him: "Ok, be at Shibuya at 6pm Sunday."
me: "Wait, what? Why??"
him: "Its OK, just be there"
Of course I showed up, and was led to a nice cafe where up entering, sat about 20 Japanese people, and one empty seat in the center.
As you can imagine, that's a lot of pressure....Anyway I sat down, and shortly after the apparent "leader" of the group, a so-called "Yuki Suzuki," began to discuss what was going on. We were going to throw parties! BIG parties!
At the time, I had no idea what I was supposed to do...I spoke English and Japanese, all good things, but i was surrounded by 2 VJs, 5 DJs, and bunch of people who were coordinators, accountants and generally amazing.
The first party I helped with was the spring festival. I mostly acted as the "go-boy" for helping out whoever needed...the ocha-girls, or distributing shots for the present Xchange. I soon realized, "hey, why not MC these things?"
Fast forward to now, a couple events later...
I've now been part of the interior decoration committee, I've been the "chef" for season food and drinks, the MC, general English specialist, but my most important role: liaison with Room To Read.
As you've probably read in previous posts, X_border is all about fun and helping. To that end, we've all been trying our hardest to really make volunteering through X_border a large part of our lives. Since I'm the American, I am the guy who talkes with Room To Read San Fransisco and Tokyo, and moves around the money to make sure that everything is being transferred properly.
That being said, congratulations to X_border for donating its first library! Thanks to you guests for making this all possible!!
-29
It's a romantic full moon, when Pedro said,
