The Origin

Growing up a military kid in the 80's was its own unique Gen-X mystery because you never deeply rooted in one place for a long time or had real ties to anything mainstream when Cable TV was something you saw only at installation offices or where it was provided by AFN access times. More on that later, I was born in Ft. Worth Texas at Carswell Air Force Base, son of an Immigrant Mother and hard working father from Motown Detroit City. I remember very little except I had a birthday party with a big bird birthday cake before we got orders. My Dad came home one day and said, "Japan is next." Yeah at two I had no real concept of Japan or where this life would take me. So in 1982 before my third birthday in March we had spent over 26 hours in transit before landing at Kadena Air Force Base, Okinawa Japan. I vividly remember the air smelling different. The reason Japan is so important in contrast to what was going anywhere else in the world especially the United States is that I was African American in foreign land learning about the world walking into school and living with my parents off base in the community. I was getting first hand experience of living as a global citizen before the term was commonplace in mainstream media. I was always torn between what I was experiencing overseas and not experiencing in the United States. As a boy Toys were a big thing and I think being in Japan spoiled me in the early 80's because Japanese toys were in a league of their own and exposure to the animation, movies, and unique blend of storytelling has been a cornerstone of my life for over 40 years.

Growing Up

However let's get you from the beginning to college, From Okinawa we move 4 years to Clark Air Force Base in the Phillipines and I got another culture into system and fell in love with the diversity and humble moments learning the comparisons from the Japanese to the Philipino culture. Often I told my parents I wanted to go back to Japan but my Father encoraged me to embrace change. My pattern was missing the familiar until I made new friends that made the transition easier and by the time I was good it was time to go again. This time my Dad flipped oceans on me going from the Pacific to the Atlantic all the way to Torrejon Air Force Base, Spain for 2 years. Same cycle but much shorter, some family urgency and a death cut Europe short and we resettled into the United States in the beginning of 1991. It was harder than being overseas, the supporting community and understanding of "we're all Americans" to "Well now you are just here" was a flipped world. The Academic Rigor in classes was definetly not the same and small town mindset San Antonio was definetly an adjustment process. But that was Middle School and High School, and I wanted out, so I chose New Orleans for College. My foundational early years had me labeled as the "Outcast" who just didn't understand what it was to be "Normal" or "Just blend in" were foreign concepts since I wasn't extraordinary but just in a different lane. My heart was missing the Pacific and in September of 1998 I found out about the "Jet Programme" when my Japanese class sat down in Lawless Chapel at Dillard University, my ears perked up and my soul yearned for my first love affair all over again. It had become my song and a turning point in my life. College was focused on getting to Japan, but as with all heroes and growth stories tragedy has to define us. The Only difference between a Hero and Villain is how they deal with the tragedy that will shape them and define them to the audience. Well my Mom died November 5th, 1998, my Freshman year of college. She had been diagnosed with Stage 2 cancer and begun treatment. The first specialist said she wasn't supposed to see me graduate High School, but were stubborn in my family and walk on faith, she made it. The years and rounds of chemo therapy had been her struggle for many years on top of raising a rebellious teenager who was lashing out to mask his pain, his brother and a father who was her partner who felt burned and burdened for trying to keep it all together. I will never regret the decision of my Undergrade Choice, the community embraced me and rallied around me. The President of the University had his personal driver rush me to the airport after he heard the news from my professors. I will be forever grateful. 

Tragedy Strikes

At 19, I was a add-on photographer for the university newspaper and just finished a photo shoot of construction on campus, took shots at a basketball game, and signed up for the annual fall festival to get this news really crushed me. I knew her time was coming and the cancer kept coming back. The last conversation with my mom was, "Don't rush to start a family, take your time and enjoy life as much as you can, keep being yourself and showing up for your father and baby brother. I raised you with faith, lean on God, and work on your temper! You and your father are the same person when you get upset! Give each other grace, please. Know I will always love you and be in your heart." I spent that time discussing Lauryn Hill, Hip Hop, Why I didn't like my roommate at the time, why New Orleans was weird, and why there was no good Mexican Food anywhere around, then complaining I didn't like Sea Food which put me as an outcast again. A week and half later she was gone, I never realized my father had flown me back to San Antonio for her Birthday to say Good bye. I wasn't by her side when the news came and I held onto a deep shame and guilt for years. The Outcast embraced the stigma and lashed out at times and kept to himself for the rest of the school year. Considered dropping out but Japan was the North Star. My new friend at the end of Freshman year and I got along great and we agreed to be roommates. I signed up for Summer School because going back to my Mother's House was an emotional nightmare.

Tragedy Again? Or Opportunity...

With that snippet of Freshman year the rest of college was growing pains, learning and embracing my own culture that wasn't relevant because of living in such a tight military community without the challenges of normal American life into fully embracing globalism and wanting to leave a legacy behind. The redemption arc began after having several disagreements in class about the future of African American Global Socioeconomics VS politics and mobility which labeled me the 'Intellectual Revolutionary Outcast' but I became a beacon for others who were misunderstood or didn't follow the herd of narrowminded oneness. I didn't like the concept of the collective. Getting married and being locked into a 9-5 corporate grind for 30 years was the most horrifying intellectual prison I couldn't accept. To graduate from college I needed 120 volunteer community service hours. I was sent to the education professor who needed a teaching assistant to teach basic computer skills as well as how to be successful as a college student. It was an opportunity that changed my life, I began to remember enjoying being a student then I was elated to see the growth and potential of children younger than me use skills I taught them. I set a fire in my soul. I could see light at the end of a tunnel escaping the corporate hell scape I didn't want to jump into. So back on the JET Program train and I kept working at it, volunteering for events, coordinating the club on campus once I was elected President, networking with the local  Japan Society of New Orleans. It became an identity and I ran with it, but challenges always popped up. My father and I were estranged until I started my second senior year after changing my major. He said I was waiting Loan Money and should just join the Air Force, I told him if I was kicked out of college then I would go that way. When I graduated things turned around for a moment, I wasn't ready to leave New Orleans. I had failed to join the program for 2 years now and I was torn between giving up on the dream and joining a Alternative Certification program to teach in Texas. I decided to wait it out. 

Then I started working for non-profits and ended up becoming a computer tech which was ironic because I was in trouble. Earlier that year in March I got an email saying "You have been selected as an Alternate for the JET Program! Please be advised that is not a guarantee of placement but stay tuned." I celebrated that day and smiled for the first time in a long time. Well that summer at work my disposition had shifted back to survival mode, I was barely making ends meet, my car had ruptured, transmission was dead and engine flooded, I was walking and on the bus to get to work, I had nothing going and I was throwing grit and determination at the problem. That day at work I had failed to deliver on a Excel Billing sheet and was getting reamed by the owner, then the phone rang. The Secretary got on the intercom, "Jovan you have a call holding from the Embassy of Japan." I excused myself and ran to the other office and overwhelmed with Joy was accepting the alternate placement. The tone shifted with my boss and he said, "Just get the program done before your leave. I am giving you a week." 

I don't care if the cloud is dark, I see Silver linings...

Keep in mind tragedy was 3 weeks away, but I got my interview in June the phone call came in mid July. I had until August 10th to get my affairs in order, move out of my Apartment. My Dad got me a camera, my uncle sent me $75, my Church Mom gave me $100 bucks, then my Dad came and got my stuff from my apartment. I donated my College Wardrobe because I only had 2 good duffel bags not suitcases. I was a mess but the smile and change in momentum you couldn't tell that I was financially on my last legs and not ready. To be honest I haven't been ready for anything in my life but I always make the best of the situation. To be fair most new JETs had already heard from their predecessors, knew what the school looked like, received lesson plans, and got information about their neighborhoods. I got nothing, the guy before me was a stumbling drunk who somehow lucked out into Medical School and quit his contract just before the cut off leaving his soon to be my school in a lurch. I didn't know the name of the school, never heard of the prefecture or city, and had no idea what the community was historically. I made a bunch of rushed decisions with no support to lean on, but I rushed into the unknown. I took every moment in stride and showed up doing the best I could.

August 2005 My dad had said, "When's the flight leave?" I told him the 15th, and his response was "Good, there's a nasty storm out in the Caribbean right now. I don't like it." I thanked him for his concern and enjoyed my last dinner party with friends and the next day attended the going away ceremony with the Consulate General of Japan's Staff at the house in New Orleans. I was dropped off to the exit hotel for the airport, I said good bye to my future wife, book mark this for later. The next morning I was off, wonderful good byes. The group was sent to Chicago, I called my Uncle to thank him for the money and told him I was excited, had a huge cinnamon roll in the airport and then got on the plane. I got to Tokyo, completing a dream that took 7 years and nothing could break my smile, it felt like a movie being filmed live while I was unscripted and could care less of what challenges were ahead. To keep it in perspective I was an Alternate, not a first round pic, we didn't get the full fanfare of the A group, I was perfectly fine being C group. Even though I am solid introvert who enjoys his peace being a Military Kid you learn to make friends in new situations and find new adventures. Ask me about the legend of "Idaho" if you ever catch me in person one day. I wondered around Tokyo whenever I had free time and made a few life long friends. Little did I know the storm my father was worried about was heading closer to New Orleans and would forever change the course of history for the southwest United States.

After 4 days in Tokyo my quartet was partnered with our representative of the Kumamoto Kencho (think School District Government office) and took a bus to the airport, loaded on a plane at Haneda airport and 2 hours later landed in my new hometown. I didn't know the place would grow on me so fast. I got introduced to my land lady who didn't speak English but her daughters did, I went from a 600 sq ft one bedroom in New Orleans to 240 sq ft one bedroom in Japan. There was a literal mountain between my apartment and the school where I would work. There was a community around me that didn't know what they were getting and I was told up front that because of the drunk predecessor I wasn't allowed to get a car. Apparently he had evaded criminal charges for multiple DUI's in Japan. So yeah there's that, met my Principal, staff, and sat in the teacher's office. My first weekend was spent getting a Bicycle, I had no money so it was a cheap used bike that wasn't really built for me. Walking and riding the bus in New Orleans didn't prepare me for riding my bike almost 8 miles to work one way either. In the Blistering August sun I made it work, lost a lot of weight, built great legs, and began adjusting to the reality of my dream. I didn't know enough Japanese to function on my own, food was all in Japanese, so I snacked for a while. Then discovered my rice pot. My stove didn't work and it was just weird to me, but I muddled through. A stranger in a new world but I was enjoying the experience. I never knew how much my heart could ache until the phone rang later the next week.

Tragedy Hits Home, but I'm in Japan Dad...

My Dad Called the day Hurricane Katrina had hit New Orleans, frantically, panic is in his voice, "Hey, where are you right now?" 

I was half asleep, "Dad, Japan, what's up?"

"New Orleans, " he trailed off, "I am just glad you are safe."

"What are you talking about? Are you okay?"

"Just watch the news."

"Alright, after I get out the shower, are you good?"

"Yeah, me and your brother are good. We're proud of you, get off this international call, have a great day."

"Alright Dad, Love you."

"Love you too."

I didn't have a bed, I was sleeping on a Japanese Bed Roll "Futo" and debating whether to complain about this Japanese lifestyle. All it became was a mission to find a bed. After showering, getting dressed, and beginning the bike ride, the concern in my father's voice faded. I passed the train station, saw all the thrift stores, wondered what the kanji and katakana meant for some places, stopped into the local grocery store got my French bread breakfast and descended down the mountain to school. So two weeks in and I see the principal as I pass the gates into the school and the giant country man looks worried and panicked, "Sensei, come here" in Japanese and I quickly park and rush into the building. All of the TV's on the news are playing footage from New Orleans, even though in Japanese I recognized the Crescent City Connection, I10 cutting from New Orleans East all the way through the city underwater. Flooded, Devastated my supervisor "Totansa" tells me in English to pick up the phone on my principal's desk and call my family. I called the woman who is now my wife only to hear "due to federal emergency this line is disconnected. Please try your call again at a later date." Over and over I heard this message, I called my best friend and my Fraternity brothers and everyone I could think of. God had allowed my family again to dodge tragedy by weeks again. I was devastated thinking of my old neighbors, their kids, and the city I had finally fallen in love with. 

Here I was 5000 miles away safe, in a language I didn't speak well enough, couldn't read at all, going through the growing pains of trying to manage emotions and nerves while becoming a teacher. I had sunk into a deep depression and masked it, I put off the worry the best way I could. I wish I would have reached out for more help in hindsight. Well going home that day was so far out of whack for me I actually cried most of the way home. I learned it was going to rain that night so I found a restaurant to eat at before I got home. Just beating the rain once I got into my apartment I felt safe in Japan and greatful for it. The friends I made in Tokyo I wouldn't see until October after my birthday, but it was a saving grace to reconnect with those that would be my tribe for my time in Japan. Little did I know we would become life long friends. I had to fly to Kobe Japan, but the kicker was going through security. Meeting up with the guys, then walking to our gate. Our Plane was the Pokémon Express, no lies, literally a plane decked out in a wrap of Pokémon! I was floored and my signature line was, "Japan Exclusive." I couldn't wait to send it to my dad. Shortly after getting to Kobe, I finally managed to get an email from some of my friends in New Orleans and prayers were answered, September was such a long time with no word from anyone, I kept praying for the best while fearing the worst. I was disappointed that my now wife at the time didn't want to take a chance on Japan with me. It eats at me, but God had a plan. 

What is this magical thing called "Kobe Beef?"

First off I thought I was already living in a post modern Japanese Futuristic town called Kumamoto, which had its own freaking Castle, 3 rivers going through the city, a Massive Transit hub Train Station a 10 minute walk from my house, and countless cultural gems all over the city...then I get on the bus from Kansai International Airport with all of the other JET's and we head into town, Kobe was literally the place I saw on the news in High School that just had a massive earthquake in 1995. It was 2005 and the city was magnificent as if my dreams of modern Japan was hybrid of old cultural washed in Neon Lights and smelled like fresh ocean air captivated my senses. The Sunset on the Bus was magical, too bad my camera gifted from my Dad couldn't do it justice. The Hotel for our conference was the Portopia Hotel which was lavish, remember growing up military enlisted poor and never seeing luxury this place felt like a palace, from the purple carpets, see through crystal piano, striking interior design, and the Aire of brilliance in the room I was overwhelmed. I just had to take a minute to take it in this could become my future life and I loved the thrill of it becoming permanent. Now after check in I was assigned a random roommate, a guy from California, and I was a bit of a practical prude. I didn't appreciate him banging on my door at 3am stammering on about some "Russian Girl with her friends from Brazil." He ditched me the night before when the group was planning dinner. My Crew from Kumamoto was scattered all over the hotel. We were booked at the Portopia Hotel nestled between the mountains and the sea. Take in a minute a kid who grew up on Military Bases and have never been in a building with more than 3 stories or 4 ever new city in Japan was this tapestry of modern & ancient wrestling for the future. Experiences that blew my mind was the monorail on the 2nd floor that took you into the city something I could never experience in Texas.