2261“One day, when I was in my room at university, a friend of mine called me on the phone and asked me this question,” Yumi says in her audio clip.

”I thought at that time I was more interested in Western countries so I refused that proposal. I applied to go to Turkey instead, but the trip was cancelled. I was so disappointed but I found another friend who was interested in going to Europe.

”We decided to go to Spain, because it’s Europe and also has a lot of Muslim cultures. Then we fell in love with Spanish culture and the language. After coming back to Japan from the first trip, we studied Spanish together.

”Then we went back to study Spanish in Spain. Then I met a lot of international friends in the language school. One of these friends somehow brought me to this website, Someone Once Told Me.”

To clarify, Yumi and I have a mutual friend, the excellent Tracey, who told Yumi I was in Tokyo and set up our meeting. Funny how things work out.

Taken in Tokyo on the SOTM World Tour.