Moving around is part of my job, which is why my husband and I ended up here, and before coming to Tokyo I lived in London. Surprisingly, I have found it easier to get along here than I did there, despite my husband being British. I found the British people to be very unfriendly towards anyone who wasn' British, especially if they thought you were American, and a lot of people assumed I was, even though I'm from Guatemala. So, when I came here I made a concerted effort to get to know the people. I wanted to get past the barriers and, thankfully, through the group (The Association For Women In Finance), I've met some people who are interested in developing cross-cultural relationships. In that respect I enjoy Tokyo more.

The Association For Women In Finance came about in 1996 after a group of us were talking about the need for a networking organization that brought together women from different fields to help and support each other. The organization has really taken off and we're now helping out in two sexual harassment cases, as well as targeting schools and universities to encourage young women to join the finance profession. So we're quite dynamic, and the best part about it is that Japanese women are getting involved too. We also have a working mums group because here in Japan there is no maternity standard. As you know, in most Japanese companies, when a woman has a child she's expected to leave work, so it's really gratifying when someone thanks you for giving them the confidence to carry on with their careers. It's very exciting when you feel you're making a difference.

The best thing for me about living in Japan has been learning to accept the fact that there are different ways of doing things and that the Western way isn't always right. Of course the safety side of things is also great?a woman could never walk around late at night in New York or London?and sometimes, people's kindness can really surprise you here. For example, I have a young child and on Valentine's Day I was walking around and this little old man who looked like he was trouble came up to me. I was really worried, but all he wanted to do was give my baby a chocolate bar. So my own prejudices about a sickly, dirty old man coming to accost us were way off mark. It's those touches, it's the people that I like. The bureaucrats are corrupt as hell and that's the biggest problem that I have with Japan: the institutionalized hypocrisy and corruption when the individuals themselves are the most honest and hard-working people. I can't get my head around that at all. If I could change one thing about Japan, I'd like to redress the imbalance in society that places so much emphasis on the group and very little on the individual. Trying to make everyone the same is cruel. One of the worst manifestations of it is the way they treat people of Korean ancestry; I don't think it's really racism it's more that everyone follows authority and does what they're told without really thinking about it.

Unrealized ambitions? Yes, I'd like to be able to speak Japanese. I've tried, I really have. I've learned six languages in my life and so I know I can do it. I think the reason I can't speak it is because I can't stand the way that it's taught. I'm a conceptual learner and so I can't deal with all that learning by rote. I think officially we're supposed to be here for another three years, but I don't know if we will stay for more or less time than that. My baby is ten months old now and I'm very lucky because my company allows me to work part-time and I have good access to day care. But Tokyo is not really a very child friendly city, so who knows about the future.

To contact The Association For Women In Finance call 3596-8755.

Michelle Dorion spoke to Richard James.

Do you know an interesting person in Tokyo? E-mail us at editor@tokyoclassified.com