November 2014 Report

The BridgeMeJapan Project began over three years ago in Miami. The trailer design (Semi) began a week after the tsunami hit Fukushima in March 2011. At that time, only a week passed after the giant waves hit the coast when my brother called me from Argentina around 4 a.m., asking me if I had heard from my friends in Japan.

After two years of research and one year of writing and putting ideas together to understand the logistics needed to make this project happen, I finally arrived in Japan to start my journey. Working in Osaka and being helped by so many friends took another six months to finish my trailer and finalize my plans. At last, in September, I got on my bicycle and began the journey to Japan.

On my last day in Miami, before getting on the plane to Japan, I had many meetings and encountered friends I wanted to see before leaving home. That morning in a discussion about the BridgeMeJapan project, my companion said to me over a cup of tea, “It is good to read about people’s tales I can’t find in a book.” The words “people’s tales” I hear stay in my head.