This is how I am known at the kids’ school. After chatting with someone a few times, I naturally feel I should introduce myself by giving my first name, then ask the same of the person I’m speaking to. I did it the first couple of times I talked to mothers. And I soon realized that none of the mothers in school address each other by first names. Mothers and kids alike address the mothers as (child’s name) Mama. Mothers even sometimes look rather uncomfortable to say your first name. But my last name is definitely known since it is written on everything that belongs to my kids. This is pretty new for me – always going by the family name. I suppose people here are just more used to keeping things formal. It dawned on me that back home I can be friends with someone and not know their last name until weeks or months later. Here in Japan, everyone knows you by your family name and your first name doesn’t seem too relevant among acquaintances. If I am not addressed by my last name, a person might call me Oka-san (the honorific word for mother) or Oku-san (the honorific word for wife). And so you can just call me Keiji-Arisa Mama.