People often ask me what I find strange about being the only "gaijin" living on a Japanese island. I wonder if people also ask the residents what they think is strange about the gaijin living on their island. Indeed, we gaijin seem to have unlimited ways of causing consternation and raising eyebrows among our neighbors. From drying our underwear out in full view with the rest of the wash to setting up the barbecue in the front yard, we never fail to perplex our Japanese neighbors.

Furthermore, our island's one-page newspaper carries a monthly reminder that violent gaijin may invade our island at any moment and to be on the lookout for unusual activity and to report anything -- no matter how small -- to the police immediately. As a result, I imagine the islanders are straining their eyes even harder to see through the windows of my house and are looking out their own windows more often to be on the lookout for suspicious gaijin activity.

And this morning they found it. At 6:50 a.m., there was a cow sighting on Shiraishi Island. Everyone looked out their windows to see a black-and-white dairy cow running full speed in the direction of the port, headed for the crowd of people waiting to get onto the ferry. Everyone was, of course, terrified. As those at home looked on in horror from their windows, the crowd at the port tried to register the meaning of the object hurtling toward them. Fortunately, as the cow approached the crowd, she slowed down and eventually came to a complete stop just after everyone had safely gotten on the ferry. In the end, no one was hurt, but many people were left wondering -- how did a cow get on Shiraishi Island? After all, the people on this island eat fish and vegetables. Meat doesn't live here.