Living abroad has its ups and downs. There are times of euphoria -- total absorption and delight with one's adopted culture -- and there are the deep troughs, when negativity sets in and everything turns hateful and to be despised. There is also that infinitely more bewildering phase, when nothing feels quite right or clear, and somehow something needs to be turned around.
This is where Valerie Koehn is right now, leaving tomorrow for San Francisco after 18 years in Japan. "I love it here, but I've had some identity issues in the last couple of years. I'm ready to reconnect with the part of me that is American."
Not that Valerie will be gone for good. She will be back in mid-June for three weeks, keeping tight control on her continuing job here as general manager and head of press relations in Japan for the U.S. lifestyle company Chrome Hearts. "When I told Richard (the founder Richard Stark) that I was thinking to commute between Tokyo and California, he said, 'You can live on Mars as far as I'm concerned, as long as you can do the job.' I feel lucky to have such support."
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