Judy Ishizu holds up her latest English textbook, "Sekando Raifu no Eikaiwa" ("Second Life English Conversation"), and can scarcely contain her enthusiasm. "It's a dream come true to be in print. This is not my first book, however, but the fifth. To date the second -- "Eigo de Imi . Kangae wo Ieru Hyogen" ("Phrases to Let You Express Your Meaning and Thoughts in English"), has sold 28,000 copies, which I'm told is good. Also it's been translated for English language students in Taiwan."
After near 20 years, the Ishizu English School in Kamakura is an institution. With 80 students ranging from under 2 to 77, and five teachers (including Judy ), it's a thriving lively business.
Life, she says, is so mysterious, the way things turn out. At age 18, in Hawaii, a Gypsy fortune teller told Judy that she would travel to a faraway country and never come back. "I thought, I don't think so! "