Language certainly is a virus and there is not one English but many Englishes: British, American, Canadian, Australian, Singlish...

Over 10 years back I was visiting a potter in a small town in Tottori prefecture. One day I went out alone for a walk. Soon I was admiring the hills, the rice fields and ancient houses with thatched roofs. Then, as I passed an old lady in traditional clothes leaning on her wooden gate she stared at me with bewilderment. I thought "What is exotic in this scene?" and the answer came: it was me.

In Japan you will feel more like an alien than in most other countries and that's one of the reasons I love it.

Hey this is serious stuff folks. Seems parts of the world are becoming more difficult for travellers these days. I recently heard two stories from respectable people who were refused entry to the UK and US and who were treated like criminals by the authorities. Now imagine the outcry if this started happening to US and UK citizens.