BANGOR - Like many of the area's young adults who have moved away,Mike Mahoney, 24, used the Christmas holiday as a time to see familyand friends and to stock up on whoopie pies and Tri-City Pizza.
Naturally, there's pizza where he lives now, but it doesn't quitehit the spot, Mahoney said.
'Pizza with mayonnaise and corn is just not the same,' the 2000Bangor High School graduate said wryly.
Mahoney's new home is in Tajima, a town that is nestled in thesnow-bound mountains of northern Honshu Island in Japan.
He has lived there teaching English since August, and when hespeaks of his experiences on the other side of the world, he soundslike a man enchanted.
'It's beautiful,' he said. 'Very beautiful, very friendly and alittle baffling. It really is wonderland. Everything's verydifferent. ... They see the world very differently from the way wesee it.'
Mahoney has been keeping busy there, fitting in a crash course incultural relations while he has taught middle and elementaryschoolchildren correct English pronunciation. He sounded confoundedas he talked about how well he is treated by his pupils even thoughthis is his first teaching gig.
'Japanese in general seem to have this really high reverence forteachers, which doesn't always happen in the U.S.,' he said. 'Theycall me 'Sensei,' which means 'master.' It's the same word they usefor doctors.'
Sticker shock is a less desirable difference. Japan's prices arehigh, but fortunately the Japan Exchange and Teaching Program Mahoneyworks for pays his salary in yen, not dollars, so he is able toafford to live.
'I'll pay up to $3 for an apple, sometimes,' he said. 'Fish ischeap, at least. Rice is expensive, which is a bummer. I got 5kilograms [11 pounds] for about $25.'
The program subsidizes Mahoney's four-room apartment, 'a smallpalace' by Japanese standards. It's in an apartment building acrossthe hall from the other westerner in his town, a teacher fromWashington, D.C., who has helped show him the ropes.
'She's kind of like an ambassador for me,' he said.
Despite extreme differences in prices, cuisine and attitude,Mahoney has been struck by the similarities between Maine and Japan,and between people in general.
'Maine's got a beautiful landscape - Japan's got a beautifullandscape,' he said. 'It's different, but, of course, they're people,too. They laugh at the same jokes.'
Though the Japanese he has met often have never heard of Maine,some do know Bangor's most famous international export.
'Some people know Stephen King,' he said. 'I tell them I'm fromthe same town ... that always impresses them.'
Mahoney is enthusiastic about his new country, learning thelanguage bit by bit and jumping wholeheartedly into local activities.
'I've been asked to join the volleyball club and the badmintonclub,' he said. 'I do the cooking club, too. It's me and sixhousewives.'
Mahoney took the job after graduating from McGill University inMontreal with a double major in English literature and urban planningand working a few months in New York City for a small book publishinghouse. His teaching contract in Japan ends in August and he has notyet decided if he wants to extend it by a year.
Though the life of an American living overseas is not always easy,it is well worthwhile, he said.
'The simplest things here become so difficult abroad,' he said.'But you make your way through it and you have to have a sense ofhumor about it ... I'm very happy there. I'm having a great time.'
Mike Mahoney is the son of Bangor Daily News sports reporter LarryMahoney.
