David's very little and inconspicuous corner of the internet ... 

Greetings and Salutations!

My name is David Patrick O'Donnell, but practically everyone I know from 4 continents simply calls me, "Dave". 

​

I have lived in Japan for the last 15+ years. I worked at Kanda University of Foreign Studies from 2005-2009, at Keio Shonan-Fujisawa-Campus from 2009-2019, and have worked at Yamanashi Gakuin University's International College of Liberal Arts since April 2019.

 

I was born in Western Massachusetts, in a small village called, Florence (population about 900), which is a component part of a small city called Northampton. Most people look at Northampton and say, "That's not a city. That's a town. Definitely a town. Cute though." But I have to assure people that it is a city. (They have the paperwork to prove it and everything.)

Northampton has a few small claims to fame. It is the home of Smith College, which is one of the Seven Sisters.  it is where the Ninja Turtles were born (or where their first comics were drawn and published, at any rate). When I was a child, I never had the opportunity to meet or befriend any Japanese people (and before Jr. High School, no one from Asia, if you can believe it!), so by the age of 18, I knew very very little about Japan, its people, and culture. It never occurred to me that I might visit Japan, let alone that I would be able to live here, and would marry a Japanese person, and spend much of my life here. Sometimes life surprises you.