The interview to person in Guest house Borderless-tokyo Vol. 12


David Dial from U.S.A!


D lives in Musashiseki-house, Nerima-ku.
He gave our interview!
How does he think of share life? and Borderless-tokyo?

About yourself

- Please introduce yourself!

My full name is David Alexander Sevandal Dial, and I was born in Vallejo, California in the US. Vallejo is about a 45-minute drive from San Francisco, and I lived in the SF Bay Area my whole life except for the time I've spent living in Japan.

I love Japanese culture, starting with the anime I used to watch as a kid. I decided to study Japanese language so I could understand anime better, but after I started studying I learned to like things other than anime.

Now I love watching Japanese TV dramas, variety shows, and music shows. I especially love Japanese music. At karaoke, I almost always sing Japanese songs.

My other interests are varied - I like basketball, bowling, billiards, video games, etc.

- What type of guy (girl) do you like?

I like all kinds of girls, but as far as geinoujin (Japanese celebrities) are concerned, my favorite will always be Tanaka Rena.

- What's your dream(goal) in future?

I simply want to spend the rest of my life in Japan.
I hope to one day write a book in Japanese about all the great things in Japan.
Whenever I tell Japanese people that I'm from the States, they always say that they wish they could live there,
but I want them to know that Japan has a lot of good things about it too.

- What are you doing your best for right now?

My work is my life right now. It's all I do, six days a week.

- What is your best memory in your life so far?

The best time of my life was the first time that I lived here in Japan, studying Japanese in Shinjuku.
I made a lot of good friends then, and I still keep in touch with some of them.
At that time, there was a basketball court in front of Akihabara Station, and I would play basketball there every Monday with the same group of people.
Towards the end of my stay, I started to go there everyday. I love basketball,
I love Japan, and I love being able to do stuff for free.
Playing basketball in Akihabara let me do all of those things at once, so it was the best time in my life... but I hope to make better memories in the future.

- If we all die in 1 month, what do you want to do?

Spend time with my friends and family.

- If you got 3 million dollar lottery, what do you want to do?

If it were enough, I would buy back the area in front of Akihabara Station where the basketball court used to be, and put another court there.
If 3 million dollars weren't enough, I'd try to find another station to put up a similar court, or renovate the courts that are around Tokyo.
There are a lot of places where there is a hoop, but for some reason,
the ground isn't paved - it's all dirt. I don't think that people understand that in order to fully enjoy a basketball court you need a smooth ground to play on.
I want people in Japan to be able to have the same kind of good memories with basketball that I had in Akihabara.

About house share

- What is good point of your room? also not good point?

My room has a big closet so I can keep things out of the way. I wish the room itself were bigger though.

- Do you think how long you can stay there?

I don't have any plans to move yet. I want to stay here for at least a year.

- What is good point of the house? also not good point?

The best point is that there are convenience stores, a supermarket, video rental places, and restaurants within a 5 minute walk from the house.
As for the house itself, I like how every room has an air-conditioner/heater and internet access.
I can't think of many bad points with the house.

- What are you careful of share life?

I try not to play my music too loud late at night or early in the morning.
I also always try to interact with my house-mates... when I come home, even if I'm tired, if someone is in the common room,
I'll stay around and talk with them for a bit.
I also always try to clean up after myself in the shared areas (my bedroom is another matter!)

- What kind of person will be good for share life? What's kind of people not good for share life?

People who are considerate of others will have no problems with share life.
You can make a lot of friends in a sharehouse program, but only if you make it a point to reach out to others.
Although you have your own bedroom in a sharehouse, there's no point to living in a sharehouse if all you do is stay in your room.
You have to try to interact with people.
In my sharehouse, all of the residents are like a close family, which is the main reason I don't feel like moving any time soon.

- Why did you make up your mind to start share life with people?

I knew that it would be difficult to find a place on my own, what with all the deposits needed for moving into an apartment in Japan.
Especially since I'm a foreigner, I would need someone to co-sign with me.
Borderless makes it easy for foreigners to find a place to live.
I also wanted to have an opportunity to make more Japanese friends.
I knew that I would be working as an English teacher, but I didn't want my whole day to be spent speaking English.
I wanted to be able to use my Japanese, so I decided to look for a Japanese person that was looking for a roommate.
My search led to Borderless Tokyo.

- Who is one of best friend of you in borderless-tokyo? How great is he (she)?

I really only know the people in my own house. I feel like they're all my family, so I can't really say which one I like the best.
They're all great people to live with.

About party

- Are you satisfied with any party in borderless-tokyo? If you are, what was big fun for you?

I couldn't attend some of the events held by borderless/borderless residents, but I had a lot of fun at the Beach Sandal event and the Sports Event.
I love basketball, and it was fun to be able to play in a gym again at the Sports Event.

- Do you have any good idea of party?

I think it would be nice if there were monthly house parties, and each month a different house would host it.
This is probably difficult due to everyone's schedules, but I think it would give everyone a chance to know who else is in the borderless program.

About the town you live

- Which shop or restraunt do you often go around your town?

Just behind the house there is a supermarket (Summit) and discount store (Jason) that has a lot of the daily necessities that we need in the house.
I've recently started going to Tsutaya a lot, now that I've gotten my foreigner registration card and was able to get a membership.

- Is there any wonderful restraunt you recommend?

As far as food places are concerned, I normally eat at the ramen shop in front of the station (Toushuu Origin). They have a cha-han (fried rice) set with a mini-ramen that is pretty cheap, and tastes good too.

About Borderless-tokyo

- How did you know borderless-tokyo?

I did a search for people that were looking for roommates in Japan, and I came across a message board with a posting by borderless.

- Please tell us any good point of borderless-tokyo!

I like how borderless holds the events/parties every so often.
Since I'm so busy with work, I don't have a lot of opportunities to meet people, so I always try to take part in the borderless events if I can.

- Any message for people living in Borderless-tokyo and people who will stay some other day!

I love living in my sharehouse. To me, it's a lot of fun, but whether or not it's fun for you is up to you.
If you're friendly and make an effort to spend time with your housemates and the other people in borderless,
I'm sure you'll have no complaints with Borderless-Tokyo!

Thanks a lot! D!!