I get my smile from my mother and for as long as I can remember, she's encouraged me to use it. Halfway around the world, I finally understand the power of her advice.

More than anything else, smiling has helped me survive here. It supplements my Japanese and speaks more clearly than anything I could say. It puts xenophobic fears to rest and other people's frowns to the test. And curiosity often turns into conversation as a smile invites questions.

If I were to give a single word of advice on how to make this sort of international transition, it would simply be to smile. Because, as a wise person once said, "there are hundreds of languages in the world, but a smile speaks to them all".