The Rice Tree Chronicles

A friend once asked the author how many countries I had visited and what was on my bucket list, and his reply was that it wasn't filled with things or places, but with people like "The Walnut Man" or "The Albeeno Aborigine" and the Ladyboy in "Bangkok Confidential" that he had met along the way and the stories that they shared about themselves. If anything, a little bit of luck, patience, and an ear for listening have made all the difference in seeing the world through a different set of lenses.

The richness of travel is in each footstep taken like walking el Camino de Santiago in Spain, where each day is a new adventure along an 800-kilometer trail filled with stories of personal challenge, hardships overcome, immense satisfaction, and a bookmark in the lives of people from all corners of the world.

Each story, each memoir is merely a point in time in someone's life and the reward was having it handed to you as a gift.

Earle S Hotta was a counselor/educator for 41 years in Hawaii Public Schools and Colleges, but also in Brazil as a peace corps volunteer and teacher at the American School of Recife. He was born and raised on the island of Maui when it was still a territory and comes from a family who immigrated from Hiroshima, Japan, during the Meiji Period (1868-1912).

His introduction and passion for people began with parents who surrounded their home with guests from movie stars to wood carvers and professional baseball players as well as people they befriended at their shop.