In this first interview of two, Yoshiko Yokochi Samuel discusses topics including: family and early life in Japan, graduate studies at Michigan State, early work at an experimential elementary school in Antioch, OH; influence and support of husand Edmund Samuel; studying at Indiana University (M.A. and PhD); initial introduction to teaching Japanese language; path to teaching at Wesleyan; working at Wesleyan as a professor of Asian Languages and Literatures, involvement with the Asian-American Student Group at Wesleyan; views on Boon Tan caricature; experiences with racism at Wesleyan and in Middletown; lack of diversity on faculty; favorite courses to teach; experiences before and during WWII in Japan, views on modern-day students in Japan; views on the "Wesleyan of today"; work translating book about Japanese War Brides