I am the fourth generation Okuye to live here, although technically I am a "sansei", or third generation, since my grandfather and great-grandfather came to the USA together. 

I was born and raised in Montecito, California, but my family moved to the Yamato Colony in Livingston when I was twelve to take over the farm after my uncle passed away. My father had also recently been diagnosed with early-onset Parkinson's Disease and life changes would have to be made. The choice to move back to his family house and community was that change. 

Since he had left the farm after high school and pursued a different career, he had little to no knowledge about running a 100 acre almond and grape farm. My mother, Jean, was a piano teacher, which also provided no practical insight for our new agricultural life. We had to learn "boots on the ground". Although my father had been away for nearly fifty years and had lost touch with the area, the tight-knit Yamato Colony community welcomed us with open arms and helped us survive those first difficult years.

The house was also in poor shape, my uncle having been a bachelor and living alone, so we needed to do substantial renovations when we arrived; we were constantly blowing fuses on the outdated electrical grid and got splinters from the raw, worn-out upstairs flooring, for example. The four of us managed to do most of the work ourselves along with the farm work.  Clearly, a lot of blood, sweat, and tears have gone into this house and farm!

Barely surviving and not exactly thriving in Livingston with all of these challenges and dusty, hard, farm work did not exactly encourage this adventurous, global-minded, aspiring nomad and polyglot. For as long as I can remember I have been keenly interested in other cultures and languages. So, as soon as I was able, I set off into the world.  I lived abroad for over ten years in Japan, Germany, France, and Croatia, living in each country for about 3 years each. I loved studying the languages and staying in various forms of accommodations as I traveled and explored Europe and Asia extensively. I especially enjoyed staying in agritourism homes and rooms to rent where I could meet the locals and gain a better understanding of the local people and culture. I always dreamed of providing the same experience for travelers someday.

After my father passed away, I returned to the Yamato Colony so that my children would know what a special community it is while the nisei (second generation Japanese Americans) were still alive and thriving, and so that they too could gain the strong work ethic living on a farm cultivates. 

Now that they have grown and moved on, I have the opportunity to fulfil my dream of hosting travelers. I have made further renovations and improvements on the house, restoring it to its original splendor, and created an oasis a retreat, a sanctuary, a refuge.  I love to open my doors and share it with fellow nomads, globetrotters, and all travelers from near and far.

Other hobbies of mine besides traveling and learning languages include pretty much all outdoor activites: hiking, camping, backpacking, kayaking, paddle-boarding, exploring new places, swimming, volleyball, volunteering, checking out estate sales and second-hand/antique stores...

Coming from a musical family, I never let my piano get too dusty and am known to play for hours at a time, and I love a good free-for-all karaoke session and hosting live music parties.

I look forward to meeting you and welcoming you into my home!

~Sheryl Okuye