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Japan Exchange 2004
Arriving at Mayumi Haysahi’s home, the outstanding Incoming ED, was like coming home to a long lost friend. She and I had been communicating via e-mail for months, so we had already established a good friendship. I soon realized many of the cultural lessons we had learned at the workshops were myths when she greeted me at the airport with an enormous hug and we walked arm & arm out of the airport. Mayumi and I would look at each other directly in the eyes and made big sighs that communicated, “I can’t believe we are finally meeting face to face.” So much for our training about making direct eye contact and touching being inappropriate in the Japanese culture. Our new friends also like to openly share their feelings. The first few days were a whirlwind, actually the whole trip was a whirlwind, and fortunately the adrenaline fueled our energy and kept us going every precious moment. As I settled into the Haysahi’s home, Mayumi showed me to my room, a charming traditional Japanese room complete with shrine, sliding paper screens, tatami mates, and a comfy futon, just like you see in the movies. Next came the “Water Closet” instructions, first the shower/soaking procedures in the bathing area and then I was taught how to use the fanciest toilet on the face of the earth. The Popiel slicer and dicer has nothing on these Japanese toilets that, spritz, spray, warm, blow dry, hand wash, and even have imitation flushing noise to conceal embarrassing noises. The toilets became a source of great entertainment when we learned some ambassadors had gotten drenched by an out of control toilet and that the police arrived at a public toilet when one unsuspecting ambassador accidentally pulled an emergency switch while attempting to flush. Since no two toilets are alike in Japan, it makes you think twice about flushing after that incident. If we weren’t laughing about toilets we were laughing about our lame attempts at trying to speak Japanese or sit on the floor around low tables, which our new friends seemed to find equally humorous - thank goodness. The first week of home hosting in the Aichi Prefecture I experienced many firsts. I visited Buddhist Temples, Shinto Shrines, fabulous museums, Shogun castles, strolled in neighborhoods where homes and businesses had survived for centuries, spoke two sentences in Japanese at the welcoming party held in the Nagoya Castle Hotel, saw the worlds largest Buddha & the tiniest deer in Nara, witnessed a traditional Japanese wedding and baby & car blessing at a Shinto shrine, ate eel (great payback from a time when an eel scared the stuffings out of me while I was snorkeling) and many other delicious foods I had never tried, enjoyed seeing family photos of special events such as traditional Japanese weddings, girl’s day with their doll collections, boys day as little ones dressed in a Shogun outfits, and 2,3,5, & 20th year special birthdays, saw jaw dropping begonias and other flowers at Nabana No Sota, tasted flower-flavored ice cream, bathed my feet in hot springs then dried them in a locker with a blow dryer at your feet, became friends with wonderful multi-generational traditional Japanese families, tried on a kimono, painted Japanese characters, folded origami cranes, drank REAL green tea, saw lavender bulldozers and turquoise ditch diggers, had lunch at a fabulous French Restaurant nestled along the river bank in a mountainous area-complete with a helicopter landing pad, realized that chestnuts grow inside of large porcupine type balls, learned that cars and people can cohabit on very narrow streets without sidewalks, experienced my first earthquake & typhoon and then traveled to the second week of hosting via the famous Bullet train. But, most importantly I had the chance to live in a Japanese home and befriend all the lovely people we met in the Aichi Prefecture. Some of my most cherished moments were the times we chatted over leisurely, and I might add magnificent, meals with hosts and their friends. It was not easy to say good-byes to our new friends. Riding on the bus that had picked us up at the train station in Fukuyama to take us to Konu Town for our second week of home hosting was quite an experience. The lush mountainsides, rice fields, and country homes in this rural area were beautiful. As we turned into the small town of Konu we were surprised to find pairs of American and Japanese flags flying side by side from the businesses and homes on the main street. I think everyone had goose bumps. We met our host families at the Jimmy Carter Civic Center, where we gathered our luggage that had been shipped and were able to tour this wonderful community facility. This was the Friendship Force of Hiroshima’s first experience at home hosting a club, but you would have never known by the way their events went off like clock work. Ken Nakagaki, a family man in his early thirties, took on the challenge to serving as Incoming Exchange Director. In spite of the fact there were language barriers, the club had taken every precaution to make us feel comfortable. They had helpful booklets with phrases in Japanese & English to assist with basic communication and arrangements had been made for an English teacher to float around to various homes and events to translate. Somehow we all managed to communicate, almost too well, because the master of ceremonies at the welcome party could hardly hush the crowd for the speakers, performers and dancers, but Buddy Sizemore’s rousing sing-a-long of “Country Road” finally got everyone’s attention. Home for my second week of hosting was the Sunabashiri’s three-generation family home nestled in a tree covered mountainside, surrounded by lovely Japanese gardens with a fish pond, vegetable gardens, and rice fields. Early one morning as I roamed their property taking photos, it dawned on me how fortunate I was to have this opportunity. Had I been an average traveler in Japan I would have been dying to take a peek in one of these homes and I had seen my fifth Japanese home. And I was not just invited in for a peek, I was welcomed as a family member. My children are now grown, so it was great fun to be a part of a family with teenagers. It brought back fond memories of those busy years. And such delightful teenagers they were, eager to help in any way and anxious to practice their English speaking skills. Having teenagers in the household also gave us the opportunity to attend a Sports Festival at a local high school. Every student in the HS performed in some event throughout the day. It’s hard to imagine how these young people put together this big event with just two weeks of practice. Visiting local schools was also a highlight of the week; I was able to visit the small school where my host Sawako taught. The children performed songs, dances, and asked the ambassadors questions, then we had a chance to paint Japanese characters with the students and join them for lunch. Day trips were planned for the ambassadors. We toured the visitor’s center of an enormous dam that’s being built, lunched at the Miyoshi Winery, visited the Miyoshi government office where we were greeted by an army of clapping staff, browsed the Hiroshima Prefectural Museum of History Folklore. My host family planned a day trip. The scenery was gorgeous as we drove to Onomichi and we made a stop to walk on the longest suspension bridge. Upon arrival we rode the rope way (gondola in the US) to view the spectacular view of the city of Onomichi and the Inland Sea, we visited temples, shrines and museums, dined on the Ramen noodles (a local specialty), crossed fabulous bridges to surrounding islands, then shared an Italian dinner together. On another day various groups of ambassadors visited schools in the area, then regrouped to visit the historic village of Joge Town, and the 100 Yen store (like our dollar stores), visited the Shoganji Temple where Jimmy Carter became famous in Konu for helping relocate a sacred bell that was thought to be destroyed during WWII, and partied with the club, friends, and our hosts, which was all terrific. All too soon it was time to say our good-byes to these lovely families so we could travel to Hiroshima City for the day trip their club had organized. The final legs of the exchange were overnight stays in Hiroshima City and Kyoto. In Hiroshima City we visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park where we were greeted by the Director of The Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation. Our club presented a wreath at the Memorial Cenotaph, then there was time to study and pray at this sobering museum dedicated to the elimination of nuclear warfare and peace. We lunched, then took a ferry to Miyajima Island. Our first stop was at the Tokujuji Temple to participate in a sacred tea ceremony. I had some concern we might be thrown out of the temple; none of us seemed to have a knack for the “kneeling as you pull your body with your arms” procedure that was demonstrated as the method for entering the tearoom. Finally, the female Buddhist Monk who was overseeing the ceremony gave up and with a subtle grin invited the remaining ambassadors to simply walk to their places. One can only assume that she could barely contain her laughter as we struggled. I’m certain our exhibition was a story she shared with friends. Next we walked to the famous Itsukushima Shrine. We were not able to actually tour the Shrine due to damage from the typhoon, so we walked to another temple & pagoda and then browsed this charming village. After riding the ferry back to Hiroshima City we settled into our Hotel. James, the member of FFI who had planned our day, and his assistants escorted us to a restaurant to try a local dish called Okonomi-Yaki, which was absolutely delicious. The following morning we boarded the bullet train for Kyoto where we were met at the train station by a knowledgeable and humorous guide for a half-day tour. We visited the Nijo Castle, the marvelous Golden Pavilion and surrounding gardens, shopped briefly at the Kyoto Handicraft Center, checked into the Kyoto Gion Hotel to freshen up for dinner at a restaurant in the Gion District, then capped the night off at Gion Corner where Geisha performed Japanese arts. Many ambassadors strolled around the district in hopes of seeing a Geisha as she scurries to her next appointment. Another ambassador and myself weren’t ready to call it a night; we wanted to savor every last moment in Japan. So we grabbed a beer from a vending machine and found a comfortable place outdoors to visit and relax. While chatting we were fortunate to have a Geisha and her patron stroll right in front of us, unfortunately neither of us had a camera (like the fish that got away). The bus trip to the airport the following morning was nerve wracking due to a traffic jam, but in spite of having a half-hour to check in, go through security, and immigration, we made our flight back to the USA. When friends and family ask me what was my favorite part of the exchange, I say EVERYTHING! A member of the Aichi gave me a painting of a flower he had painted with a Japanese inscription, “Beautiful Flower, Beautiful Person.” If I were an artist I would paint a landscape of Japan entitled “Beautiful Country, Beautiful People.” |
©2008 Friendship Force of Lincoln. All Rights Reserved. |
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thought came into my head as I was snuggling into my futon the 4th evening of home hosting in Japan. If I had to return home right now, the experiences I have shared with my host family, members of The Friendship Force of Aichi, and all their lovely friends have already surpassed my greatest expectations. Little did I know what marvelous opportunities lay ahead! The Japanese clubs have a reputation for being the finest hosts in the world and although this was just my second international exchange, I can’t imagine anyone being more hospitable. From the moment we landed at the airport in Nagoya when we were met by the smiling faces of the FFI members, waving fans with our names, until we said tearful good-byes to the Friendship Force of Hiroshima at the Carter Center in Konu, we were treated like royalty.