This past July, I was lucky enough to be chosen to go to a very different kind of place. This is a place where everyone treats everyone with respect, a place where people drive on the left side of the road rather than the right, and perhaps strangest of all, a place where the people eat raw fish. This name of this place is "The Big J," but more commonly known as Japan.

Our first day in Naka Shi, which was only part of a day, we stayed at a hotel in Tokyo. Once we settled into our hotel, we went out and enjoyed a meal at McDonalds (it tastes better in Japan), and then we went shopping.

Day two was also spent in Tokyo, where we took a bus tour around the great city. We went to the Tokyo Tower, the Mejii Shrine, and to the gates of the Imperial Palace, which was all very exciting. We were then dropped off at the Ginza Shopping District, where we ate lunch and shopped.

That afternoon we got on a bus to go to meet our host families, which were also the bus ride where we met our Australian translator, who was really great. That was one of the most nerve-racking nights in my life. As I was being led to my table, I couldn’t help but to smile. The muscles in my mouth seemed to be twitching out of nervousness, which made me even more nervous that my host family would think I was some kind of annoying American. Lucky for me, though, my family was one of the nicest families on the face of this earth, and it was pretty easy to make conversation with them, thanks to the family beside us who had much better English than mine did.

Throughout the rest of the week, we toured Naka, experienced Japanese culture, went to school, a beach and aquarium, and we got to know our hosts and their families and friends.

Then came the weekend, which was my favorite part of the trip. My family and I made pottery, went shopping, ate Ramen Noodles at a Ramen house, went to a morning and night-time festival, and to the farewell ceremony. I don’t think it was just the activities that made the weekend so fun, though; I think it was spending time with my host, and getting to be even better friends with her and her family.

Of course, there were difficult parts of the trip, like communication, eating really strange food, and just getting used to all of the Japanese culture. But every difficulty was worth it in my opinion.

This trip to Naka Shi, Japan was an unforgettable, amazing experience. I made many new friends, some of whose names I still can’t pronounce. But best of all, I inherited a second family. I never thought I would miss them so much, and I am looking forward to visiting them in the future.

On Sunday, we had a day tour of Tokyo. We went to the Tokyo tower, the Meiji shrine, and the Ginza shopping district. At the Tokyo tower, we just went up on top and looked at every thing, including the Meiji shrine. When we got back down, our tour group went to the Meiji shrine. That was really fun. We got to purify ourselves by walking under an arch, and we got to pray at this money throwing booth. That night, we met our host families. I met Kazuki, Yuki, Chihiro, and Mrs. Morita. Yuki was the older brother, and Chihiro was the younger sister. When I got to the table we didn’t really have that much to talk about so we just asked some questions about each other. When we got to their house, we talked and exchanged presents for a really long time.

The next day, I went to the city hall to meet my friends again. There we went to go see the mayor, chairman, and the superintendent. After that, we went to a magiyra, a Japanese old house. There, we had some traditional soup and Mr. Reddick had some Marmoushi sake. It was sake with a viper in it. I really wanted some, but it was sake. We stopped by the Naka Fusion Institute next. We watched a movie and played around with liquid nitrogen. Then I went back with my host family and ate at a sushi restaurant. They also taught me a bunch of new Japanese words. Kazuki and I also started to just mess around a whole bunch. We became pretty close.

This day, I went to school. Every thing was pretty uncomfortable the first day, but I was amazed at how much freedom they had. They could do about anything. It was awesome. After school, I went to this place to go experience Japanese culture along with the rest of the group. I went to calligraphy and to a Japanese tea ceremony. Calligraphy was pretty fun, but the tea ceremony wasn’t exactly the most exciting thing. We did get to dress up in kimonos though.

This day, I went to school again. This day was really fun since it wasn’t that uncomfortable anymore. I also made friends with a guy named Kenji. After lunch, when Kazuki was studying English, I went outside to play soccer with Kenji. After school, Bob, Neesha, and I were brought to a sake factory by our host families. That night, I went home and ate noodles. It was the first time I got to slurp my noodles. It was great.

This day, was really fun since we went to the beach. First we went to the aquarium. It was like most of the other aquariums I’ve been to, except it had puffins and this ocean sunfish. That thing was weird. The beach was really fun though. Nick and I went wave jumping. Then the waves got to high so we started to body slam the waves.

We got to spend the day with our host families. That day, we went to Edo Wonderland. It was a place with a whole bunch of ninjas. I even got to throw real shruikens there. We also went to watch a ninja show and walked around in a ninja house.

The last day there, I went to Mito with Kazuki. It was a really big shopping district. Every store you could think of was there. There was even a store about New York. After we came back from Mito, we went to the farewell party. There we did the electric slide and made sticky rice balls. That was really fun.

Naka was a really fun and new experience for me. However, if I didn’t have such a good host family, and tour guides like Jason it wouldn’t of been that fun. Kazuki and his family really made me feel at home. That was probably the best part of the trip.

Impressions and experiences from Naka by Alex McLean

Konnichiwa, watashi wa Alex-des! (Good afternoon, my name is Alex). Wow, what a fantastic trip I had on the sister city visit to Naka, Japan! It was full of new experiences and fun.

When we got to Tokyo we ate at a McDonald’s and went to bed. The next day we went on a tour of Tokyo that included Tokyo Tower, the Imperial Palace, and a large Shinto shrine. The views from Tokyo Tower were great.

That afternoon we took a bus to Naka to meet our host families. My host was Hotaka Sato, who was about my age. He spoke English very well which was great. He had a lot of energy and liked to joke around, so we got along well. He had two sisters, Shihomi, who was 11 years old, and Ena, who was 6 years old. The first thing Ena did when I got there was teach me how to play a card game called Speed. She was very good and we played lots of games during the week. His mother and father were very nice and patient with me all week.

My host family took me to a huge 400 foot waterfall and to a Shinto shrine. We also went fishing and I caught two fish. It was fun to get to know them better while we saw some sites in Japan. My favorite thing to do with the host family was fireworks. Shihomi had her 11^th birthday while I was there and they had fireworks as part of the celebration. The fireworks were better than the kind you can get in the U.S.

Food was one of my most challenging adjustments on the trip. The Sato family tried to help by serving American breakfasts with eggs and bacon, but it was strange to eat fried octopus or sushi at other meals. We were served fish with the head still on which was something I wasn’t used to.

I had a lot of fun visiting Hotaka’s school, Urizura Middle School. The welcoming ceremony was a big event and each of us made a brief speech in Japanese to the students. Most of the speeches were fine, but something I said at the end must have been the wrong word, because everyone in the school thought it was hilarious. I participated in a Kendo demonstration and then we went to classes together. At Urizura the students stay in one room and the teachers rotate to different classrooms for each subject. Even at lunch, the food is brought to the students at their classroom. Mallory and Rachel were at the school with me, and we were all treated like royalty by the Japanese students. Lots of pictures were taken.

My experiences were all good and I am really glad the Sister City program allowed me to go on such a great trip.

I can't believe we're finally here. That's what I was thinking as I stepped off of the plane into Narita International Airport after a 12 hour flight. After writing essays, being interviewed, waiting for months, and watching in-flight movies, we were all really happy, albeit a little nervous, to be in Tokyo. We went through customs into the main part of the airport where we got some free time until we had to catch a bus that would take us to the hotel that we would be staying in. The bus ride took about two hours and even though we were tired, we were all awake, looking out the windows at the unfamiliar city that was Tokyo.

After we got to the hotel, dropped off our bags, and explored our rooms, we went back down to the lobby where we met up with the rest of the group and headed out into the streets. After we wandered around for a little while, we saw golden arches: a welcoming sight in a city covered in Kanji signs. Our first night in Japan and we ate at McDonald's! We ate and then split up into groups to go exploring. We found a gigantic mall in which we spent most of our time; it was so big. Eventually, we had to tear ourselves away from the stores and meet back up with everybody. Upon returning to the hotel, I fell asleep almost immediately.

The next day, I was still tired, but I shot out of bed and got dressed, eager to go on our bus tour. Breakfast was confusing considering that we didn’t know what bowls to use or what half the food was, but we survived and were soon on a bus headed towards our first stop: Tokyo Tower. The Tokyo Tower is a gigantic satellite tower. We went up to the observatory where there was an excellent view of the city. Out next stop was a Shinto Shrine. There we learned how to pray "'Shinto style". Afterwards, we got to wander around for a while and do some shopping. When we got back on the bus, we headed for the Imperial Palace. We didn’t get to actually see it, however. Our last destination was the Ginza Shopping District. It was gigantic and VERY busy. I almost got run over numerous times. We got to shop and then we ate at another McDonald's. To get back to our hotel, we had to take a subway. Even though we got off at the right stop, we were completely lost. It took us the best part of an hour to get back to the hotel. The Naka City officials and Jason, our translator, were already at the hotel, waiting for us to get back.

We quickly loaded our luggage into a bus and boarded another one which would take us to Naka. I was nervous the whole ride, which lasted about two hours. Would my host family like me? Would I like them? What if I couldn’t understand a word they were saying?

My fears were quickly quashed as we entered the Welcoming Dinner and saw all of the smiling faces staring back at us. The Welcoming Dinner was probably the only time that I felt uneasy for the rest of the trip. We ate and city officials gave speeches which Jason translated for us.

After it was over, I headed home with my family. My host sister's name was Haruna. She lives with her mom and dad. When we first got to their house, I was greeted by the barking of their overly excited dog, Lemon. They gave me a tour of their house and showed me my room. Afterwards, we sat around in their living room, not talking. I decided to break the ice by bringing out a game that I had brought. The rules were hard to explain, but with the aid of an electronic translator everyone understood. It was a lot of fun. We also played a Japanese game. Afterwards, I took a shower and fell asleep almost instantly.

The next morning, breakfast was early: six-thirty. It consisted of rice, eggs, tomatoes, and miso soup. I ate it almost entirely with chopsticks. I listened to music to pass the time until we had to leave for Naka City Hall. Haruna had to leave for school and her father, who was a policeman, had to leave for work. We visited Haruna's grandparents who lived next door before leaving. The drive to Naka City Hall was really scary that first day. I hadn’t noticed the night before, but the streets were really narrow and cars looked like they might hit you every time they passed.

When we arrived at the city hall, the room was buzzing with talk. The entire delegation was itching to tell each other about their first night staying with their host families. We had a few minutes to talk before heading towards a large conference room to meet the mayor, the vice mayor, and the superintendent of Naka City Schools. We toured the rest of Naka City Hall, took some pictures, and headed out towards the bus that would take us to a traditional style Japanese house. There, we got to try traditional Japanese food.

After a quick stop at the bank to exchange money, we went to an Italian restaurant to eat. Absolutely stuffed, we left for Naka Fusion Center where we did experiments and watched a movie. We visited the Sony Music Factory. It was interesting, but by that time we were all tired and ready to go home.

We drove back to Naka City Hall where we met our host families and went home. Haruna didn’t get home from school until seven o'clock, so her mother invited over her aunt and cousin. Her aunt spoke very good English because she had been living in Canada for the past three months.

For dinner, I helped make Japanese rolls which were rice, cucumber, fish, and eggs rolled into seaweed. After dinner, we made origami and had strawberry ice cream. Pretty soon it was late and I went to bed.

The next two days we attended school. Haruna goes to Naka Second School. On our first day, we took a tour of the school and then made our speeches. We attended classes for the first part of the day. After lunch we were taken to the Fureai Center to experience traditional Japanese culture. First we did a traditional Japanese tea ceremony. We ate candies and then we got to put on yukatas, a less formal version of a kimono. After the tea ceremony we did calligraphy and made the Kanji symbol for friend. Afterwards we drove home with our host families.

The next school day, we stayed for the entire day. We attended some classes and got to help teach English class as well. As the school day came to a close, we had to give another speech. We weren't prepared for this one, but we managed. One thing that I learned while at the school was this: You may be in a different country where people speak a different language, but school is the same everywhere. There are different teachers and different students. And there will always be a sleeper in at least one class.

The next day was my favorite day of the entire trip. We visited an aquarium in Oarai Town. On the way there we got to meet everyone and their host families. It just showed that teenagers are the same everywhere. The bus ride was filled with laughter. When we first got there, we saw a dolphin show. Then we split up into groups and wandered around the aquarium. About an hour later we were bored and we went outside to the beach where we made a "sand temple", buried our feet in sand, and got completely soaked in the waves. That part wasn’t fun because the bus was air conditioned. After leaving the beach after 3 hours of fun, we headed towards the marine tower, where we got to look out over Oarai Town. We then got our pictures taken in a photo booth and went shopping. We were all exhausted as we boarded the bus and met back at Naka City Hall to be picked up.

The next day was our entire day with our host family. I got up early and we drove about an hour to a pottery place where we got to make rice bowls on a pottery wheel. That was fun because I got to try something I had never done before. After I created my "masterpieces" we went to an Italian restaurant for lunch. We visited a ceramic arts museum and then went shopping for the barbeque they were having that night. The barbeque was a lot of fun. Six of Haruna's friends came over and we ate, laughed, shot off fireworks, and played games almost all night.

Needless to say, I was tired the next morning, but I got to sleep in. This was my last day to spend with my host family. We went shopping in the morning. The rest of the day we just hung around the house watching movies like Pirates of the Caribbean in Japanese.

That night we went to the farewell party. We performed Rocky Top and the Electric Slide. Bob, a member of the delegation, performed an Elvis song in full costume! The Japanese students performed dances and martial arts.

When we were all outside we pounded rice to make rice cakes and talked with all of the different host families. Too soon for me, the party ended and it was time to go home.

The next morning, I didn’t want to get up. I had to leave for Oak Ridge. I sadly ate my breakfast, knowing it would be the last I would ever eat with my host family. After breakfast we loaded my luggage into their car and set off for Naka City Hall where a bus was waiting to take us back to Tokyo. The Mayor then gave a farewell address. I was so sad as we headed outside. After saying goodbye, we boarded the bus. As the bus pulled away I was sad, but when I looked out the window and Haruna and her mom and dad, I knew they would always be my second family.

I would like to thank Mr. Luckmann and the Sister City Organizations of Oak Ridge and Naka-shi for allowing me to have this wonderful experience. I would also like to thank Jason, our translator for translating and keeping our spirits high. Last, but not least I would like to thank my host family for welcoming me into their home and for being a wonderful host family.

Konichiwa, my name is Nicholas Ducko. I recently went to Japan with the Oak Ridge-Naka Sister City Exchange Program. I had a blast. I fell in love with the culture, the food, and the people. I really wish we could have stayed longer, and I wish we got to host our hosts.

I stayed with the Endo family, a family of a mother, a father, and five kids. They were all gems in my eyes. I love them like brothers and sisters. Takeshi, the boy I stayed with was a very good English student so I had one difficulty partially wiped away right there. We both loved to play soccer and video games! I got along really well with him and his family.

The first day, we toured around Naka-Shi. We went to city hall, a traditional style Japanese house, the Naka Fusion Labs, and the Sony Music Lab. We got to see a giant beetle, meet the mayor, watch the effects of liquid nitrogen on a rubber ball, and see the process of CD manufacturing.

The second and third day we went to school and we painted kanji. We got to meet lots of new friends and experience the schooling culture of Japan. We also learned the kanji for ‘Friend’ and the Katakana, or Japanese symbol writing, for our names.

On Friday we went to the aquarium and the beach. The water and fishes were amazing! You cold not surpass the beauty of the sharks, dolphins, and penguins. The beach was also a lot of fun. We buried each other in sand, built castles, and tried to jump over waves.

Saturday we had the day off with our families. We went to the beach and went snorkeling. Then we played soccer and had a barbeque. That was some good shrimp, squid, and steak!

On Sunday we went into another town and made pottery on a clay spinning plate. I made two cups and one giant mess of centrifugal forced clay mass! After that we went to the mall and then to the after party.

I was very sad to depart from Japan. I love my host family so much. I still have the memories and the happy glow from Japan, but a piece of me will always belong in Naka-Shi.

As the departure day drew ever closer, I got more and more nervous about traveling to Japan. What if my host family didn’t like me? What if I got the wrong presents for them? What if I lost my luggage? The day before leaving was the worst, as I repacked my suitcases four times and had trouble sleeping that night.

The plane ride wasn’t as horrible as I thought it would be. Watching movies and listening to my CD player passed the time, as well as talking to my seat partner, but I was very glad when the twelve hours were up and we landed in Narita. Everyone was tired and stiff from sitting down so long.

We spent our first twenty-four hours in Japan in its capital, Tokyo. That first night we adjusted to Japan by eating at a McDonald’s and exploring the area nearby. Monday morning we took a tour by bus to major sightseeing places such as Tokyo Tower and the Ginza shopping district. That afternoon a bus from Naka came to pick us up. Once on board (our luggage rode in a separate van), we met Jason, our Australian translator (and a lifesaver) as well as one of the many people who would help us during our stay in Naka. During the drive to the welcome dinner, we were mostly silent, trying to not think about what would happen to us at the end of the ride. Walking into the room was perhaps one of the most nerve-wracking experiences of my entire trip – so many foreign faces, staring at us, so many tables (only two families to a table). I clumsily pulled out my chair and nearly tripped sitting down. What a way to start.

After the speeches, things went a little more smoothly. Misaki, my host girl, asked me many simple questions – how old are you, do you like Japan so far – that I could answer without trouble, and she showed me how to use chopsticks! My family was very kind; they kept smiling at me, and asking if I wanted more food.

As the week went by, our relationship improved. My host father worked most of the time, but always had a smile and a kind "Hello" for me. My host mother and I were together a lot, and she is one of the nicest people I have ever met. Misaki didn’t mind correcting my mistakes and helping me, for which I’m eternally grateful (I stuck to her like glue at the school), and her younger brother Hayato played videogames with me. I’m still very proud of the fact that I beat him once.

I dressed in a kimono and drank traditional dark green tea (the darker the color, the stronger the flavor) at a tea ceremony; I attempted calligraphy and origami; I saw an old-style Japanese house and tried oden, cooked over a wood stove…The list of my experiences goes on and on. I even practiced kendo! At first I thought I was only going to watch, but Misaki pulled me into the changing room and kept telling me that I was fine, that I shouldn’t be terrified (why not?? my brain screamed). It was hard, and sweaty underneath all the layers of padding and clothing, but very rewarding.

Their school was very interesting. Since numbers are universal, my best class was math! For English class one day, the teacher played American songs, which made me slightly homesick, even though it was so funny to hear Green Day’s Boulevard of Broken Dreams in such a setting. The worst thing was the lack of air conditioning. I’m surprised no one had heatstroke.

One of my favorite experiences that still stands out vividly in my mind was Friday night dinner, when we went out with their grandmother and grandfather to a restaurant and ate sukiyaki and shabu-shabu. Pots of boiling water are placed in holes in the table, and we select the meats, vegetables, etc. to place in the pots and cook ourselves. It was an incredible family atmosphere, with everyone eating and chattering and asking me if I liked the food every five minutes. Plus, I now have a craving for sukiyaki almost every day!

On Saturday my host family took me to Nikko, which is almost like a park, in which all the buildings are traditional and little shops dot the streets, with an archery row and souvenir stalls and haunted houses. We took lots of pictures, and I tried takoyaki (octopus dumplings) for the first time. Surprisingly, it was very good.

The Sunday farewell party was very amusing. Although our performance had not been practiced, we stumbled through it gamely; the best part was when Bob dressed up as Elvis and sang You Ain’t Nothin’ But A Hound Dog. Everyone was laughing so hard.

That night, my host family threw a barbecue party. Little kids were running around everywhere, chanting "Hanabi, hanabi", and the grown-ups sat back and talked and ate. I was introduced to someone every five seconds! Hanabi, Japanese fireworks, was the best part. I felt like five years old again, watching sparklers go off and helping the smaller kids light their hanabi.

On Monday, I don’t think any of us really wanted to leave. We were torn between home in America and the new home we had found in Japan. My host mother and Misaki were crying! The sadness didn’t wear off for a long time, though I was glad to be returning home, where everywhere is air-conditioned and forks, instead of chopsticks, are used.

If I could, I would go back and do it all over, and not change a thing. I’m keeping in touch with my host family, and someday I hope to return to Japan and visit them.

Alia Ally

My trip to Japan was one of the best experiences I have ever had. I have always wanted to visit another continent, so when this opportunity cam up, I was thrilled.

The moment Mrs. Campbell annouced the trip I was anxious, and nercous. There were so many eligible candidats, I had no idea I was going to be one of the final ten.

After what seemed like ages (really only about a month) Mrs. Marlar announced who was going to be going to Japan. I was very shocked and extremely excited! From the day we found out who was going until the day we actually left, all I could think about was Japan.

The plane ride went by quickly, and in no time we were actually in Japan! I couldn't believe it., When we get there we ate at McDonald's (!!), went shopping for a little while, and then we crashed in our hotel room.

The next day (Monday) we went around Tokyo. We saw the Tokyo Tower, Ginza shopping district, and many more amazing things. Then, we went to Naka to go for a welcome dinner and to meet our hosts. I was really excited to meet my host, Mami, and her family.

On Tuesday we met the mayor and went to an old Japanese houst. Also, we went to a sony building and saw how compact discs were made. It was really cool. We also got a bunch of ball point pens.
On Wednesday we got to wear kimonos!! I was very excited because I had never worn a kimono or even seen one in real life! We also did a tea ceremony. That was the first time I have ever drank green tea. I tried to choke it down to be polite, but it was just too unbearable.

On Wednesday and Thursday we went to school. In school we had a ceremony, we went to all the classes, and we ate lunch with the students. I am very glad I don't go to a Japanese school because they do not have air conditioning. It was extremely hot. All the students and teachers were sweating so much. Despite the heat, I enjoyed school.
On Friday we went to an aquarium and to the beach. Friday was another great day. At the aquarium we went to a dolphin show, we saw many animals, and we ate lunch.

Saturday and Sunday was just a relaxing day with our host families.
 
My family took me shopping both days and they also took me to a susi restaurant. The Japanese sushi tastes much different than the sushi in America. Personally, I didn't like it at all.

Sunday was our last real day in Japan. We went to a very entertaining farewell party. There, we got to meet the exchange students who came to Oak Ridge last year. I got the meet the girl I hosted last year, Ayaka. Also, we saw the girl scouts who will be coming to Oak Ridge soon.

Monday morning we left to come back to Oak Ridge. :(

My favorite part of the whole trip was when we went to the beach and when we wore kimonos. I had never been to the beach before, so it was very exciting , and, like I mentioned earlier, I had never worn a kimono before.
My least favorite part of the whole trip was coming home. I had so much fun in Japan, I could have stayed there for another ten days or more!

I learned a lot about the Japanese culture during my ten days in Japan. Japanese families are very close knit and grandparents usually live in the same house. In Japan it is not rude to ask how old people are.
Japanese respect the elderly. Almost everyone rides their bicycles or walks to school. They do not have school busses. Children go to school for many more days than we do in America. They go to school for 200+ days. The Japanese lifesyle is very different from the American lifestyle.

I'm very excited about meeting Mami as well as the other students who will be coming in August. Hopefully I can go back to Japan in the near future. I had a wonderful time filled with unforgettable memories.

Japan was a wonderful experience! I went to Japan excited, but nervous, and came back with a new knowledge of the Japanese culture. Even though some of the things I saw were similar to America or what past participants saw, I also saw many different things. It is hard to describe all of the wonderful memories that I have because there were so many. However, what I remember the best and loved more than anything were the old traditions of Japan, the new ways of life in Japan, the clothing, and the food.

The country of Japan is a lot older than our country, so naturally it has customs that have been practiced for hundreds of years. For instance, in Tokyo we went to a Shinto shrine. Long ago Shinto was the main religion of Japan. Now it is practiced mostly by the imperial family. At the shrine, we became pure by walking through a gate, then washing our hands and praying the Shinto way. On Tuesday, we went to an old Japanese styled house called Magariya. There the owner showed us his fish, beetles, and a drink with a dead snake in it that had been fermenting for twelve years! Not many of us drank it. Wednesday, we learned about Japanese culture. There we did calligraphy and origami. Then we had a Japanese tea ceremony and though I am not a big tea drinker, I did like the green tea more than most American teas.

Though the country is old, times have changed and so has their way of life. I said earlier that Shinto was the main religion in Japan. Now, there is a saying that a Japanese is born a Shinto, married a Christian, and dies a Buddhist. In other words a Japanese gets baptized in a Shinto shrine, has their wedding in a Christian church, and their funeral in a Buddhist shrine. There are differences in the schools too. While in Japan I attended Urizura middle school with my host. What amazed me the most was the fact that none of the kids took a lunch to school. They all ate their school lunches in their classrooms because they don’t have a cafeteria. In fact, I even got to help my host and some other students serve lunches to her classmates one day. Also, they all wear uniforms and in school they have to wear color coded slippers which tell which grade they are in. They don’t have school dances and teenagers dating is discouraged. There are no public displays of affection in Japan. Even in the T.V.soap operas, which I got to watch one, there were no displays of affection other than hugging. I don’t think that this is so bad and I wish we could do the same in America. However, Japanese girls do have crushes on Japanese and American movie stars alike. Jack Sparrow or Johnny Depp in the movie Pirates of the Caribbean was a favorite. I found this out in the schools and when my family took me to Disneyland in Tokyo. In Disneyland, I was surprised to find that the crowd was mostly Japanese as I thought there would be a lot more Americans or people from other countries. I found out that Winnie the Pooh and Mickie and Minnie Mouse are very popular. I also noticed that even though there were traditional American foods in Disneyland, often it had a Japanese twist. For instance, the pizza had octopus on it and there was a green tea flavored ice cream. Also, another American thing in Japan was a 7eleven store, but instead of slushies, my family bought fireworks and we lit them that night.

I loved the clothing in Japan, especially the traditional kimonos and yukatas. Wednesday after the tea ceremony we tried on kimonos. I loved all of the padding, cords and knots they did to put on the kimono. There was not one button, zipper, or Velcro involved. Later in the week, my host family bought me a yukata and took me into a kimono store where the staff showed me where they worked on the kimonos, the types and colors of the cloth, and what the difference was between a yukata and a kimono. I also found out that my host’s yukata was passed down from her mother and was her mother’s first yukata as a teenager. I also learned my host mother was a kimono teacher.

While in Japan, I tried a lot of new foods. My first dinner with my host family was Tonkatsu (breaded pork) with sticky rice, cooked pumpkin and a cabbage soup. They also bought KFC chicken for me but I was too stuffed to eat it. On Wednesday, my family took me to a sushi restaurant where the food went by on a conveyor belt and you picked your dinner off of it. I realized a couple minutes into the meal, that the plates were colored by price. Yellow was the cheapest, red was medium price, and brown was the most expensive. Also, yellow was really fishy tasting and looked like the stuff you see in America. Brown was very rich and exotic. Red, though, was just perfect for me. It wasn’t really fishy tasting but was still Japanese. My favorite breakfast was sticky rice, mizo soup, salmon, a salad with tomatoes, and some orange slices. There were two types of mizo soup my host family served me. One was with plain chunks of tofu and the other one was with tofu that is sliced and fried. The latter was my favorite. Tuesday, my family bought me a treat called Taiyaki. It is two fish shaped waffles with a paste of azuki beans sandwiched in the middle. I loved it!

When I left, my host family was crying and it was all I could do to not cry. I realize now that they thought of me as family and I felt the same way. I am so glad I got to go to Japan. I had so much fun and so many good memories of the Japanese people. I also got to know the Robertsville and Jefferson people better. I want to thank the Sister City organization, teachers, and Shigeko for helping us get to Japan. I just hope one day I will see my family again and can repay their kindness.