Oak Ridge Middle School Visit to

I would like to thank the Sister City Program and Jefferson Middle School for this wonderful opportunity. I had a fantastic experience in Naka City and in Tokyo. Friday night I couldn’t sleep and I got out of bed at 2:15 A.M. On Saturday morning I took a shower, put my HUGE suit case in the truck, and left my house very early. I arrived first at the airport. I was nervous yet excited. The plane ride to Dallas was very short; we landed in Dallas Fort Worth around 10:00A.M central time. We had a couple hours of lay over and then we got on the awfully long 12 hour 55minute plane trip from Dallas to Japan. After 6 movies and some games we landed in Japan. From the airport to our hotel in Tokyo was about a 30 minute bus ride.

When we arrived at the hotel we debated who was rooming with whom and I roomed with Patrick. That afternoon we walked around downtown Tokyo. Then we ate at some restaurant that served traditional Japanese food for example tempura, crab salad, sushi and there was a lot of other interesting dishes that I didn’t try. After our expensive meal we went back to the hotel. Patrick and I went to bed pretty soon after we went to our room. As soon as my head hit the pillow I was asleep. (I didn’t sleep at all on the plane.)

In the morning we ate at a restaurant in the hotel. They had a western style breakfast that was good, but it wasn’t exactly western. The coffee in the restaurant was great; I had three cups and some orange juice. The machine that dispensed the coffee was really awesome. You put the little cup under the faucet and press the button once and it dispenses the perfect of amount of coffee into your cup. When we were done eating we had fifteen minutes to brush our teeth and bring our bags downstairs. Once we were all down and ready to go we went on a half a day tour of Tokyo which was very, very fun. During the tour we saw lots of major buildings in Tokyo and stopped and looked around Meji Shrine. It was really fun and the forest around it was beautiful. After the tour we got on another bus which took us to Naka. I was a little nervous about meeting my family but there was no need to be, the Eriguchi family is very kind and polite. After the welcoming ceremony I went to my host’s home where my host student, Tomoki, showed me around the house and explained my quarters. I stayed in his 18 year old brother Yuki’s room. Yuki is studying at the university of Tokyo and no longer lives at home. After they showed me the house I was exhausted so I went to bed.

The next day we all met at Naka city hall at 9 A.M. Once we were all there we toured the building. We went to the mayor’s room and met the mayor. The mayor’s room was only the first stop, we saw the whole building! After we had finished in city hall we walked across the street to a traditional style house which was very interesting. Outside the house was a pond full of what I’m almost sure was coy. We fed the coy and played Japanese games in the front lawn area of the traditional house. A few of us went to the post office to get money from our debit cards and found that we couldn’t with a prepaid card. So I was out of cash and not a lot of stores take either debit or credit cards in Japan so that was a real bummer. Then we ate lunch and went to the atomic facility in Naka. The tour of the building was really cool. After a busy day we went back to city hall and went home with our families. When I got home I waited for Tomoki to get home from school. When he got home we watched Harry Potter in English until dinner. After dinner I watched a little TV and went to bed. I had never experienced more then 1 or 2 hour time change so the jet lag for me personally was killer. I went to bed pretty much 8:30 P.M every night except for the last few nights.

On Wednesday we attended school for a half the day. We arrived and sat in the principal’s room until we were told that they had prepared a welcoming ceremony. The welcoming ceremony was magnificent and really fun. We were introduced by our student and then we introduced our selves after the ceremony. The ceremony was really a show the Judo, Kendo, chorus, and band classes preformed for us; I felt like royalty. We attended a few classes and then we went to meet at city hall again. Then we went to a culture center in Naka to experience Japanese culture. It was like a museum. It was really cool and fun. While we were there we played games and listened to music. It was great! Around 4 P.M we went back to the city hall and then went home with our families. I got home and once again Tomoki was still at school but when he did get home we had dinner. Then they took me to a video and book store named Wonder Goo and we rented some movies. We went home and watched a movie named Kitaro which was actually really cool but I did have to read a lot of sub-titles.

On Thursday we attended school all day, we went to math, art, calligraphy, science, and I think some others. The lunch time was weird to me. They served lunch in the class room and students were the people who gave out the food and took out the dishes. It was a surprisingly efficient process. After lunch they all cleaned the school, and that day there happened to be an outdoor concert by the band. It was all really neat. After school that day, I went home with Kyra and her host family. I had a lot of fun over there with the older and younger brother. Kyra’s host student was at swimming practice. We made our own pizzas for dinner, but I didn’t get to eat over there, I went home with my family to eat.

Friday we went to an aquarium that was on the coast. It was called Aqua World and it was really fun. We saw a super awesome dolphin show, and we got a tour behind the scenes. The time at the aquarium was fantastic! We went to the beach but it wasn’t exactly what you think of when you think of a beach, but it was fun anyway. Once we were done at the aquarium we did some shopping at an outdoor mall. We went back to city hall, as usual, to be picked up by our families. When we went home I finished a movie we started that morning and Tomoki went to tennis practice at school. When he got back it was getting late so we ate a late dinner from McDonald’s.

On Saturday I went to Jusco which is a HUGE shopping mall. It had a huge arcade and a music store, where I bought two pairs of drumsticks with Japanese stuff on them. Jusco had everything and was really fun. In the evening I went to a BBQ at Martha’s host family’s house, and we all had a lot of fun. The host children performed a little concert for us, well all the ones that are in the band that is. The food was delicious and the concert was great. My family and I left about 11P.M. On Sunday my family took me to the mountains to see a waterfall. The mountains in Japan are amazingly beautiful; I wish I could have stayed up there longer because it was so peaceful. We didn’t stay at the waterfall for long because we had to get back to Naka for the Farewell Party. We taught them the electric slide and later Chris, Patrick and I taught them a game called steal the jewels; it was a lot of fun. That night Tomoki and I played Wii until it was time for bed. The next morning we all gathered at city hall for a final farewell. I slept 9 hours of the 11 hour plane ride from Japan to Chicago. In Chicago we all just hung out until we boarded the next flight. This flight from Chicago to Knoxville was like an hour and 5 minutes so it was really short. We arrived to banners and signs welcoming us home. I wasn’t tired at all; I slept the whole first flight.

On July 12, 2008 I had the privilege of traveling with fellow Oak Ridge students to Naka-shi Japan. I had many great experiences. We got to immerse ourselves in the everyday life of the typical Japanese middle schooler, we got to visit local dignitaries and we got to see many interesting sights.

Interacting with the Japanese was a great experience. My family consisted of two parents, two grand-parents, the student, Kohei Soneta, a middle school boy who is fourteen, and the family dog. We all got along so well! They treated me like a king. At times it felt overwhelming, because middle schoolers typically aren’t treated like kings in the United States! If I could, I would love to go back and spend some more time with them. They were very curious about our way of life her in the USA. None of their family has ever been to the States.

When the Oak Ridge delegation of students went to the local school of our host student, we had a good experience. The teachers have very high expectations of their students, similar to the expectations of the teachers in Oak Ridge. The most surprising thing about going to school was that every week the students had to clean the school! Since my Japanese homeroom teacher was also the gym teacher, we had to clean the gym. Another surprising aspect of the Japanese school is the pool that is located on the school campus. That was very cool. Also, all students were expected to brush their teeth after eating lunch. Most of the times, Japanese school was interesting, however at times it was boring because of the language barrier. Japanese is hard language to understand.

One day during our trip, we got to visit the Mayor of Naka-Shi’s office. They also treated us really special. Gifts are an important aspect of Japanese culture; the city officials gave us many gifts. My favorite gift from the city was a pen-case. We also received a bag, a fan, a book and several other informative items about the city. Naka-Shi was very clean and very well-kept. My favorite thing about the city was going to see the historical house that was saved from being torn down in another city. They brought it piece by piece to a park in Naka-Shi.

My family was very generous in showing me some of the sights around the area. One of my favorite sights was a waterfall that was spectacular. My family drove a couple of hours take me to this sight. We had to buy tickets to go to the viewing platform to see the waterfall close up. We had to take an elevator and then walk down a hallway to a set of stairs to get to the top of the platform. There were many connecting platforms underneath it. These were connected by a series of stairs. The waterfall was beautiful, and the light mist from the waterfall cooled us off from our long walk.

Another great sight my family took me to see was the Japanese Main Street in downtown Naka. Along this street there were many shops that sold many local Japanese goods. While on Main Street, we went to a courtyard where there were many different sculptures of animals, in many different colors. This was the local art gallery. Near the art gallery was a very tall tower called the Mito Art Tower. It was big and very modern and eclectic in design. It was twenty years old, and one can tell that Naka is very proud of there art tower. The view from the top of the tower was grand! One could see all of Naka and the surrounding areas. The day was sunny, but unfortunately there were a few clouds that made it difficult to see. It was great having a birds-eye view of the city.

Going to Japan was the highlight of my summer. It was a tremendous honor to be selected to go as an exchange student from Oak Ridge, TN. Even though I missed my Oak Ridge family, my Naka family was a great family to spend time with. I felt as though I really connected with my Naka family. The city officials were kind and generous and the sights were wonderful. I will never forget this opportunity.

In the land of the rising sun, I had a great time, and have many great times to write about. The culture in Japan is very different from the United States, the family was great to me, and I had a great time with the friends I made and already have.

In Japan they do a lot of things differently than the United State. They drive on the left side of the road. They wake up at 6:00 and go to sleep at 12:00. Their school is much different than ours, too. At their school they all wear black dress pants and white dress shirts, but under that they were a T-shirt that says Naka 4 and gym pants so they can change into it for gym and swimming. Also, the kids don’t change classes – the teachers do.

My family in Japan was very nice to me. Every day when I would get home I would watch a movie and play Wii till we went out to dinner. Every time we went to dinner we would go to an extremely fancy restaurant. There was this one restaurant where you were given a pot on an oven top, and the pot was filled with cooking oil. This was like The Melting Pot, a restaurant in Knoxville.

We got to meet some really cool people in Japan and in the school system. I got a letter that was signed by a lot of people saying “your friends.” It was very nice of them to say that. When I left Japan I felt like the days just flew by and the trip was to fast I wish I could’ve stayed longer. Now I am really missing the people I met in Japan.

I would recommend going to Japan just for all of the memories you make and also the big culture shock you get. I really wish I could go back.

My grandmother, Matilda would tell me when I was young, “There is no substitute for travel.” I pride myself on being a world traveler. Strange foods? No problem. Foreign language? I’ll squeak by. Different customs? I’ll embrace them. None of my previous travels could have adequately prepared me for the culture shock that I experienced on my first trip to Japan. Now, this is not a complaint by any means, simply a factual statement. I found our hosts in Naka-shi, time and time again to be gracious and to make me feel as though I was an honored guest in their city.

I now realise how lucky I am to have taken part in this exchange program as it is a one in a life time opportunity.

Everybody was very anxious on the bus ride to Naka City, as we were about to meet our host families who were going to be taking care of us for the next week. Luckily I was with the Kamoshida family, who had a very warm welcome.

It was very hard to talk to our host families at first as they weren’t very fluent in English, but they tried their hardest to communicate with us. Going back home to my host family’s house was also very awkward as they have many different customs to America.

Japanese houses are very small and narrow; they also tend to have at least one traditional room which had a woven floor.

The Kamoshida family are lovely kind people, who also bought me a kimono, a traditional dress that is worn on special occasions. As I think we all noticed throughout the week, Japanese people are very giving and always willing to go that much further, to make your stay a memorable one!

Japanese food is also very different, lots of fish, sushi, rice, and noodles. I think now that I might appreciate the food I am given now in America more than before after having that food experience! Chopsticks were also very different. It was hard to use them at first but by the end of the trip, I was pretty good at using them.

On one of the days we went to a Japanese cultural centre, we learnt how to write Japanese calligraphy, and how to drink green tea, make origami.

Whilst we were in Japan my host family took me to the biggest shopping mall I have ever seen in my life, it was four floors high.

Many of the Japanese students at Naka first spoke English, and they all wanted to help you!

I loved almost every minuet of Japan that’s aside of a little homesickness, which I think we all got to experience. Thinking about it now, I would love to go back to Japan to explore Tokyo and Naka more as we only got a small taster of those places.

I will miss my host family as well, as they were lovely people who treated me as one of their own.

Thank you for such an amazing trip Oak Ridge, it was one that I shall never forget!

Haley Marlar

Going to Japan was the most memorable experience I will probably ever have for many reasons. The family I stayed with was so open to having me stay with them and they always made sure I was happy. I tried some new and sometimes interesting food. I tried food from sushi and "nato" to eating at McDonalds. We visited shrines and temples. The best place we went was Tokyo. Everything is so fun and it is big and has some of the coolest buildings and stores. There is no place like it. Even though in Naka-Shi we stood out like sore thumbs, we were welcomed by everyone and people all over the town came to meet and see us during our stay. I would love to go back some day and visit the host families and just see Tokyo again.

The first couple of days were hard because we were homesick and we were trying to get used to the culture change. The families were all very understanding and they had no problem letting us see the other American students when we were feeling alone. By the end of the week, I was very sad to say good bye to my family and I hated to leave them. Saying good bye was very hard but I am excited to see them when they come to visit us in a few weeks. Even though I am not hosting, I cant wait to see Sonoka when she comes to America.

First off I would like to thank the Sister City organization for sponsoring this wonderful trip; I had loads of fun.

When we landed in Tokyo it was a totally different thing. We went to a sushi bar and they "hid" wasabi in the sushi, it took me by complete surprise. The workers took the fish from a tank in front of us then took them to the chef who was right behind the tanks. That was way different!

When we met our host families I knew that my Naka family was little different from my Oak Ridge family. The two boys, Shintaro (Shin) and Keijiro ("K"), in the family were just about the ages of my little brother and me.

My Japanese family, the Mamiyas, was very generous. We all liked each other a lot. Shintaro is the son who is my age. They took me to a shogun house. It had the see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil monkeys. They also had a few cookouts with the kids who were at my school and the Americans who were at the school too. We would set off fireworks and one time we played freeze tag near a rice field.

The school was cool. There was a group of girls that were following Shin and me by the second day. It was kind of funny. They had a swimming class. The boys all played a shallow-water version of water polo. I’m not sure what the girls did though. They had an English class and they played fun word games. They also had a music class and a school song that they sang in that class.

We went to an aquarium on Friday. We went to a dolphin show and down to the beach. Those of us that hadn’t been in the Pacific Ocean were excited to say we had been now. The Pacific even "swallowed" Patrick’s nametag. We joked and said his name was Pacific and it was now the Patrick Ocean.

My host family liked me a lot. By the end of the week I was the background on the mom’s pink cell phone. My family was very nice; the dad gave me the things that you hang on your cell phone. On the last day I played baseball with Shin, K, the dad and another of the hosts. I had tons of fun playing with them.

The little brother cried himself to sleep on the last night. It almost made me cry. The mom was sad I was leaving too. Well the whole family was but them more than the others. I was sad too but excited about coming home.

I’m looking forward to Shin coming to stay with me soon I hope he has as much fun here as I had there.

The biggest thing I learned was that many people think the cultures are very different, and they are, but those of us who went on the trip now know how similar they are as well.

This trip was lots of fun. If anyone is considering signing up for the trip, consider no more. SIGN UP!!!

After having presented a project on Japan in my 5^th grade Enrichment class and corresponding with several Japanese girls from the now-closed Tennessee Meiji Gakuin in Sweetwater whom I had met through the summer program at Girl’s Inc., I was psyched about my trip to Japan. The trip met all my expectations and more! I had a wonderful experience in Japan. And for that, I would like to thank the Sister City Program of Oak Ridge, Robertsville, my host families, all those who made it possible for the trip, and those who made me feel welcome in Japan.

Unlike most of the other people in the exchange, I had two host families: the Nambas and the Kamoshidas. I stayed with the Nambas but I did a lot of things with Yunoske Kamoshida, who will soon be here in Oak Ridge. I went to his classes and he went places with us, but Senri Namba, my special host, went places with us, too.

The Kamoshida family consists of Yunoske; Hideo, his father; and Yumi, his mother. I know Yunoske is an only child but I do not know if he has any more family members. Although I didn’t get to know his family as well as the Nambas, they were very nice and they made me feel welcome.

The Namba family consists of Senri, my host; Kenji, her little brother; Kazuke, her older brother, who was part of the exchange program last year; Michiyo, her mother; Kazutaka, her father whom I never met; Hisayo, her grandmother; and Tetsuryu, her grandfather. There were also her three cats: Sesame, Napo, and Choco. The family was very nice and I was very lucky to have them. I miss them a lot and regret that I won’t even get to see Senri since she was a special host and is not in the program this year. She is going to try and do it next year. I hope she makes it so I might be able to see her then.

We did many things in Japan, which includes staying in Tokyo, where I saw a Japanese style wedding from the window at the hotel. We went to a good sushi and fish restaurant, and we went to McDonalds where the menu is slightly different from those in the U.S. I had a teriyaki burger! When we arrived in Naka Shi, we had a welcome dinner which was very nice, after which we went home with our host families. The next day we toured the city hall, experienced some Japanese culture, and went to the lab. I liked playing the cultural Japanese games at the cultural center. On the next day we spent half of the day at school. I was at Naka 1 with Martha and David from Jefferson. There they gave us a big welcoming ceremony. After school we went to another Japanese cultural place where we did calligraphy, experienced a tea ceremony, and did origami. It was very fun and interesting. The next day we went to school the whole day. My favorite class was Calligraphy, although it was interesting doing some of the schoolwork in Kanji and the math was just numbers, so I could understand and do that with no trouble. The next day we went to the Oarai aquarium, and the beach. We also went to a tour of a two-story mall, which was so much fun and I liked it a lot. On Saturday, we spent time with our host families, and the next day we had our farewell party. It was a bittersweet experience, a lot of fun but knowing that we would soon be leaving. On our final day, we met at the city hall to leave for the airport, but first we went to a shrine and had some ice cream.

I liked a lot of things in Japan, but my favorite thing was going to the mall on Saturday with Martha, David, and our host families. It was a blast, and the mall is HUGE. It is four stories tall, and on the top floor there is an arcade and a big room filled with photo booths. They are extremely cool and nothing like the ones here. You can choose different backgrounds, and after you take your pictures you get to choose the ones you want to keep and you can edit them. It is really fun to do, and if you are ever in Japan I strongly recommend going in the photo booths, and just going to that mall in general.

Going to Japan was an amazing opportunity that I’ll never forget, and I’m glad I had a chance to experience the life and culture of the people of Japan.

Ohio Gozaimasu , this means good morning in Japanese.

My name is Chandler Davis and I am a rising 8^th grader at Robertsville Middle School. There was so much preparing and class taking to get ready for this trip and I can’t believe it’s already over, but I think I’m getting ahead of myself. Let me backtrack to when I first decided to go to Japan.

When I first heard about going to Japan, I was hesitant about going. I didn’t really know anything about the Japanese culture. It also seemed kind of weird to be staying in another person’s home that you had never even met before! After I read some of the summaries written by past students, talking to my parents, and soul searching, I decided to give it a try. The application process was not easy, and I remember waiting to get the call to go to the office for a slip of paper for my interview date and time. Then I had to wait some more to find out whether or not I had been chosen. I was so excited when I got the news that I was going to Japan!

The preparations for the trip were beneficial as well as fun! We learned about Japan’s geography and culture. On the last meeting we even had an Asian food tasting party. Even though the teachers tried to prepare me for the trip, nothing could have prepared me for actually seeing it in person. Like the fact that Tokyo didn’t seem congested even though there are 25million people living there. Everyone we met was so kind and helpful, especially my wonderful host family the Inada’s. One of my biggest fears was to not be able to communicate with my family, but it was never a problem, even though they spoke limited English. In Naka we had some unforgettable adventures. Like when we went to the aquarium, and I got to hold a small Leopard shark! The Japanese calligraphy lesson and the tea ceremony were amazing, I even got to take my calligraphy home with me. I really liked seeing the Japanese school that Kento attended. Some of the ways that this school was different from Robertsville were that the teachers change classes not the kids, they eat lunch in their class rooms, and that they sometimes swim for PE. Robertsville needs a pool.

I am really thankful for all of the help that everyone put into this exchange trip and I hope that future participants have as much fun as I did. It was truly an honor to represent Robertsville and Oak Ridge. Thank You!!!!

The first obvious barrier for me was the language and the writing; Japanese and kanji. It did not take long to quickly realize that communication was going to be a challenge and that I should have spent more time listening to my “Japanese for Dummies” CD’s. Our first night in Japan found us in downtown Tokyo and we were soon on the march for dinner. Well, we searched the streets for a restaurant recommended by a receptionist at our hotel. The problem was there were no street signs! We walked around and around searching for this restaurant and a particular street, but to no avail. With stomachs growling and the Golden Arches and KFC in view, we almost caved in for something convenient and familiar. But we could not eat there, not on our first night in Japan. So it was down some stairs to a nice looking Japanese restaurant. We all sat at a long table overlooking a pond. The sushi chef was in command on a raised platform overlooking the pond. The menus came and I saw the kanji, but no menu in English. Uh-oh. How about pictures of food? No! Well then it was up to Russell sensei to order our food; miso soup, yellowtail, shrimp tempura, and crab salad. I was proud of all the kids for at least trying most of it. But soon rice and bread were ordered. Did I mention there were no prices on the menu? Well, that was the most expensive bowl of rice that many in our group will ever eat. Like the commercials say: A walk through Tokyo in search of a restaurant: Free and exhausting. Dinner at a restaurant with no prices on the menu: $40,000 yen. Watching fish get taken from a pond and sliced into sushi: Priceless! After a good night’s sleep in our very upscale hotel, we had a wonderful (and free!) buffet breakfast the following the morning. After visiting the sites of Tokyo we were soon off to Naka-shi by bus later that afternoon.

Wanting very much to get off on the right foot with our hosts, I wrote a short speech which I planned to present at dinner that evening. The gist was that though Americans are familiar with many Japanese products, and students study the Japanese culture in school, there is no substitute for staying in their homes and getting a true Japanese cultural experience. We were grateful that they were opening their homes and lives to us. A week before we left I had my cousin Adam, who spent one year studying in Japan, and his friend from Japan, Yuko, translate my speech into kanji. Then we wrote it out phonetically. The first time I read it to them they were laughing so hard they were crying, with their arms flailing, saying, “No, no, no!” Seems my pronunciation of “eroi, eroh” was a bit off and meant something entirely different. And as it turned out, entirely inappropriate. After cleaning up my pronunciation with the help of Shigeko just prior to leaving, I felt fairly confident as I headed to the podium to give my speech. There were at least 60 people in the audience and I was about to give a speech that might as well have been written in Sanskrit because I had no idea what I was actually saying. I delivered my speech and was greeted warmly by our hosts, again going out of their way to make me feel welcomed and comfortable.

Language and menus were not the only things adding to my culture shock throughout the week. Japan is noted for its famous Hot Springs, which I enjoyed one Saturday afternoon. What I was not prepared for was actually being a hot spring myself throughout the week as a result of limited air conditioning in homes and schools. Now, I have slept in hammocks in Costa Rica and hiked the deserts of New Mexico and Arizona, but I don’t think I have ever been as hot as I was during my stay in Japan. A couple of students said I looked like UT basketball coach Bruce Pearl after a game. Well I don’t know about that, but I did feel like the witch at the end of The Wizard of Oz. But again, I am not complaining because I am all about embracing cultural differences.

Breakfast, too, was a bit different than what I am used to back home. A bowl of cereal or a Nutri-grain bar is all I usually eat on most mornings. My host mother, Michiko san was a tremendous cook and saw to it that I ate traditional Japanese breakfasts. Every morning was like a Japanese Golden Coral. Breakfast consisted of scrambled eggs with tomatoes, ham, pickled eggplant and cucumbers, miso soup, raw or smoked fish, rice, sticky soy beans (the only food I came to truly dislike), salad with mayonnaise, two kinds of cereal, carrot juice, a peeled plum, green tea, and coffee. I would take a bite, wave my little fan, mop my brow, and repeat. Then they would roll me out the door.

Speaking of food, I suppose I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the strangest food I ate during my stay. It wasn’t the raw squid, or even the clear seaweed “noodles” in mustard and soy sauce that I mistook for jellyfish and nearly lost it. No, it wasn’t even those awful, sticky soybeans (picture black-eyed peas sautéed in Elmer’s glue). One evening Jason, the Australian interpreter for Naka-shi Schools, took a few of us out to a local restaurant. We began the evening on a somewhat adventurous note with fried crocodile- a nod to our Aussie host. Next out was fried calamari, a favorite of mine. This was followed by a variety of sushi and sashimi that were all fabulous. Then a dish came out that looked, well, different. It was sliced rather thinly, sitting on a bed of plants. Duck? No, too pink. Ahh, ham! Yes it looked like prosciutto, that tasty Italian ham. So with chopsticks in hand I placed a little garlic on the medallion and popped it in my mouth. Oh, how wonderful! Flavorful, like duck or chicken, and it wasn’t “gamey” like venison can be. But it was not ham. It chewed more like beef tenderloin. “Hey fellas,” asked Russell sensei and I, “What is this?” “It is raw horse” they replied. Now at this point I could make a bad joke about a Derby horse that went down last May, but I was there to witness that tragedy, and besides, I have more couth than that. All I’ll say is that it is very appropriate that we take our Naka-shi guests to Big Ed’s when they visit Oak Ridge, because we eat Mr. Ed when we visit.

So now that it is all said and done, what will I take away from my visit to Naka-shi? It is not about the cultural differences in food, language, and customs. It is about those things that bind us together; caring for other people and forming an appreciation and respect for those who are “different” than us. For ten days I didn’t just live in Japan, I lived with the Japanese. My home wasn’t the Naka-shi Hilton, and I’m grateful it wasn’t. Thankfully my meals weren’t micro- waved, and they weren’t served to me in a fast food bag. For all the lack of communication, there was a great deal of communication throughout the week. We all hope to come away from our travels with fond memories and this one was no different. I have the fondest memories of Naka-shi, but more importantly I left more friends and “family” members behind in Naka-shi than I have on any other visit to a foreign country. This exchange program offers strong, long-lasting personal connections. I am humbled at the graciousness of our friends and colleagues in Naka-shi, and will be forever thankful to them for allowing me to share in their daily lives. A special thanks to all of those who continue to support the Sister City Support Organization, for indeed there is no substitute for travel.