Days I spent with Courtney Eri Hojo Seiryo Commercial High School, Nagoya, Japan

I was in charge of home stay. Since no one in my family speaks English, this was a great event for the Hojo family! However, before any of us actually studied English, the day came to welcome Courtney to our house. I felt many kinds of emotions, such as being insecure and nervous. I had no idea what I was going to say to her when we actually met. We knew a little about each other through email, and even when I tried to say something, no English words would come out. The first day ended without us really talking to each other. Since I was not one of the presenters at the World Youth Meeting, I only had the opportunity to greet people during August 22 and 23. On the 24th, we went sightseeing of Nagoya City. First, we went to the Science Museum of Electricity. I was especially impressed with the "Room of Darkness" and the "Slanting Room." The Room of Darkness was pitch dark and it was like a haunted house! I think this was the first time we were all able to laugh together. In the Slanting Room, no matter how hard we tried, we could not stand up straight. Everyone kept on trying with all their might, and I sensed that we were all the same age. Next, we all went to lunch. We, the Japanese group decided to take everyone to Mc Donald's! We wanted the others to try the Teriyaki burger. They told us that the interior of Mc Donald's was the same as the ones in America. I was very happy when they said that the burgers were good. Afterwards, we went to take the Print Club stickers, which was one of the main events of the day. We all took the picture for the stickers together, and it was a nice souvenir for everyone. Next stop, the LOFT shopping center. We split up into 2 groups and looked around the shopping center. We still had some time left after looking through the whole building, so I took the group to eat my favorite pudding. Here, Courtney memorized the word kinen (commemoration)." She remembered this word until the day she went back to America. We tried to find something "Japanese" for their souvenirs, but we could not come up with any ideas since they already had items that were typical Japanese items such as Japanese fans. Although I am Japanese, I realized that I do not know a lot about Japan. Maybe the reason is because I am Japanese. I have a feeling that these things become clear after we understand other cultures.

On our way back to school, we all stopped to have kakigori, a bowl of shaved ice with syrup. Although it was a big bowl, everyone finished his / her bowl! Eating a nice, cheap bowl of kakigori on a hot day! I think we were able to show them a good part of the Japanese culture. An electric fan instead of an air conditioner greeted us when we stepped into the store. I think that this electric fan and the kakigori were much cooler and pleasant compared to the artificial coolness of the air conditioner. For dinner, we had tempura. Courtney also helped preparing, and she told me that she also helps around her house. When I heard this, it felt like a flea in my ear! The next day, August 25, we went to experience pottery making in Seto City, the home of potteries. I had been looking forward to this myself. However, we got stuck in traffic on our way there, and that was exhausting. Everyone's tiredness hit the peak and we entered a coffee shop where Chris and Courtney ordered "American coffee" (coffee that is not as strong as the ones usually served in Japan). When we met them at the Nagoya Station the first day, we went to a coffee shop inside the JR Central Towers observatory. There, Chris and Courtney ordered regular coffee which was too strong for them, and they had to add a lot of milk. For some reason it seemed strange that Americans were ordering American coffee. By the way, there is no such thing as "American coffee" on the menus in America. Right when we got to the pottery atelier, they served us matcha, powdered green tea. Patrick, who got to the atelier before us drank it with a tortured look on his face because of the bitterness. Chris had the same look, but Courtney seemed to be OK with the taste. I also thought it was bitter when I first drank the tea. Since the coffee was too strong for them, I think the tea must have been very bitter! We then went to make pottery. First, we tried the tebineri method where we roll the clay in thin strips and place them on top of another to make a cylinder shape. Thinking "can we really make something out of this clay?" we all shaped the clay into shapes we desired. Chris made a huge vase, Courtney a slim vase, and Patrick a saucer. Next, we tried the potter's wheel. We had a hard time with this, as we often see on TV. Chris made a spherical vase. He was very good at the wheel, and I thought that saying the Japanese are clever with their hands is a saying of the past.

When we heard that the Japanese teacups we drank from at lunch each cost 20,000 to 30,000 yen, the exchange students were all very surprised. The Japanese group was more surprised than they were! The price is so high because there is a lot of history in the cups, so I guess we can understand the price once we learn the history. After experiencing the making of pottery, we got back to Nagoya. Since we had some time before dinner, we went to look for a watch that Courtney wanted, one that has "kanji" (Chinese characters) on the face of the watch. Since Chris had gotten one in Ibaraki Prefecture before they came to Nagoya, we thought we would find it. However, maybe because it is not very popular among the Japanese, we could not find it in any of the stores. We then went to have dinner--sushi. I cannot eat wasabi (Japanese horseradish), but Courtney had no problem and since she also had the green tea earlier, I thought that she was very Japanese. When she pointed to the sushi toppings and asked, "What's this?" I either didn't know the word for it or even if I did, the pronunciation was wrong and could not get across to her. Afterwards we went to Osu City, and bought a Japanese balloon at the toy store. The lady at the store saying "thank you, thank you" was impressive. I had no idea that internationalization had spread even to stores like this! Next, we all went to a religious gathering that Courtney had wanted to go to. Since I am an atheist, it was the first time for me and I was very nervous. It was like the whole group learning by reading the Bible, and Courtney also looked at the bible, tracing the Japanese words with her finger. Afterwards we all took a picture together. Everyone was very nice, and Courtney seemed very happy. I think that when people believe in the same thing, their hearts are connected. For us, we only pray up to the heavens when we are in trouble, and since we normally don't do anything it seems unfair. However, since I am used to my present life, I have no intention of entering a religious organization. I really respect people who believe in religion. Courtney and I talked into the night this day, both of us with dictionaries in hand. When I told her that the present tense, past tense, and past participle were very difficult, she mentioned that the Japanese way of saying taberu (eat), tabeta (ate), taberareru (can be eaten), tabemashou (let's eat), taberarenai (cannot be eaten) were much more difficult. In English, adding "can" before a verb indicates that "it is possible to do -, " so I guess that Japanese can be more difficult with the different conjunctions. I learned Japanese by looking at items when I was young, but now, when I learn English, I replace it with a Japanese word before I understand the meaning. I felt that it would be much quicker for me to learn English if I could think directly in English without translating it into Japanese beforehand.

On the day Courtney was to leave, I could not come up with anything to say to her, and ended up wasting time like I did on the first day. Before Courtney arrived, there were a lot of things that I wanted to tell her, but now, I had forgotten what they were. Courtney and I made a promise when we parted. We promised each other that we would see each other again when I learned to speak more English, and when she learned to speak more Japanese. Until then, we will continue to be email friends. I will try my best in order to keep our promise. I had always thought of English as just one of the subjects we learn in school, but I was able to realize that it is something necessary in the daily lives of people that live across the sea. It seems strange to think that people in other countries think in English just like I think in Japanese. Someday I would like to be able to think directly in English without thinking it first in Japanese. This article is a translation of Hojo, Eri. "Kotoni to sugoshita hibi". World Youth Meeting in Nagoya 2000 Report. Nagoya: World Youth Meeting in Nagoya 2000 Committee, 2000. 25 - 27.

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