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2015 JET-MIP ESSAY: CHRISTOPHER WYNNAPRIL, 2016: BREEZE ISSUE #102
A FREE MONTHLY E-NEWSLETTER FOR FRIENDS OF JAPAN & TEACHERS OF
JAPANESECHRISTOPHER WYNN
Ocean Lakes High School
Virginia Beach, VA
The golden rays of the sun peeked in through my bedroomwindow. Classical Japanese music slowly filled the room as
my alarm went off. My mind was fuzzy with the last remnantsof a dream being chased away by the rude realization that I
was awake. It was a wonderful dream—something aboutliving in Japan. But then I remembered: I am living inJapan! I was carrying out a life-long dream and goal of mine
to visit a land that I had heard and learned so much about,but had never had the opportunity to visit. That is, until thelife-changing summer of 2015.
I clearly remember being in complete disbelief when theacceptance letter came in the mail. Eyes wide, mouth agape, body shaking—I couldn’t believethat all of my hard work and dedication had finally paid off. I couldn’t believe that in a few
short weeks I would travel across the world with thirty-one strangers and visit Japan of allplaces. However, although excited beyond belief, I never truly felt like I was going to Japan
until my first night there. Even when we conducted the facility tour and everyone spoke
Japanese, it never quite hit me until free time that day. Having finished our business for theday, I excitedly began my first, real adventure in Japan. Like a majority of the mippers, I
decided to go biking with a group of friends. That moment—watching everyone’s faces light up
with pure jubilance—truly made me feel special to be there and experience it with everyoneelse. I felt, for the first time, that I was a part of something special. And it would only getbetter from there.
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Unsurprisingly, we all wanted to go everywhere. There was Rinku Town, home to several neatshops, delicious restaurants, and the colorful ferris wheel. A tad farther away was Aeon Mall,full of literally everything. And if that wasn’t enough, the rest of the area was teeming withuntold mysteries, ready to be explored. The prospect of having to choose only one made itnearly impossible. Our indecision led to the group splitting up to go our separate ways. めっちゃ悲しい (Very Sad). However, I still had a wonderful first night. I went to a small ramen shopwhere I had my first authentic Japanese conversation. Unfortunately, neither my friend nor I
could understand anything the waiter was trying to say; we barely even knew what we hadordered. Nonetheless, it still tasted good! Following our meal we explored the unfamiliar
rocky beach and took a stroll along the coast until it started to rain. Not ready to end our firstadventure, we huddled under an umbrella and miraculously made our way to Rinku Town. From
there, we looked at the shops, bought milkshakes at マックドナルド (McDonalds), and evenplayed a couple games in the arcade. But as curfew approached, we had to bring ouradventures to an end and we unwillingly walked back to the institute. Overall, however, myexperiences at the restaurant and at Rinku Town relieved my disbelief. I finally felt like I was inJapan.
The rest of the trip was nothing short of amazing and truly inspiring. Traveling throughout theTohoku region, listening to the stories of the affected, witnessing the rebirth of cities was oneof my favorite parts of the trip. I learned so much not only about the tsunami and earthquake,but also human nature. The people of Japan have imparted on me some of the most valuablelessons I have ever received. These people who have experienced more destruction,depression, and trauma on one day than many of us will never even experience in a lifetime
happily and willingly accepted thirty-one strangers with open arms. These people chose to behappy, instead of sad. The sheer resilience and strength of these people has inspired me tolive life differently. Instead of seeing only the problems in life, instead of putting all of myenergy into being sad, I should focus on the solution to those problems. For example, when
we attended the Japanese-American High School Summit in Rikuzentakata, one of the mostdevastated areas, not one person asked for our sympathy. Not one. Instead, with open arms
and a smile, they asked if we would help them develop a city that “has no use for the wordnormalization”. They wanted to build a city that was accessible to everyone, includingforeigners. The people of Rikuzentakata were focused on the solution, not the problem. AndRikuzentakata was not alone. Regardless of where we went, the people expressed only theutmost happiness for our presence. I never once saw anything but the best from the people ofJapan—that is what has left the largest impression on me.
As we returned to the institute, I continued to learn as much as possible. Whether it was ourJapanese language classes or cultural lessons, I was eager to learn any and everything about
the culture and the people. One of the most enlightening experiences of the entire trip was myhomestay experience. Although I was very nervous the entire trip about whether I would beable to communicate or not, it turned out to be one of the most enjoyable weekends of my life.
My host family was one of the nicest and most generous groups of people I have ever met. To
my surprise, when we left Senboku High School, the first thing they did was buy a jinbei andgeta for me. Receiving gifts from my host family—people I had never met before—had neverPrivacy - Terms

crossed my mind. And the generosity didn’t end there. Whenever we went out to eat, theyalways insisted that they pay for me, regardless of the price. I was amazed not only by theirgenuine kindness, but also their 楽しい (fun) lifestyle. All my host brothers loved playing cards
and many sports. Whenever we had free time between activities, they would whip out thecards and teach me a Japanese game or we would go outside to kick the soccer ball around.
On top of that, we did so many, for a lack of better words, cool things. We went to the castle in
Osaka, ate a huge dinner with two other host families, and did fireworks all in the same day.
The next day was even better. We went to Harvest Hill in Osaka. There, we met up with threehost families, made pottery, ate at a BBQ, slid down hills, saw lots of interesting animals, shotarrows, and rode go-karts. All the while, I was genuinely enjoying the company of my hostfamily and friends. I was truly happy.
Unfortunately, the program was nearing its end. I exchanged my final goodbyes with my hostfamily at the graduation ceremony and took so many group pictures. I certainly will always
appreciate everything they did for me. And in the blink of an eye, I was back in L.A. waiting formy shuttle bus to the airport, wishing with every fiber of my being that I was back in Japan.
Leaving behind all of my new friends who I may never see again was truly difficult. Merely
saying I was sad pales in comparison to how I really feel. However, if I have learned anythingfrom my trip to Japan, it is that I shouldn’t let that sadness consume me.
Adjusting to life in America was not an easy feat. The stark differences between the twonations were always and still are evident. I still ache to be in Japan. And for that reason, andmany more, I know that I want Japanese to be a part of my life for a very long time. I plan tocontinue my studies into college and further in hopes of one day becoming fluent and possibly
even living there. Somewhere down the line I want to apply for JET and revisit the country thatwas so difficult to leave. However, regardless of what happens, I know that I want Japanese tobe a part of my life in some way.
Finally, to Taylor Anderson and Montgomery Dickson, although I may not have known either ofyou, I know without a doubt that you were both incredible human beings. Your positive impact
on the world grows each and every day. I have learned so much from this life-changing tripand I attribute all of that and my future successes in Japanese to both of your sacrifices in theface of extreme adversity. I honestly cannot thank you enough. Although you both may havepassed away, you will always remain in the thousands of hearts and minds you have touched.
In this way, you will never be gone.

NIPPON THROUGH MY EYES PHOTOSUBMISSION“Sushi”
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I chose this picture because this was my firsttime having sushi in Japan. Also, this picture
reveals to extent to which American andJapanese meals are different.

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Japanese Langauge Education Update 292015 JET-MIP Essay: Fei Zhao2015 JET-MIP Essay: Mackenzie Young
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2015 JET-MIP Essay: Bailey Well

2015 JET-MIP Essay: Christopher Wynn

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