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BREEZE #87

JANUARY, 2015: BREEZE ISSUE #87
A FREE MONTHLY E-NEWSLETTER FOR FRIENDS OF JAPAN & TEACHERS OF
JAPANESEMICHELLE PETERSON
Lincoln High School
Wisconsin Rapids, WI
Now back to the monotonous routine of life, I
have had plenty of jet lag induced sleeplessnights to ponder my dream adventure inJapan. The first topic being ‘how was theprogram in Japan’ which I categorized into four
sections; staff, location, acquired knowledge,and free time. Starting with the program’s staff,
specifically at the Kansai Institute, everyone
was wonderful! From the security guards helping all us hopeless kids when we locked our keys
in our rooms to the night shift desk worker who kept my spirits up after the news of mybrother’s death. Everyone was there for you whether it was Japanese practice help or just thatextra needed hug. Next topic is location. Starting with the Kansai Institute itself, it great place
to expand our Japanese. Surrounded by two bustling malls, the beauty of the sea, and thefriendly locals, especially in the onsen, Osaka quickly became my home. With all the places wetraveled through the JET Memorial Invitation Program, Nara, Kyoto, Ibaraki, Tokyo, Sendai, andIshinomaki to name a few, the Tohoku tour changed my life the most. Two days before
departing for Tohoku, news that my brother committed suicide reached me. Naturally, I washeartbroken and struggled with the guilt of staying and if I should fly home to be with family. Inthe end, I decided to stay and go to Tohoku and I’m so grateful I did! Hearing the survival andprogress stories of survivors of the tsunami, such as Mr. Endo, changed my heart. He taught me
so much without realizing it. Through their strength to not only endure but to carry on, helped
me to accept my brother’s death and ultimately brought me to terms with his death sooner than
my family members. Along this topic, acquired knowledge coincides with this. As mentioned,
Mr. Endo taught me so much. Through his memorial, Rainbow Bridge, he explained themeanings of what it represented. Not only was it the connection between Japan and America,
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the place where his house once stood, but most importantly it was hope. I remember clearly Mr.
Endo said, “The three poles on the end of this structure, they point to the sky. Don’t look to theground. Your loved ones are up in the sky, so look up for the better tomorrow and to your loved
one’s faces watching over you”. The other acquired knowledge is the improvement of myJapanese! Leaving the U.S. with a pocket full of known kanji and a decent amount of vocab
made a good beginning, but now my Japanese has improved so much. I am a smoother talker
and it doesn’t take long for me to think of replies and questions and my Kanji, just by reading
advertisements and menus has improved greatly also. Lastly is free time. After a hard day ofclasses, it was nice to jump on the rental bikes and roam the city. With a tiny, limited detailmap, we discovered family owned cake shops, our favorite places in the mall, Book-Off, andmany more. Free time was when we didn’t have anyone to ask for help translating, it was all on
us. I believe, this is what taught us the most and helped us meet new people outside the wallsof the Institute.
Next topic I will cover is,’how has this experience contributed to my future with the Japaneselanguage’. I have been obsessed with Japan since I was a small child and actually going there
to see and take it all in only made my love for the country grow. Although in college I cannot
take Japanese my first semester, I have worked out a personal lessons schedule with theJapanese teacher at my university. Then, my sophomore year I’m transferring to another schoolthat has higher Japanese levels. I know I want my major to include Japanese with it and sinceI’m going into college as undecided, I have no idea where the wind will take me. Also, on thesmall trip to Tokyo our last day in Japan, I miraculously managed to find my host sister who
lived with my family and I three years ago. It has been three years and were still sisters, only anocean separates us. With all the people I met before, during, and after this program, I want tosee them again and maybe next time I go, I won’t have to speak Nihonglish. I want with all myheart to learn Japanese fluently and that is how this trip has contributed to my future withJapanese.
Naturally, I’m a very talkative person. Being such, I have told my stories of my adventures inJapan to anyone who will give me an ear. From my life changing moments in Tohoku, to theevil deer in Nara that decided my stomach tasted good, each and every day there holds someof my greatest memories. Something as simple as walking on the stone beach and breathing inthe seaweed scented air makes my heart constrict and tears to come to my eyes. This trip haschanged me and no matter who I talk to everyone knows it. When someone hears the passion I
have in my stories, the most common responses have been, “I want to go to a foreign countrynow” or “ That’s amazing” or my personal favorite, “What’s your nationality?” (An older
gentleman thought I was Japanese) and with this he’s not far off. I am a bridge between ourcountries now, a portion of each is safely tucked in my heart. Sentimental as it may seem, I love
Japan and it’s people just as much as America and I would jump on the next plane bound to mysecond home if only I could and with this, I hope everyone world wide would reach out a handto its neighbors to have the love shared that I know I have.

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The last part of our assignment, ‘Write a personal message to Tayler Anderson andMontgomery Dickson’. Before I really thought this request over, I thought it was strange andhonestly, a bit awkward, but the more I thought about it the more I realized, even though they
have passed on we were probably closer to one another than what I first thought. So here wego, ladies first:
Dear Taylor Anderson,Konnichiha! My name is Michelle Peterson and I was one of the participants of a program
created in your memory. I really enjoyed your family, your sister and dad emanated love.
When I was studying for this program and even after I was accepted, I didn’t know much aboutyou. I read your name and it didn’t ring in my heart, but knowing your story made my heart
ache! We could have been best friends was all I could think when we watched yourdocumentary. The way you loved Japan! I understand! I understand what you felt straight downto my soul!I wish I could have met you and what I really want to say is thank you. Your love forJapan is what started this and even now, I know you’re looking down with a smile over bothsides. Your memory lives on with me and I hope I can be a person like you.
Dear Monty Dickson,
There wasn’t as much information about you as there was Taylor, but even still you definitely
made an impression on this girls heart. Your siblings were so nice and your sister is a doll. I cantell they still miss you and love you. The assignment where you advertised Tokyo Bananas washilarious! I know you must be the type to make everyone laugh! Since the big super typhoon
hit while we visited Japan in your memory, we couldn’t visit your city for safety reasons, but I
want to! I want to see the place you called home like Osaka became to me and Ishinomaki toTaylor. From experiencing Japan and all the nice people, it’s not hard to see why we all fell inlove with this country. In all the world, we chose Japan! I wish I could have met you. Fromlistening to people talk about you, your Japanese was fantastic and I wish you could havetaught us how you became so good! But in the mean time, I’ll practice really hard to build myJapanese and hopefully some day I can speak just as fluently as you can! :) P.S I bought Tokyo
Bananas, they reminded me of a twinkie...a very expensive and banana flavored twinkie lol.

NIPPON THROUGH MY EYES PHOTOSUBMISSION“Sister of Summer's Past”
My family hosted an exchange student named Aya three years ago. On the trip to Tokyo, wemanaged to find each other! Millions of people there but I found her. I chose this picture
because our last words as she pulled out of my driveway to go back to Japan were, "See youagain!" And with the Gods on our side, our wish came true.
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2015 Kakehashi ProjectJapanese Langauge Education Update 142014 J-LEAP Report: Hiromi Nagai

2014 J-LEAP Report: Shunji Iwasaki

2014 JET-MIP Report: Thomas O'Donnell

2014 JET-MIP Report: Michelle Peterson

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