(Team member: Yao City Hall employee)
Good evening, everyone. My name is Naomi Harada, and I work at Yao City Hall.
Well, it's been over a month since we returned from America, and even now I am still steeped in all of the wonderful memories and experiences of my time there. I would like to express my gratitude to all of you, and share with you the moving experiences I had through this GSE program.
I visited 6 different city halls during my vocational study, in addition to visits to a wide variety of public facilities such as the state legislature, courthouses, public water treatment facilities, work places for the disabled and nursing homes.
I was very happy in regards to my visit to the Omaha City Hall because when I first went there, I was told that they didn't have the time to meet with me as scheduled. But thanks to the prompt efforts of, Mr.Steve Sawtell, the leader of the GSE team that visited Japan in last October, and other Rotarians, the people in charge at the city hall were able to rearrange their schedules so as to meet with me the following day.
Through this vocational study, I felt very keenly how difficult it is to study public administration. Looking back on it now, I am very grateful for what Mr. Okuda told us during our orientation before we left for the United States. He lectured about the differences between Japanese and American government, and advised us to read the special articles about the American system of self-government which were being featured in the Nikkei Newspaper. Also, I was able to get a partial understanding of America's self-government because, after my visits to the city halls and other public facilities, Mr. Okuda, without fail, explained to me the background behind these places, and in an easy-to-understand manner compared the roles, etc. of these places with those here in Japan.
However, one of the major purposes of this GSE program, aside from vocational study, was our endeavoring to gain a better understanding of American culture. This was done primarily through our contacts with our host families, and Mr. Okuda gave us many such opportunities.
When I was staying in Lincoln, Nebraska, I had a wonderful experience. Someone asked me one day, "Don't you have anything on your schedule for today? I'd really like the team members to see an American wedding ceremony." As you know, all of the female team members are single, and Mr. Kawaike is brand-new newlywed, so as we traveled from place to place in the car, we often got to talking about romance and marriage. But we never imagined that we would have the opportunity to actually attend an American wedding! So with great excitement, we all went to the church.
There was beautiful organ music, and a soaring tenor solo of "The Lord's Prayer." We saw the nervous bride standing next to her father as she received the pastor's blessing and the groom as he waited for her. All we could do was sit there spellbound and take it all in.
After the wedding was over and we had gotten into our car, Mr. Okuda asked us right away, "Well, what did you think?" We all answered, "It was wonderful!" So far so good, but then he asked us, "What did the minister talk about in his sermon?" Suddenly, we were brought back down to earth. Now that we were being asked what the minister had said, we realized that we hadn't even gotten the names of the bride and groom. As was often the case, we once again felt bad about our miserable English.
Later, Mr. Okuda talked to us about the sermon. He said that the minister had said that "Love is a decision. No matter what mistakes your partner may make, you don't become critical. Instead, you accept your partner as they are. Love is something a person can decide to do. And marriage is a testimony of that decision." His explanation was so persuasive for a second I thought he was just like a minister. It made me think deeply about the deeper secrets of married life and what goes on between a husband and wife, and I again found myself wishing that I had been able to understand English better.
This is completely unrelated, but while I was in America I got to go horseback riding. In the spring in Nebraska, when it starts to get warm and you feel like it's going to continue to be warm, there are times when a strong, cold wind blows. The weather there is similar, I think, to what we have here in Japan, where it is said that we have four warm days for every three cold days. Some of the days in Nebraska made me think of winter again, and we looked forward to standing around a fire, talking and roasting hot dogs.
Later, my host family got out some thin, 1-meter long things with tips shaped like the letter Y, and they stuck big, white marshmallows on them. Some of you might know about this, but marshmallows roasted over a fire to a nice, light brown color (like the color of a fox) are very delicious. I immediately felt like trying to roast one for myself, and grabbed a skewer. Then Mr. Okuda came up to me and said, "Here let me try. This is how you do it." Then he started roasting my marshmallow. It was quite interesting watching as the marshmallow slowly turned a golden brown, and I stared at him for awhile. But just when the marshmallow was beginning to look like it was done to perfection, and just as I was about to applaud Mr. Okuda for his efforts, the marshmallow burst into flames! Mr. Okuda's attempts to put out the flames were to no avail, and it turned completely black.
I couldn't stop laughing for some time as I saw how Mr. Okuda who always speaks in such a dignified manner in both Japanese and English, who knows all about everything wherever he is and who seems to be able to handle whatever comes up just like Superman burned his marshmallow to a crisp!
We learned many things through our daily experiences in America, such as this experience, and these learning experiences were quite enjoyable. We also had the opportunity to do many fun things. I mentioned a moment ago about horseback riding. I also had the chance to ride on a huge tractor, fly in a Cessna and get a bird's-eye view of the vastness of America. But that isn't all. We were also able to experience America firsthand and intimately.
One thing that particular moved me was having the opportunity to see New York City and the Statue of Liberty from the air. After our trip to Nebraska and Iowa, we had the opportunity to take a bonus trip to New York and Washington D.C.
Since this was my first trip to the United States, and I had heard rumors such as, "It's interesting to see New York and Washington D.C., but the crime there is so bad," I was really nervous about going right up to the day before our trip. Honestly speaking, we had even thought, "Well, if we're going to get a 3-day bonus trip, it would have probably been better if we'd gone to the Atami hot spring in Japan." But, the day after enjoying the sights of Washington D.C., and in particular the magnificent cherry blossoms in full bloom, we arrived in New York City. Once we were there, we immediately got into a limousine, which Mr. Okuda had arranged to meet us at the airport, and began driving gallantly through the streets of New York. There was no comparison between Washington D.C. and the dirty and disorderly streets of New York. But I also realized that it is just this chaos, with its undercurrent of energy which seems ready to burst forth at any moment, that makes New York such an attractive place to so many people.
The limousine eventually stopped in a rather dark, spooky place. Mr. Okuda said, "Here we are," and hopped out of the car. We all followed him not knowing what to think, wondering to ourselves as we looked around, "Is this place safe?" I didn't really have the courage to get out of the car, and I had absolutely no inkling that we had just arrived at the entrance to a heliport. Unfortunately, the day was rainy and hazy, so the visibility wasn't very good. Still, we enjoyed seeing New York from the air, looking out the helicopter windows and asking one another, "I wonder which parts are dangerous?" As we slowly and serenely passed over the Statue of Liberty, without even thinking I drew a deep breath. And I thought secretly to myself, "It would have been nice to go to Atami hot spring, but I'm glad we got to come here instead."
After returning to Japan, I was happy to see that I had already received two airmail letters from America. A few days later, some more letters arrived, and even a birthday card, since it was my birthday at that time. I read all of the letters happily many times, but there is one letter that made me especially happy. I would like to share with you the story about that letter now as my speech draws to a close.
The person who wrote the letter to me is the president of the Chamber of Commerce, and we were able to have lunch together on a day the other team members had other plans. Anyway, since it was just the two of us, I thought that I had to talk about something, so I poured my heart and soul into our conversation. Even though it was under such circumstances, I was unexpectedly not nervous, and instead just talked about myself and about Japan. Also, since I wanted to learn all I could about him as well, I listened and talked with my whole body as I tried to express myself. I remember now feeling satisfied with myself about how things went that day.
In his letter to me, my friend wrote, "I had a very enjoyable time eating lunch with you. Talking with you about so many different things created in me a very strong interest in Japan, and it might be some time in the future, but I am hoping to visit Japan sometime."
I still feel a little uneasy about whether or not he was really able to understand my broken English, but I am now able to truly feel that I was able to build meaningful relationships during my trip to America, and I am very happy about this.
I am so thankful to the Rotary and to all the Rotarians who organized and supported this GSE program that gave us the opportunity to have so many wonderful experiences.
Also, I am also thankful to all of you who, despite your busy schedules, came to see us off at the airport. I'm sorry I was too nervous to greet you all properly. I have such fond memories of my time here with you on March 8, the encouragement you gave me then and the picture I had taken with you, as well as having you see me off all the way to the boarding gate. I am thankful to Mr. Okuda, who was not only our team leader but also our teacher, for his guidance and help, thankful to the others on the team who helped each other and with whom I have grown very close. And thank you to all of you who worked together so that I could come and share my report with you tonight. Thank you all so much!
