by GSE team member Hikaru Sakagami
Prologue
Now that the 4-week GSE program in Arkansas is over, I am filled with gratitude toward all who were involved in it. I knew nothing about the activities of Rotary International until I was allowed to participate in this program. I was surprised, and at the same time glad, that I could experience firsthand the Rotary International spirit the desire of everyone involved to contribute to international peace and goodwill through their service and high morals and to see how that spirit is bearing fruit all over the world. I want to express my heartfelt thanks to everyone in Rotary International who gave us so many meaningful, unforgettable and wonderful experiences.
My Impressions of Arkansas
Arkansas still maintains the feel of the 19th century, with its white, yellow and salmon pink houses and an air of southern nostalgia. The people are friendly, and when pedestrians and drivers pass each other, they greet each other or wave. I was very much surprised to see how total strangers would smile at each other and show concern for one another. When I experienced the warm southern hospitality of the people in Arkansas, I was reminded of what an important thing those of us living busy, big-city lifestyles have forgotten.
The capital, Little Rock, is the major metropolis of Arkansas, even though it has just 5 or 6 tall buildings in the downtown area. However, after visiting other parts of Arkansas, I had no problem calling Little Rock the biggest city in Arkansas! About 30% of the population is African American. The Japanese woman working for the government tourism bureau told me that the downtown area is hollowing out due to the "white flight" phenomenon as Caucasians, who dislike the increase in crime by youth gangs, are moving out of the downtown area. In an effort to staunch the flow, the government is working toward revitalizing the city's downtown area by various means, such as renovating the streets and buildings, providing a trolley bus service and building the Clinton Presidential Library, and it is also working to lure tourists back to Little Rock.
The word Arkansas means "southern wind," and it is said that the original inhabitants of this region were called this by other Indian tribes. My strongest impression of Arkansas was that it is "a land of abundant greenery," and even in the cities there is an aroma of the natural outdoors. About one half of Arkansas, which is about 60 percent as large as the main island of Japan, is covered with forests, and has deep valleys, mountains, rivers, lakes and a fertile alluvial plain. What a luxury it is for the people of Arkansas, who number about the same as the population of Osaka City alone, to be able to live in this natural treasure trove.
Rotary Club Visits
Our visits to local Rotary Clubs were the main part of this GSE program. We visited 18 different Rotary Clubs for breakfast and lunch meetings to give presentations, and we were even able to attend the district conference. Our preparing a video of all of us giving our self introductions was certainly the right thing to do, and everyone told us that our self-introductions were easy to understand. Each of us was given about 3 minutes to introduce ourselves, and at the end we all sang "Furusato" (My Hometown) together. We gave our presentation almost everyday, so by the end of our trip, we had all come to know the other members' self-introductions by heart. In addition to our meetings with the local Rotary Clubs, we also took part in 8 home parties and receptions sponsored by the Rotary Club. The atmosphere was relaxed at these gatherings, and we were able to talk to many people. These gatherings were very enjoyable. My being able to talk casually on a first-name basis with socially elite people who are doing great things is one of the precious experiences made possible by the Rotary Club. I am honored to have had the opportunity to serve as a goodwill ambassador by visiting so many Rotary Clubs and receiving such a warm welcome from everyone.
Vocational study
During my vocational study, I was able to visit a marketing company, a bank, a bookstore, a department store, a supermarket, an information service company and a fire station.
I would like to report about what was particularly interesting to me, namely the marketing approach of a highly successful bookstore in that small town of 22,000 people. The name of the store, That Bookstore in Blytheville, was decided upon when, after 6 months of brainstorming over a good name, it was discovered that people were calling the bookstore by that name. In the bookselling business, it seems that this was a very good name from a marketing standpoint.
1) Unique marketing
The most unique aspect of this bookstore's marketing approach is their inviting authors to the store every month for book signing days. Autographed books are this bookstore's main product, and they are even recruiting members for an autographed book owners' club. At present, they have 4 to 5 nationally known authors including best-selling or award winning ones coming to the store every month, and they inform their customers of the scheduled authors in a monthly newsletter. According to the owner, the news of how this little country town is working so hard to please its customers is spreading as she sends her newsletter out to customers in the big city. They also have an Internet site, and provide gift wrapping and worldwide shipping.
2) Making use of their customer data base and Royalty Program
The store makes use of bookstore software to keep a record of vital customer information such as individual purchasing history, favorite genre, past buying totals, average monthly purchases, family information, and the purchasing history of the customer's family as a whole. At present, they have 8,000 customers in their data base, and they make use of this information to provide personal service for their customers. For example, for Mother's Day they offer a service in which they select a book in the customer's mother's favorite genre, include a Mother's Day card and send the package to her. They also offer a program for their frequent buyers in which $10 is credited to the customer's account for every $100 spent at the store.
3) Community service
I heard that a large number of the customers who receive credit for every $100 spent donate that money to a welfare program called the "Book Angel Program." In this program, angel-shaped cards are hung on christmas trees with the child's name, age and sex written on it and books are given to needy children by schools, churches and local groups. Many of these children have never had something such as a book that they could call their own, and it is said that these books are treasured by the children. This program, which was initiated by this bookstore, has now spread to bookstores all over the county and many volunteers are supporting the work.
4) Special events
In addition, the bookstore, with the aid of citizens groups and the city council and cooperation with schools, invites people and authors to visit schools and read children's stories to the students, and they are sponsoring other events featuring authors of children's stories. This bookstore functions as a means of nurturing cultural and artistic activities, and it also sponsors monthly lunch parties, readings and concerts. As a result, the bookstore has become a place where citizens come to relax.
5) My thoughts and impressions
I have always been interested in marketing and how industry in America contribute to society, so it was extremely interesting for me to be able to see how both of these are succeeding in the case of this bookstore. I was deeply impressed by the woman owner who has put together and is utilizing the customer data base to carry out a unique marketing strategy on one hand, and who feels that it is her mission to help promote regional social and community service activities on the other hand. Through the efforts of this small bookstore, the customers and the community are involved in a large movement which aims to promote education and create learning opportunities for needy children. It is said that people are calling for the owner to run for mayor. I was deeply moved to see how she has been able to unify her attitude toward business, social service and personal life, and to earn the trust of those around her.
1)Marketing company (Meeting with the president of Mcnabb, Kelley & Barre)
I learned about the process involved in sales promotion work and about the responsibilities of the people in charge of the various aspects of the work.
2)Arkansas State Bank (Meeting with the bank CEO)
He very politely explained the workings of the American financial industry. He also shared with me his thoughts about how personal customer service is going to become the pillar of retail strategy as the industry reorganizes and competition becomes more severe, and he discussed the need for security and thorough protection of customer privacy in relation to issuing credit cards.
3) Buyer visitation to Dillard's, America's 3rd largest department store chain
I learned about buyer classifications and responsibilities, and I also learned about catalog merchandising strategy.
4)Visiting Walmart's Distribution Center
My host family made arrangements for me to visit the Walmart Distribution Center. It was very interesting and educational for me to be able to see how the largest distribution center in the United States uses bar codes, hand scanners and conveyor belts to provide next day delivery to its 140 retail stores.
5)Large-scale information service company (Visiting the head office of ALLTEL)
This company is presently the fastest growing company in Arkansas, and I was also able to visit this company through connections with my host family. The host family's son-in-law works in the Global Financial Department, and I was able to visit the company after hours and hear an explanation about thier business.
I am very grateful for the very meaningful vocational study I was able to experience due to the kindness of everyone involved. I am thankful to those I met at the various companies, to the vocational study coordinator (who had to make last minute changes to the visitation schedule) and to my host family, who provided me with new opportunities to learn. After returning to Japan, I have received e-mail from a number of people. I have felt personally the deep bonds that form as a result of the GSE program, and I want to maintain these relationships.
One thing I regret is that when writing my self-introduction, I should have been more specific when listing my purposes for taking part in the GSE program. To those who will be taking part in the program in the future, I highly recommend that you write very specifically about the goals you have for your vocational study. The vocational study coordinator and your host family will surely read your self-introduction because, I'm thankful to say, everyone involved wants to do all they possibly can to make your experience the best it can be.
General Study
My general study dealt with a wide variety of topics such as education, medical treatment, manufacturing and culture, and each of these learning experiences was specialized and interesting. I visited kindergartens, schools (elementary, junior and senior high) and universities. Hospitals and nursing homes. The State Capitol, City Hall, police station, fire station and post office. A TV station, radio station and newspaper company. A theater and conference hall. A church and funeral home. A dam, natural gas plant, farm, strawberry farm, mushroom growing center and a heifer project center. I also visited factories which manufacture guns, washing machines, conveyor belts, meat packing wrapping materials and color televisions. I also visited a trucking firm.
What impressed me most was the medical treatment field, and particularly that many industries and organizations donate money and the fact that the work of volunteers is indispensable. I saw plaques on the walls of every hospital I visited which were commemorating the people who gave gifts to support the hospital. At the nursing home I visited, there were more than 100 volunteers helping the staff by watering the yard, talking to and singing to the patients.
When I heard that my host family was unable to come to a conclusion about what to do regarding life-support treatment for the wife's father who was terminally ill, the presentation on the hospice program became particularly interesting to me. While a person has the right to choose life, he also has the right to choose death. It may be relatively easy for people with a Christian view of life and death to "accept death as just one part of life." The essence of the hospice program is that a patient with only 6 months or so to live is able to die "in his own home" with dignity, and the doctors, nurses, therapists and volunteers all help to support the family through this difficult time. The volunteers never think of the patient alone, but rather consider the needs of the patient and his family. These volunteers grow close to the patient and his family, taking care of the patient so that his family members can have some free time to eat or go shopping. But that's not all. They also read to the patient, write letters for him, listen to him, sometimes just sit close by and hold his hand, and even play with the patient's children or grandchildren. They also visit or call the patient's family even after he passes away in order to continue to be an encouragement to them.
In this regard, it is easy to see why volunteer work is so crucial to hospice care. In the United States, over 50% of the people are involved in some form of volunteer work, and we will need to develop an environment here in Japan which is more conducive to nurturing the same kind of volunteer spirit so that we too can have such a wonderful hospice network.
Now, I would like to share a little bit about some of the other special experiences I gained through Rotary International.
At a home party in Searcy, a TV news crew came and interviewed the GSE group members.
Police station and patrol car experience
In Searcy, my host family's father, who is chief of police, took me to the police station and let me look all around the place. I even experienced a ride in a patrol car as it cruised around Little Rock. I rode around with a rifle-toting officer for about 4 hours, and every time we got directions from the police dispatcher my heart raced. Fortunately, we didn't encounter anything serious, but the sense of alertness over the youth gangs seemed to be quite strong. For dinner, we stopped for hamburgers. It was kind of like I expected it would be from what I'd seen in the movies. I also had the chance to look in the cell block, and even though I went in with a police officer, it was scary. A man who had been written up in the papers the day before for murder was sitting there in solitary confinement. Even there in Arkansas, which looks so peaceful, I recalled hearing about crime finding its way out of the big cities more and more frequently, and I came to face the reality which I had never experienced during my home stay.
After visiting a casual shop which specializes, among other things, in fireman-related goods, I was able to visit the fire chief and look around the fire station. I also heard an explanation about the newest fire truck equipment. In Searcy, I was even able to go up on a ladder truck ladder as high as it could go.
During our visit to the governor's office, we each received a tourist certificate with our name on it. We gave the governor a happi coat, and were able to have our picture taken with him wearing it.
About My Homestay Experience
I never imagined that my homestay would be such a wonderful experience. In 4 weeks, I was able to stay with 8 different families. Since I could only stay at one place for 3 or 4 days, I had expected that there wouldn't be much time to relax and get to know each other. But, my host families have become very special to me, and it is amazing to me that people can grow to be so close in such a short time.
The first morning after arriving in Arkansas, the GSE chairman gave me the American name "Kari." That name made communication much easier wherever I went. My 8 different host families were all varied. The host fathers worked as a farm owner and a securities trader, police chief, artist, psychiatrist, pastor, insurance agent, private airport operator and banker, so their work and life experiences were all different.
I was a bit worried about what was going to happen on my first day of homestay, but when my first host introduced himself in Japanese, it relaxed me greatly. All of my host families made a concerted effort to make sure that my limited time with them would be the best it could be. They took me to all kinds of places, introduced me to all kinds of people, and did whatever they could to make my time with them memorable.
Several of the families held typical American parties for me and invited their friends over so that I could experience normal conversations and jokes, and brush up on my English. I met so many wonderful people. One who never stopped taking video from the moment I arrived to the moment I left, and gave it to me along with a personal message. Another who got a picture frame, put a photograph of us taken together in it, wrote the words "I will never forget you" on it and gave it to me. There was even a family who said, "As a member of our family, we will let you do anything, but be sure to write to us when you go back" and taught me their family's secret password. And at one home, even though the father of the host mother was about to die, they all worked so hard to make my time there enjoyable, and were careful not to make me feel ill at ease or to tire me out.
Whenever I think about the time I spent with my host families and the kind words they spoke to me, my heart is warmed. All of the members of the Arkansas GSE team, when asked who had the best host families, say that they did, but I believe, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that my host families were the best! My memories of the time I spent with my Arkansas host families will continue to be one of my most precious treasures.
Lifestyle
One thing I felt as I spent time with Rotarian host families was that they all considered their families and time spent together to be a priority. One foundational thing was that work ended at a fixed time, and the families enjoyed their evening meal together. At most of the homes, the table setting and clean-up were the husband's job. I could feel the sincere interest each one had for each other as they talked, and I also sensed how much more Americans express their emotions through touch. At my first homestay, every time the wife touched me, she said, "Oh, I'm sorry." When I said to her, "It doesn't bother me. Don't worry about it," she was really shocked. She said one of her friends had told her, "Japanese people really dislike being touched, so be careful." To be sure, in Japan when one sees people touching, it is usually only parents and children up to kindergarten age or young couples. But I realized that to Americans, touch is an important means of communicating and sharing one's joy, sadness and deep emotions.
Unlike Japan, during the summer in Arkansas it is light enough to do things outside until 9:00 pm, and before dinner I was able to sit in the backyard and look at the birds and squirrels living in the family's 15- to 20-foot tall trees. I am very envious of the fact that one can enjoy nature to the fullest even by just sitting in the backyard! Also, looking back on it, I hardly ever remember anyone using the front door. There were no trains for public transportation, and in such a country, where it is said that almost no one rides buses except for middle-class people since it is a culture centered around the automobile, I guess it is only natural, but the kitchen door adjoining the garage becomes the main entrance and exit of the home. The front doors seemed to be seldom or never used as if they were closed although they were decorated with wreases and flags at every home I stayed.
I was also a bit envious of the fact that in Arkansas, it is taken for granted that they have central air conditioning since electricity is so cheap. During the summer peak, the monthly electricity bill is only about $300, making the electricity bill for a one-story house in Arkansas (with a larger floor area than most Japanese houses) about one fifth of what it would be in Japan. I thought it was only natural that we didn't have such central air-conditioning in Japan.
Home Party
I attended 7 home parties while in Arkansas, either at my host families' homes or as a reception sponsored by the Rotary Club. Most of them were casual, and as a rule, the hosts encouraged us to dress casually so that we could feel at ease. But even though we were told to dress casually, to some extent we still got dressed up. At the outdoor events, such as barbecues and fish fries, the men were in charge of the cooking, but at the indoor potlucks and dinner parties, the women were in charge of the food. At American potluck dinners, unlike here in Japan, it seems that it is all right to take leftovers home with you that were cooked by someone else. While dinner was being prepared, we enjoyed drinking and talking with one another, but to me, who was meeting so many people for the first time, it was very good training in speaking English.
The most famous of Arkansan dishes is fried catfish, and it is often the main fish served at fish fries. The crowning touch was a bit of added spice which tastes similar to the spice used in fried chicken. A popular item at parties is barbecued pork, sliced thin. Grits, which is made from corn, is also popular in the South, and it tastes a bit like Italian rizotto. Arkansas is one of the leading rice producing regions in the United States, and rice was always served at the buffet meals held by the Rotary Club. Many people eat the long-grained rice served with a brown, stew-like sauce on top of it. It's rare, but sometimes we had batter-fried pickles, which tasted a bit sour and were very delicious. There were also fish and chicken dishes heaped with sliced onions and vinegar and cooked in an oven. As expected, dessert consisted mainly of very sweet cakes. At first, I couldn't eat such sweet desserts, but I gradually grew accustomed to them, and by the time I came back to Japan, I had gained a good bit of weight.
Recreation
As expected, the top three leisure time activities in Arkansas have to do with enjoying the wild outdoors fishing, hunting and hiking.
The highlight of my recreational activities was in Searcy when I got to fly in a private plane around a lake and over a forest. I was even allowed to fly the plane a little bit when we were flying level. While we were landing the plane, two deer were crossing the runway and got frightened away. This is also one of my memories of Arkansas. At my host family's place in Heber Springs, I was able to play with horses, donkeys and goats. I will never forget the beauty of walking in the meadow at sunset and staring down at the beautiful lake from the top of a cliff. In Osceola, one of the other team member's host family invited me to play golf with them, and I remember being impressed by the flat, dry greens that we cannot find here in Japan.
In Little Rock, they were holding a festival to celebrate the beginning of summer, the Riverfest. My host family brought along a huge quilt which we spread out on the grass on the riverbank, and we enjoyed listening to a symphony orchestra and watching fireworks. On the weekend, we went to their luxurious lake house in Hot Springs, and I enjoyed playing water volleyball, boating and tubing behind a motorboat. One of my greatest memories from my homestay experiences is spending that enjoyable time with my host family, their children and their grandchildren.
We also went horseback riding as one of the events planned by Rotary International, and it was so comfortable and refreshing riding through the beautiful forest and around the lake. Also, we stopped at a lodge along the way and had a barbecue. We had cooked marshmallows and graham crackers after dinner, and I'm not joking when I say that this was actually one of the items on the barbecue fine menu.
Another highlight of the trip was attending a major league baseball game. The home team, the Cardinals, won the game handily, and it was a wonderful game with home runs, bunt, fine hit-and-run plays, and even an incident where a bat almost flew into the stands. I am very grateful to Ken, the GSE chairman, for driving us all the way to St. Louis (more than 10 hours round-trip).
In Memphis, I was able to visit Elvis Presley's estate, Graceland, which was teeming with tourists from around the world. I was personally escorted to Bill Street in Memphis, and I loved it. This street is called the "House of Blues." The B. B. King shop is there, and it is quite lively around there late into the night. Contrasted with the quietness of West Memphis on the Arkansas side of the Mississippi River, this place seemed like a completely different world.
About Communication
I heard a bit about the southern accent during our orientation before we left Japan, but the difficulty I had understanding what was being said was not completely due to the southern drawl. Many times I did not understand the jokes, or I didn't know how to respond to someone because I couldn't catch the last couple of words in their question, and then later I would finally understand what the people had been saying after I asked another team member for help. The most irritating thing of all was the fact that every time I wanted to express my thanks to someone for something they did for me, time and time again I could only think of the same words to say thank you. If I had been able to speak English a little better, I think this trip would have been many times more enjoyable, and I regret not studying more. Fortunately, during our vocational study visits, the people were talking about things I am interested in, and it wasn't a one-way explanation. I was able to ask many questions, and I could infer from the context what many of the new words meant, thus making this aspect of my communication problem less significant than in other situations. I visited many different places, such as a dam, natural gas plant, etc., where many technical words were used, and I often had absolutely no idea what was going on. I would come home to my host family completely discouraged, but they encouraged me by saying, "Even many Americans wouldn't understand technical explanations about a dam, so don't worry about it." There were also times when someone would speak to me in English, and my host family would translate their English into easier English for me, which was quite an amazing arrangement. But as a result of the language problem, a very strong bond was built between me and my host families. There were many times when I didn't understand at all and just pretended that I did. Despite all of this, though, the fact that I was still able to make so many enjoyable memories speaks for how wonderful this program is.
After returning to Japan, I received e-mail from my host families and others who helped me during my time in Arkansas. Even though it is very difficult for me to write letters, corresponding by e-mail is quite easy for me. The other day, after getting a reply back by e-mail, I felt so close to my friends, and it doesn't seem like we are separated by such a long distance as the more than 15-hour airplane flight that it is. Now that I have made such dear friends overseas, I have come to realize just how valuable this new communication tool is.
In Conclusion
I tried to think of just how many Rotarians I met, and how many people were directly involved in the GSE program. I probably met between 1,200 and 1,300 people at rotary meetings alone. Then there were the host family members who totalled about 80 people. There were also those involved in the transportation to and from the various vocational and general study locations. And the various plans and arrangements for our time there. At our GSE party for the Arkansas team here in Japan, we sang a rotary song entitled "Hand in Hand." Just like the song says, from the moment we arrived in Little Rock, we were handed from one person's hands to the next (hundreds of people) and experienced the greatest hospitality possible every place we visited. And then we were returned to Little Rock in that circle of friendship. I wonder if there is any other way to experience such a wonderful travel experience and be served so sacrificially by so many people as we were in the GSE program. Thank you to all those I met in Arkansas. Thank you to our group leader Mr. Nomura, and to my fellow team members, Mr. Shomura, Mr. Kaneshige and Ms. Satoh for all the things you did for me. And thank you to everyone on the GSE Committee who gave me this wonderful opportunity. Thank you to all of you from the bottom of my heart!
