Fascinating Japan Week

My Wonderful Group

I had a wonderful time from April 16 to 20. It was Japan Week. People who live in Spokane know the event and I like it. There were 3 things about Japan Week that were enjoyable to me.

First, I danced at River Park Square on Saturday and enjoyed it very much. The dance was called Soran Bushi. It is a Japanese cultural dance. I had practiced the dance every Tuesday until I performed. The dance was very hard, so I always had muscle pain. On that day, we wore Yukatas. There were a lot of people at the mall. My RA, her boyfriend, our teachers, and my host family came to see our performance. I was nervous a little, but the performance was a great hit. I was very happy because there was much clapping of hands. It was a precious experience for me.

Awesome Lunch Time

Secondly, I met some American junior high school students in conversation class on Tuesday and had a great time. I taught them about Japanese culture and I was taught about American culture by them. We talked about money, fashion, relationships, food, slang, school, dreams, and language. These topics were very interesting for us. For example, the American students said "Japanese school rules are crazy" because we can't chew gum, drink water, and wear makeup at school in Japan. These rules are natural for Japanese but American students think they are crazy. The topic was very amusing. After that, we ate lunch together. It was exciting! The high school students used chopsticks so I was very surprised. Although we didn't have enough time, I enjoyed spending time with them very much. I want to talk more with them. I think the opportunity was priceless.

Finally, I also had a nice opportunity to talk with Americans on Wednesday. This event was the MFWI family festival. Many people came to Commons, played Japanese games, and ate Japanese food. I sold rice balls. I love them and they are my favorite food. Everyone said "It is very delicious" when they ate that. There were many Japanese cultural things at Commons. For example, students did tea ceremony and calligraphy. Many people enjoyed these cultural things. Then I talked with a bilingual boy. Although he is Japanese, he always speaks English because he grew up in America. Also his Japanese is very good. His speaking ability spurred me to study English more. I realized that I have to talk to native Americans more actively so the day was a good day for me.

For these reasons, I had really enjoyed Japan Week. It was very fascinating for me.