My Brilliant Memories of USA Life

I experienced many many great things in the USA. I have never experienced such pleasant things. Of course USA is new world to me. All of my experiences were fresh and stimulative to me. I will return to Japan from this wonderful study abroad program on May 23, but I will never forget these great memories. I especially liked three special experiences.

My friendly host sister and brother

In Great Cabela's

First was my joyful home stay on March 26 and 27. I was looking forward to home stay, because March was very busy month for me, I had a lot of home work, tests, and presentations. On the first day, our host parents picked up us at 9:30 a.m. in front of our house. We were a little nervous, but they greeted us with warmly. After we dropped off our bags in host family's house, we went to see kendo, because our host sister practiced kendo. The gym was full of powerful voices. There were many American students who practiced kendo. I was so impressed to see that. She practiced it hard, and she was very courageous. After that, we went to support our host brother's soccer game. He was very active and running earnestly. Our host mother also took us to St. John's Cathedral. This time was my first time to visit the church. I was fascinated to see the loveliness of the stained glass windows. Then we went back to the house, and played a Wii dance game with our host mother and host sister. It was very exciting game and we laughed out loudly. Before dinner, we made brownies with our host mother. The recipe was very simple. We waited for completion, with our heart filled with happy expectation. After dinner, we ate the brownies. They tasted good! In the evening, we went to a Spokane symphony with our host mother. The hall was so gorgeous, and the performance was a so forceful. The next day, our host father took us to Cabela's which is located in Idaho. There were abundant camping products. I was so astonished because many guns were sold at that store!! The guns were used for hunting. We couldn't see such a situation in Japan. Our host father took us to a modern crossbow section. He told us he went hunting with his friends when he was young, and used this type of crossbow. I thought hunting is more common in the USA than in Japan. In the afternoon, we ate a bison hamburger! It was my first time to eat bison meat. I thought it was a rare chance, so I tried to gather up my courage. The taste was similar to beef and I liked it. After that, we went bowling with our host mother and host brother. It had been a long time since I had bowled, but it was good exercise for me. We enjoyed it very much. This home stay was great experience and one of my treasures. I really appreciated my host family's kindness.

Clear sky and wonderful runners

Second I really enjoyed Bloomsday on May 1st. It is an annual event in Spokane, and every year over 50,000 people participate. Fortunately we were blessed with clear weather. We took a bus downtown in the early morning. When we arrived downtown, there were many crowds people already. I was amazed that so many people were there. Before the race started, countless clothes were hanging on the tree. It was a rare and interesting scene to me. The race started with cheerful music and thunderous cheers. I walked the entire distance with my friend. There were many interesting people on the way, for example, singers, rock bands, country music bands, and people who wore a funny costumes. On the wayside, there were many cheering people, so I could enjoy walking, and also watching various people. I have never participated in such a big marathon race.  I thought this event was splendid, because many kinds of people joined this race, for example, top class runners, men, women, children, and even 90 year old people!!! This event was good for activation of Spokane and people's health, so this race was a very important event for Spokane. I was proud of to participate in this race.

We love host mother, Polly:)

The last thing that excited me was my birthday! May 8 was my 20th birthday, so many people celebrated with me. On May 5, my group members, RA, and I ate out at Red Robin which is located in downtown. We finished a TOEIC test that morning, so we were very relaxed and we enjoyed eating tasty hamburgers. After everyone finished eating, some of the servers came to our table, and brought big cake. Suddenly they started singing the birthday song. At first I didn't  realize whose birthday, because that day was still May 5, and server brought that cake to my friend! Soon I noticed it was my surprise birthday. My friends gave me super letter and pretty cosmetic. I was very surprised, and moved to tears by their surprise. I felt happy to have wonderful friends. On May 8, my birthday, our host family invited us to their house. First we went to the Davenport Hotel and to Nishinomiya Tsutakawa Japanese Garden with our host mother. These two places were so beautiful and became my favorite places. After that, we went to our host family's house and ate a hamburger hot from the barbecue. It was so tasty. After lunch, our host mother brought me a cute cake and I was surprised again! I spent a wonderful time with my host family. Also many friends and teachers celebrated with me at MFWI. I felt happy and I had a great 20th birthday in the USA.

There were so many great experiences which I couldn't have in Japan.These three wonderful memories were engraved in my heart forever. All of my experiences in the USA were my best valuable possessions.