My Visit to Kakegawa, Japan
by Bria Freechild, 8th grade
Eugene Waldorf School
I had been wanting to go to Japan ever since I had a Japanese student come and stay at my house in the summer of '95.
Every year the city of Kakegawa sends a group of 25 students to Eugene, twice in the summer and once in the spring, through KECO, an organization supported by Eugene Sister City community. The student that came to our house was a girl named Akiko Fujiwara. She lived in Daito-cho, just outside of Kakegawa. She stayed for 3 weeks and we became very close--she was like a sister to me.
It was very hard to say good-by, but we kept in touch by mail. I got a few letters from her twin sister Takako and her father who called me his American daughter. In March, I started thinking about how much fun it would be to go see Akiko in Japan and meet all of her friends and family. I decided that I would go to Japan as my 8th grade graduation trip in the summer of '96. My mom called Lisa King, one of the directors of KECO to see if I could fly to Japan with the first group of Japanese students on their returning trip home and fly home with the second group 3 weeks later as they came to America. As my mom talked with her, Lisa mentioned the Eugene Sister City Delegation going to our Sister City, Kakegawa, Japan in April. If I went with the delegation, I would only go for 2 weeks not 3 weeks, but I would be able to participate in all the activities of the Delegation like the welcome banquet along with tours of different castles, temples and shrines.
I decided to go, but I had less than a month to get ready. I had never gone out of the country, so we had to expedite my passport. I remembered that when Akiko had come to my house, she had brought many gifts for my whole family anad extra gifts for people she might meet in the States. So, I emptied my bank account and went shopping. I got American T-shirts and caps and candy. I went to "Made in Oregon" store and got most of my stuff there. All of the gifts took up the space of a suitcase and I thought that when I gave all of the presents, I would be able to use the suitcase for everything I would buy in Japan.
The Delegation met a few times to talk about what we would be doing and what we would need. It took alot of preparation, but I was finally ready. The night before I left, I couldn't sleep at all. The next morning kind of flew by. My mom and I got up really early, got all my bags into the car and drove to Peter Eberheart's house. Peter is the President of the Sister City Committee. We piled into his van and drove to the Portland airport. After checking my bags, getting my ticket and quickly saying good-bye to my mom, I was in my seat and ready to go. The plane ride was 10 hours and I was not tired. Even if I had been, it would have been hard to sleep. The farther we flew, the brighter it got. We were flying towards the sun.
By the time we landed in Japan and got off the plane, I was so stir-crazy that I was bouncing off the walls! We had landed in Nagoya, not very far from Tokyo, so after going through customs and getting our bags, we got on a bus that took us to Kakegawa Grand Hotel where everyone was staying the first night. The mayor and many other city officials were there to meet us. Our mayor, Ruth Bascom, said a few words to their mayor. Then we checked in, had dinner and went to sleep.
Akiko's family took me all over Daito-cho, Kakegawa, and Shizuoka City. There were a few outings with the Delegation, but most of the time we stayed with our host families. I had so much fun. I went shopping, sightseeing, and visited Akiko's high school. I liked going to her school. I got to meet all her friends and teachers. They were all very nice, but alot of people did stare. Alot! Sometimes, I felt kind of awkward, but I got used to it. The last day that I was at the school, the girls had a little party for me. They all brought cookies or little cakes. It was so nice.
The day that I had to leave was awful. Keiko and Yosuke could not come to the train station to say good-bye, so I had to say good-bye in the morning before they went to school. I said good-bye to her grandparents and left for the train station. I didn't feel that sad that I was going and I couldn't figure out why. But when I was just about to get on the train, I started crying so hard. Akiko, Takako, and both of her parents were there to say good-bye. I gave them all one last hug and got on the train. I cried all the way from Kakegawa to Nagoya airport. I was kind of in shock on the plain ride home. I couldn't believe that I had just spent 2 weeks in Japan. My dad said that was probably a "once in a lifetime" experience. I don't know about just once, but that experience definitely will last a lifetime. --July 4, 1996.
