Check out his essay below to read about his experiences.
Ambassador Reflection by Philip Kamei
I absolutely loved my time in Japan,
although I was a little nervous about the whole trip during the weeks leading
up to the flight. I was nervous that my lack of Japanese language would make
communicating difficult, and I was nervous that people would think it was weird
that I looked Japanese but did not act Japanese. However, I could not have been
more wrong. To my pleasant surprise, there were many people who could speak
English, and I could sometimes communicate in Japanese even though I knew very
little. Also, I discovered that even though my family and I live in America, we
are not that different from a family living in Japan.
My host family was amazing. My host
mother and father always made sure that my stay was as comfortable as possible.
Even though there was a small language barrier, we could still have very
interesting conversations and I very much enjoyed talking to them. My host
mother was an amazing cook and my host father grew delicious fruits and
vegetables. They always made sure that I had plenty of food at every meal. I
definitely gained a few pounds during my time in Japan, but it was absolutely worth
it. Before my arrival my host parents had planned something for almost every
free day of my trip to ensure that I could experience as much of Wakayama as I
could. I could never thank my host parents enough for all that they have done
to make my stay in Japan so enjoyable.
I also spent a lot of time with my
host family’s children and grandchildren. My favorite moments in Japan were
when I was just spending time with their grandchildren, Maika and Manami. Everyone
truly made me feel like I was a part of the family.
My days during the first week in
Japan were spent mostly in or around Wakayama City. On my first day my host
parents took me on a tour of the area around their house, Kire. I was able to
see my host father’s rice fields and his fruit and vegetable gardens. I was
also able to experience Japan’s infamous humidity. Being from Southern
California, I don’t experience humidity very much, so I was not a huge fan of
the weather in Japan.
A few days later I took the famous Tama
Densha to go shopping in town. That was new experience for me, as not many
people use the train in California because the system is so inefficient and it
takes longer than driving. But in Japan the train works so well! I was
pleasantly surprised that we only had to walk to the station (which was about a
two minute walk), and then the train takes you straight into the middle of the
shopping center!
The last thing we did during the
first week was take a trip to Wakayama Castle. That was really interesting
because at the time, it was the oldest building that I had ever visited. Even
though you could find countless buildings in Japan that are older than Wakayama
Castle, most of the buildings in America are relatively young. At most museums
in America, the buildings and artifacts are usually less than 200 years old. The
picture to the right is from the top of the castle with Tomo, my host parents’
son.
During the second week of my stay in
Japan, I spent more time exploring areas in Wakayama other than the main city.
Some of the most beautiful areas I saw while in Japan I saw while on the two
day trip with the America-Japan Society. We saw a lot of beautiful scenery both
along the coast and more inland in the mountains. This trip was especially
interesting for me because I got to visit one of my family members, and see the
house that my great-grandfather had lived in with my grandfather. It was
amazing to think that for so long before I was even born, my ancestors had
lived around that area, and now I was visiting all the way from America. It
really made me think about that even though my family and I might live in
America, our roots, ancestry, and a large part of our culture still definitely
come from Japan.
After returning back to my host
family, we all took a trip to Koyasan. Again that was an incredible experience
just knowing that everything around me was so historical and old. Koyasan is
over 1200 years old, and we just have nothing even close to that age in the
United States.
Although it isn’t in Wakayama, the
last trip I took with my host family was to Kyoto. We visited numerous shrines
and temples, but my favorite was definitely Kinkaku-ji. All of the temples and
shrines were so beautiful and it is incredible to think that they were built so
long ago before modern day building tools.
I enjoyed my time in Japan so much,
but my favorite moments were just when I was with my host family doing normal
things. Be it learning from my host father how to pick edamame, or teaching
Maika a duet on the piano. My most cherished memories from Japan will always be
spending time with my host family. While I was in Japan, it was strange because
even though I did not speak the language or have never lived in Japan, I felt
an odd feeling of belonging. Maybe it was just because I wasn’t used to
everyone around me being Japanese, but I felt like everyone around me and
everyone I met had values and beliefs similar to what I was raised under. It’s
a weird feeling to describe, but it was a very comforting feeling, unlike
anything I have ever felt in the United States. I hope that I can return to
Japan one day in the future, hopefully sooner rather than later. I was actually
curious if there were any career opportunities for me in Japan, and I was surprised
to find that there are a lot of internship opportunities for my field of study
aimed at students from the United States, so perhaps I will return to Japan for
a summer internship sometime soon.
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