Time has flown so quickly since I came back to Spokane. It has been over a month since I’ve returned. I have been busy every day; however, every minute is very significant and learning experience for me. On this weekend, I experienced three attracting events; preparing for Halloween, enjoying Otsukimi festival and visiting Roman Catholic Church.
Firstly, our group went to exciting apple and pumpkin picking place for Halloween on Saturday morning. It was a great opportunity for me to experience preparing Halloween which we don’t celebrate in Japan. Because we don’t have Halloween, we don’t even see huge orange pumpkins, so it was a new experience for us to pick them in the field. I had so much fun choosing which pumpkins were the best for making Jack-o’-Lanterns. I also had a chance to pick apples. Surprisingly, it was my first time to see apples on the trees. Usually, I see apples in the store that are already polished; however, what I saw there was different; apples were kind of dirty before they were polished. I was very surprised to learn about that. This day was a new fabulous experience for me.
Secondly, I introduced Haiku to the guests who came to Otsukimi festival that is one of Japanese celebration. It was a great chance to present what Haiku is for the people in Spokane. Because my presentation topic is Haiku, our group prepared for it for about two weeks before with Matt who is a local English Haiku expert. I was a little bit worried whether Haiku is popular or not; however, we had lots of guests who were interested in haiku and I was very glad to see their faces after they finished making their own Haiku. Making English haiku was harder than I expected but as I made it over and over, I got used to it and I found joy in making it. It was a marvelous experience for me.
Lastly, the Mass of the Roman Catholic Church in downtown was remarkable experience for me. It was a great opportunity to attend the service at the Church because I’m not a Christian, so I’ve never been to church in Japan. I really enjoyed listening to story of Jesus from the Bible. According to the Priest there, Jesus didn’t force followers to love them because he knew if he tried to force them to do it, there will be problems and conflicts. The Bishop told us that he doesn’t want us force to love him; he will welcome whoever wants to be Christian or want to pray to God. The phrase was very impressive to me and I learned a new American way of thinking. I had a magnificent time there.
Through this weekend, I experienced new events and those were all tremendous for me to have. If I had not come back to the Extension Program, I couldn’t have experience them, so I’m really glad that I came back here. Two more remain at MFWI; I would like to use the precious time efficiently and significantly as much as I can. Until I go back to Japan, I would like to have a deeper understanding of American culture and customs.
Firstly, our group went to exciting apple and pumpkin picking place for Halloween on Saturday morning. It was a great opportunity for me to experience preparing Halloween which we don’t celebrate in Japan. Because we don’t have Halloween, we don’t even see huge orange pumpkins, so it was a new experience for us to pick them in the field. I had so much fun choosing which pumpkins were the best for making Jack-o’-Lanterns. I also had a chance to pick apples. Surprisingly, it was my first time to see apples on the trees. Usually, I see apples in the store that are already polished; however, what I saw there was different; apples were kind of dirty before they were polished. I was very surprised to learn about that. This day was a new fabulous experience for me.
Secondly, I introduced Haiku to the guests who came to Otsukimi festival that is one of Japanese celebration. It was a great chance to present what Haiku is for the people in Spokane. Because my presentation topic is Haiku, our group prepared for it for about two weeks before with Matt who is a local English Haiku expert. I was a little bit worried whether Haiku is popular or not; however, we had lots of guests who were interested in haiku and I was very glad to see their faces after they finished making their own Haiku. Making English haiku was harder than I expected but as I made it over and over, I got used to it and I found joy in making it. It was a marvelous experience for me.
Lastly, the Mass of the Roman Catholic Church in downtown was remarkable experience for me. It was a great opportunity to attend the service at the Church because I’m not a Christian, so I’ve never been to church in Japan. I really enjoyed listening to story of Jesus from the Bible. According to the Priest there, Jesus didn’t force followers to love them because he knew if he tried to force them to do it, there will be problems and conflicts. The Bishop told us that he doesn’t want us force to love him; he will welcome whoever wants to be Christian or want to pray to God. The phrase was very impressive to me and I learned a new American way of thinking. I had a magnificent time there.
Through this weekend, I experienced new events and those were all tremendous for me to have. If I had not come back to the Extension Program, I couldn’t have experience them, so I’m really glad that I came back here. Two more remain at MFWI; I would like to use the precious time efficiently and significantly as much as I can. Until I go back to Japan, I would like to have a deeper understanding of American culture and customs.