Cultural Exchange Changed Me!

Cultural exchange is what the Cupertino-Toyokawa Sister Cities organization is all about.  In 2005, my daughter went on an exchange trip with 11 other kids from Cupertino to Toyokawa, Japan.  A few months later we hosted the 2 girls whose families hosted my daughter.  Watching these young teens who could not speak each other’s language wholeheartedly enjoy each other’s company inspired me to host two gentlemen from an adult delegation from Japan in 2008.  After a rich experience which included a road trip to Yosemite, my husband and I again welcomed visitors from Japan into our home this summer.  This time we hosted two women.  We started out the week being very polite and formal with each other.  There was lots of bowing and smiling and gifts were exchanged.  Five days and several potlucks, a lot of driving, several breakfasts, and a lot of body language later, I found myself laughing in my kitchen with these two women as we designed and decorated a cake to celebrate this 35th anniversary of the Sister City organization and the relationship between Toyokawa, Japan, and Cupertino, CA.   It felt like we had been friends for years. 

During the week, the City of Cupertino hosted the delegates with tours and activities.  After the official city dinner on Friday evening, the delegates were ours!  Saturday morning we prepared the above mentioned cake, our contribution to a potluck with some of the other host families and delegates, and then we headed to San Jose for the Obon Festival.  My sister and some friends met us there, including one self-described former hippie, and we had a wonderful time with introductions and getting acquainted.  The delegates loved Japan Town and the American version of an Obon Festival.  We then headed to the pot luck dinner and exchanged experiences of the day with other delegates and host families.

The next day we were up early and headed for Roaring Camp Railroad in Felton.  After a mini hike in the redwoods, we boarded the steam train for a very scenic ride to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk.  We took a quick tour of some of the highlights of the Boardwalk, then a scenic drive to Capitola.  We stopped at an Italian restaurant for lunch where our guests, Emiko and Kazue, ordered pizza and pasta, along with their comfort drink of hot green tea.  We drove on to Capitola, enjoyed a stroll on the beach and a quick browse in some of the shops, and then headed home.   We had planned more stops to show them Costco and Macy’s, however, we all decided it might be more fun to return to our home and just enjoy the rest of the afternoon together.

The next morning, I had promised an American breakfast of pancakes and bacon, so on the way home from the beach we stopped at Target to pick up some bacon.  That proved to be a fascinating experience for Emiko and Kazue, who were impressed with the selection and variety of items to browse, and buy!  We came out with more than bacon on that quick stop at Target.

We were up early for breakfast on Monday, and of course, Emiko and Kazue helped, as they had been doing all week.  They both took a turn at flipping pancakes, and again there was much laughter and joy generated by this most mundane of tasks; cooking breakfast. 

At the end of this lovely visit, I realized that I had been so lucky to learn that the simple things we did together made the visit memorable for our guests.  Staying in our home, cooking together, visiting the store to buy the bacon, introducing them to my family and friends, and even petting my cat, seemed to elicit as much wonder and delight as visiting the redwoods and beautiful CA beaches.  Language and culture almost become irrelevant when you find ways that allow you to connect through shared experiences.  My husband and I were tired, yet fulfilled after this week of hosting our visitors from Japan and look forward to our trip to Toyokawa with the Cupertino delegation in November.