Sayonara Yori Arigatou...
Last night was the closing ceremony for the 2011 American Studies Program through TIUA and Willamette University. The closing ceremony had us hearing The Consulate-General to Japan, the President of TIU from Japan and others speak of the students and their amazing accomplishments this year. This years class, other than having amazing academic acheivements, like many having 3.9 or higher GPA's and raising their TOEFL scores by upwards of 120 points, they also as a whole donated 6,000 volunteer hours to our community. If you consider their many program required classes and such, that is an amazing accomplishment.
Our young women looked beautiful and amid smiles, tears, laughter and hugs I was reminded once again that distance, language, ethnicity are merely bumps in a road, and regardless of the differences, these women will forever be my precious family. I felt like a proud mama watching my babies graduate as I sat there watching them. I also had the opportunity to congratulate someone I met at the beginning named Hinako Shiota. She was very sweet and extremely shy, but her happy smile made me feel so priveledged to have gotten the chance to know her. We also had the opportunity to meet what would I guess be their Valadictorian. Her name is Yukari. She's amazing sweet and so adorable. Tiffany actually found the courage also to meet Kazunobu Kuwa. I don't recall if I mentioned it here or not but we first saw him during the Jack o'Lantern party wandering around watching everyone and we wanted to get him a pumpkin and invite him to sit with us! She was very brave and got to meet him and he took a picture with her! He's so tiny but so sweet...
My heart is sad. I miss Anna already and even thought I know that I will see Anna and Kaede one last time before they go home, just knowing they are going home as well soon is weighing heavy on my mind. I'm not ready though I know its an inevitability of the program. But even so, I will do it again, because the sheer joy of meeting these young men and women and sharing your lives with them is an experience you really can't just go out there and grab every day.
So to them I say thank you, rather than goodbye..for all the laughter and tears as well. Because there is you, I can be the me I am. and I will be grateful to you forever.
Kaede, Ai, Anna and Tiffany
Ai to Kaede
Ai, Hinako and Anna
Our beautiful but emotional Kaede <3
Tiffany and Kuwa-kun
Our young women looked beautiful and amid smiles, tears, laughter and hugs I was reminded once again that distance, language, ethnicity are merely bumps in a road, and regardless of the differences, these women will forever be my precious family. I felt like a proud mama watching my babies graduate as I sat there watching them. I also had the opportunity to congratulate someone I met at the beginning named Hinako Shiota. She was very sweet and extremely shy, but her happy smile made me feel so priveledged to have gotten the chance to know her. We also had the opportunity to meet what would I guess be their Valadictorian. Her name is Yukari. She's amazing sweet and so adorable. Tiffany actually found the courage also to meet Kazunobu Kuwa. I don't recall if I mentioned it here or not but we first saw him during the Jack o'Lantern party wandering around watching everyone and we wanted to get him a pumpkin and invite him to sit with us! She was very brave and got to meet him and he took a picture with her! He's so tiny but so sweet...
My heart is sad. I miss Anna already and even thought I know that I will see Anna and Kaede one last time before they go home, just knowing they are going home as well soon is weighing heavy on my mind. I'm not ready though I know its an inevitability of the program. But even so, I will do it again, because the sheer joy of meeting these young men and women and sharing your lives with them is an experience you really can't just go out there and grab every day.
So to them I say thank you, rather than goodbye..for all the laughter and tears as well. Because there is you, I can be the me I am. and I will be grateful to you forever.
Kaede, Ai, Anna and Tiffany
Ai to Kaede
Ai, Hinako and Anna
Our beautiful but emotional Kaede <3
Tiffany and Kuwa-kun