Speechless

Ten years ago, my son (in ninth grade) signed us up to sponsor a foreign exchange student, because the girl who came to talk to his class about it was cute. He forgot to mention that he had signed me up, and I was blissfully ignorant of the whole thing until the lady from AUSA called me up to ask when I wanted my exchange student to move in.

I had no idea what she was talking about, of course, and as a newly single parent wasn't thrilled with the idea of having another mouth to feed (sponsoring families support the exchange student like one of their own). She was persistent, however, and mentioned that there was a young man from Japan who had come to America, and his sponsor family had fallen through. At the current time, he was sleeping in her basement.

Still unsure of my ability to manage the whole thing, I agreed to welcome Kentaro into my home.

After all, I thought. I am a big martial arts fan, and I'm sure this young man could tell me a lot about the martial arts. And Zen. And computers. When Ken arrived, however, he informed me that he did not know anything about the martial arts, or Zen, or computers. "What do you know about?" I asked. He responded, "Mariah Carey." (As it turns out, he also did know a little something about Zen.)

And so Kentaro joined our family, becoming Alex and Alexis's big brother. He was eager to learn about everything American. He asked me to dye his hair blond. We took him to the mall so he could get piercings. "Good grief," I thought. "His parents are going to be furious!"

But as it turned out, his parents actually came to visit him while he was here, and they were as wonderful as he. They brought us marvelous artifacts from Japan. His mother learned from Kentaro that I had studied the Imperial Villas at Katsura, and the tea ceremonies, in college. She brought me a tea bowl with a whisk, measuring spoon, and tea powder. She performed a tea ceremony for me. She also brought wonderful Japanese incense (the best incense in all the world!) because Ken had shared that I also loved incense. Ken's father brought me books on Zen, beautiful Japanese stamps, and yen.

We had so much fun with Ken. Back then, I used to make each of the kids responsible for dinner one night a week. I still remember the all-seaweed dinner Kentaro made for us; every dish, including desert, made of seaweed! I loved it. He joined us on a trip to Florida, and on his own made all the arrangements to attend the high school prom with classmates, in a big Jeep stretch limo. He left no stone unturned in trying things American. He taught me things I didn't know about my own home! (Like the fact that we have terrible mass transit, due to our being "Motown" and the car companies wanting to "encourage" us to buy cars instead of riding a subway like the bullet train in Japan.) On my birthday, Kentaro made me three tiny, beautiful origami sculptures that I have kept on my dresser ever since.

When Ken returned home at the end of the year, his parents wrote and invited my entire family to Japan. They said, "All you have to do is get here. We will take care of the rest." I thanked them, planned to come, and never did. Having Kentaro stay with us was a wonderful experience in itself, and one for which I needed no repayment.

However, this Christmas, instead of only his Mom sending a card, I got one from Ken himself. He said, "I am 27 years old now. It's been 10 years since I was in America and it's high time you came to Japan." Wow. Ten years! How time has flown.

I agreed with Ken: it is high time I came to Japan. I made my reservations for late March, when Ken said the cherry blossoms were in bloom, and planned to stay for two weeks.

That's all Ken and his family needed to hear. While I was pondering which hotel I should book, it seems they immediately went into action to plan the whole itinerary for my entire stay. Ken scheduled a whole week off work to spend time with me, and he asked me what things I wanted to see. He and his father, remembering what a huge Bruce Lee fan I am, suggested I might want to fly to Hong Kong while I am there. What a great idea! After all, when will I be in Japan again?

And tonight, I got an email from Ken. He said they were trying to get a reservation for me at the Imperial Villa, and needed my date of birth. I wrote back with the information, saying "I have no idea what the Imperial Villa is, but thank you from the bottom of my heart for all of your efforts." Then I googled the Imperial Villa. (See picture above.)

Oh yes. The Imperial Villa at Katsura, the one I studied in college way back in the '80's. The one I always admired so much that I chose furniture for my home that mirrored the beauty of its natural wood and bamboo style. It brought tears to my eyes to think of this kind and loving family living across the world from me, ten years after they ever set eyes on me...remembering the things I love. I am so blessed to live in this wonderful world. Thank you, Kentaro, Fumi, Mari, and Yoshimasa. Words cannot express how good you make me feel.