Return to Table of Contents, "Two Years in Salem (Studying Abroad from the Age of 60)"

4. Americans

A. ESL teachers

In the ESL program, I enjoyed the full trust of the teachers. I never skipped class, and strictly kept the due dates. I always tried my best as an honorable Japanese citizen. I even put on a sister-city badge wherever I went, so that I could be proud of being a Kawagoyan. As a result, I was able to get good grades in general. Frankly, I wanted to get a little better grades in listening and speaking classes. The teachers were as follows:

Lois Rosen: The best teacher I met in the ESL program. She is popular among students because they know that she always tries her best in teaching. She makes nice poems and knows haiku pretty well. She once taught English at a junior college in Japan.

Jannie Crossler-Laird: I took more of her classes than any other teacher's. She taught me English kindly and wholeheartedly, sometimes using her hand-made materials just for me.

Dina Valdivia: A Mexican-American teacher of the reading class. Since she took some Japanese classes in college, she can speak Japanese a little. She offered me English conversation practice once a week on a voluntary basis, free of charge, even after the regular term. What I could do for her in return was just to give her a "sensu," a Japanese folding fan, on the last day of her tutoring.

Kanta Luthra: An Indian teacher of the writing class. She lives right next to Alyce Yoshikai Elementary School. Her birthday is exactly the same as mine, August 8, 1938. She is the first person I ever met whose birthday is the same as mine. We agreed with each other for some reason, other than having the same birthday, and I was invited to her home parties three times.

B. Conversation partners

The ESL program provides an opportunity for ESL students to practice with American conversation partners in exchange for introducing the culture of our country to them on a regular basis. I got to know the following three people through the program:

Jan Boyington: A Chemeketa administrative official in her 50s. Having traveled around Japan, she asked me a lot about Japan, but I couldn't fully answer her questions because of my poor English, which made me irritated.

John Michels: A math teacher. He stayed in Japan for six months several years ago as an English teacher, but speaks little Japanese. He is interested in Japan very much, decorating his office with Japanese stuff. I found some Japanese children's books on his bookshelves. He is a computer whiz and talked so much about computers that I'm now thinking of buying a personal computer.

Lisa Anderson: A 20-year-old student at Chemeketa. Contrary to my biased view about American women, self-centered, spoiled by lady-firsts, she was kind and had a similar atmosphere typical of Japanese women. As she worked at the college cafeteria, I would often see her outside of the program.

C. Americans who have a Japanese wife

Jerry: Atsuko-san's husband. Since he was stationed in Japan, he knows a lot about Japanese geography. He enjoys retirement life. He likes classic cars.

Steve: Tomiko-san's husband. He met Tomiko in Okinawa where he was stationed as a Marine. Tomiko-san was an English teacher at Geo's English Institute in Okinawa. Steve later quit the Marine Corps and now works for a company in Salem. He likes Japanese food very much. As he is so handsome and tender to his wife, the couple is an ideal example of international marriages for Japanese female students.

George: Kayoko-san's husband. As he lived in Japan for a long time, he speaks good Japanese, but does not often speak Japanese because his wife Kayoko speaks English very well. He likes Japanese sake. He once taught me English using a textbook he had used when he had been an English teacher at a company. I wanted to have a lot more such chances with him, but school was too busy for me to see him again.

Bruce: Shizuka-san's husband. Unlike others, I first became friends with him, and then he introduced me to his wife. I bought a car from him at Salem Nissan. He was later headhunted by another Japanese car dealer and moved to Portland.

Kevin: Yong Nam's husband. She is not Japanese but Korean, but she is so good at speaking Japanese that I felt she was Japanese. As a preacher, Kevin is kind to everyone and is popular among people. His two kids, a three-year-old daughter and a one-year-old son, often cry for him when he goes out, because they wanted more of him than their mother.

D. Other Americans

Matt: A 28-year-old single man, who used to have a Japanese girlfriend. He met her about 10 years ago at Chemeketa Community College, and together transferred to the University of Oregon and graduated from there. He speaks Japanese very fluently thanks to her. After she left the US, they kept in touch with each other for a long time, even considering marrying. But unfortunately, they broke up this year. Matt has a tattoo on his upper arm, which says Megumi, her name. After hearing the long story from him, I wrote an essay titled, "A Chemeketa Love Story," for a writing contest for ESL students, and won a prize. He likes Japanese goods and asked me to buy Peko-chan ame, sweets, and mentaiko, cod roe in salt and chili, when I took a short leave home. I'm a shogi, Japanese chess, lover, so I brought a portable shogi set and its English manual, wanting to teach shogi to Americans. I taught Matt how to play shogi, then played shogi with him many times, and gave him the set and manual when I left the US.

Mako and Stan Mayfield: Both of them are officers of the Sister City Committee. Mako-san was the guest speaker in the 2000 general meeting of the Kawagoe-Salem Friendship Society. I was invited by her to SCC's Christmas party and its dinner party, as well as Matsu-kai's Christmas party. I owe a lot to Mako and Stan, who showed me around Salem, to places such as exhibitions and shopping centers. I also thank them for inviting me to have dinners with them.