"Do you want
to go to Space Camp this summer?"
This question arose during a conversation with my mother when I was in
seventh grade. I actually thought she
was just joking when she first said it.
She told me she wanted me to experience immersion in another culture and
language. When she was in college, she
had received an opportunity to go to America, but she had to give up this
chance because her mother became sick.
As a result, she strongly recommended that I take this trip. However, I had never been to America or taken
a trip by myself, before I went to Space Camp in Alabama. I was scared and worried, but, in the end,
the great experiences at Space Camp had a significant effect on my ability to
make American friends, my decision to study in the United States, and my career
goals.
First, it was
really fun and interesting to talk with American students. After camp started, I talked with the
Japanese friends I had met at the airport because I was too afraid to speak in
a language I had studied for only three months.
However, I wanted to make American friends because I thought it was
senseless to come here if I only talked with Japanese friends. On the second day, we were divided into teams
with three to five Americans on a team.
I tried to use my poor English to make American friends, but it was
really difficult. First, I could not
even introduce myself without looking at my note book in which I had written a
few sentences down. Second, the
Americans had never had any Asian friends, so they were surprised when I bowed,
and they asked me many questions. They
tried to understand my English, which sometimes took a few minute, even to ask
where the bathroom was. In fact, one of
these friends still writes me a couple of times a year, and I send him
Christmas cards. From this experience, I
learned that despite different languages, we still can understand each other
and be good friends.
After camp I realized how it is great to study
in the United States and to know another culture. Then I went back to Japan and spent my next
three years in a Japanese junior high school.
However, I simply could not forget about Space Camp. When I was fourteen years old, I decided to go
to America to study more about American culture and my own. I told my parents, and they both supported my
decision. I discovered Cushing Academy in a catalog and came here
for summer school in 1994 when I was fifteen years old. During the summer session, I made a lot of
friends and enjoyed classes, trips and activities very much. After summer school, I visited some other
schools, but in the end I decided on Cushing Academy.
As the result of
the great experiences I had at Space Camp, I became interested in studying
international cultures. Since I have
been at Cushing Academy, I have been looking to lessen the cultural differences
here. I am president of the
International Club, which is composed of all international students. I have organized many events such as an
International Day which introduced many different cultures and
civilizations. It was very successful
because many people wanted to share their experiences and cultures; they helped
me with the event. One day in the
future, I would like to take my study of international cultures one step
further by studying political, economic, and social aspects of different
traditions. I hope everybody will live
together and work for a peaceful and comfortable world.
"Do you want
to go to Space Camp this summer?"
This one little conversation between my mother and me changed my whole
life. Space Camp gave me the opportunity
to make American friends, to study in the United States, and to make a decision
about my goals. As a result, I am very
thankful to my parents, especially my mother, for suggesting it. Although it was only one week long, it
affected me profoundly. It opened the
way for me to learn new things in America.
As my mother could not realize her dream when she was young, I will do
my best to achieve it for both of us.
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