A Jolly Holiday

Despite our heroine's many protestations concerning her ability (*cough* or lack there of *cough*) to speak Japanese, she was most graciously asked to put her talents to use in helping out a friend. His family was hosting a gentleman from Japan for a week as a sort of Michigan and Japan annual exchange program. Yoshizo-san said he had very little grasp of English, and even though her friend and his sister had taken classes on Japanese, they were several years out of practice and could only carry on with the basics. And so she was invited to dinner and then on an excursion the next day to see the lakeside dunes to the west.

She was excited to reunite with her friend and his welcoming family for the first time since the spring, but the day approached with fearful anxiety as well. "What am I to do? I haven't spoken all summer, and the poor fellow is sure to expect a soon-to-be fourth year student to have a level of proficiency twice as great as my own..." Her thoughts and imagination made the guilt and gnawing anxiety nearly too much to bear.

And yet once the night came, and she was reunited amongst friends (who were far too grateful for her "helping"), and Yoshizo-san had both a workable grasp of English and a kind, patient personality, she could finally feel like things would turn out alright. He was from the same prefecture she had stayed in when she had studied in Japan, and knew many of the same places. The evening's conversation was easy and enjoyable, in ways it had never been for her in Japan.

The following day, she was picked up and brought back to their house for pancakes to get ready for their Sand Dune Exploration Excursion Extraordinaire! Momma G, Poppa G, their Japanese guest, and the translator got in the subaru and headed into the west (with out the sad music) (and with a couple with 4 year old and 10 month old boys named Alex and Sam with their own, very quiet Japanese guest).

Sand dunes have always created in her a longing sense of nostalgia for her carefree childhood in Ludington. The memories of skating up the sun-burned sand, and trying to roll back down to the the base the fastest, and racing into the waves of Lake Michigan, trying to go deeper and still jump over the crests that continuously swept towards the shore...She was very much looking forward to this trip.

They stopped and had a quick bite to eat, with our translator giving Yoshizo-san a brief explanation of the items on the menu, and then swapping him what she had gotten when he decided it looked better ^^;; They carried on to the state park and hiked through the wooded trails to the shore:

(Momma G, Yoshizo-san, Sam and Alex and their dad, Niko-san,  the kids' mom, and Poppa G)

They were all delighted to feel the lake breeze and (literally) get their feet wet. Little Alex especially appreciated our heroine's willingness to wade the waves and lift him repeatedly whenever they "jumped" a wave ;3

Eventually, it was time to call it a day, and they trekked back to their cars and went their separate ways back home (not before our traveler's car stopped for an ice cream treat~). They chatted the hours away on their journey back, and and continued to unnecessarily thank her for the help that she was. In truth, she was the one who was grateful: her one goal in life is to be useful, and to be given such practice as she was able to get over the 24hr+ period and to gain actual self-confidence and worth from the experience were the real accomplishments. She knows she isn't as good at the language as she would like, but after this weekend she finally feels stable in it for the first time in over a year.