A Little America in Japan

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My name's Rie! My dream is to travel around the world to many countries, and do international exchange with the local people there.

[Note: Rie is not a Mayflower student. She was the "Special Guest Speaker" at MPP9. (Our previous guest speakers have been Terry Nakajima at MPP7 and Ted先生 at MPP3.) She was invited by Mayflower, to share her English speech, and her wonderful message, with our English students. Her speech, which she had performed earlier this year at her high school at which she is a second year student, was selected as being the most exemplary English speech there this year. Thanks for sharing your dream with us, Rie! It was truly inspiring. Keep working towards your dreams!]

Hello everyone. My name’s Rie! I’m a second year high school student in Tokyo.

What kind of dreams do you have? For example, do you want to be a doctor, a teacher, or something else? My dream is to travel around the world to many countries, and do international exchange with the local people there. I myself have never been overseas, but today, I’d like to talk about my unique international exchange experience.

Well, just how close do you think America is to Japan? Is America very far from Japan? Actually, America is closer to Japan than you might think! In fact, I’ve found a little America in Tokyo. Where is it, you might ask? Let me tell you all about it!

Yokota American Air Base is a restricted place, so ordinary Japanese people cannot enter there freely. However, every August, the Japanese-American Friendship Festival (横田基地日米友好祭) is held there.

Yokota American Air Base is located near my house. It is a restricted place, so ordinary Japanese people cannot enter there freely. However, every August, the Japanese-American Friendship Festival (横田基地日米友好祭) is held there. I have been going there with my family since I was eight years old.

When I went to the festival for the first time, I was very surprised to find America, a little America, there. The people who live there are Americans. The language spoken there is English. The shops, food, music, and fashion are all American. It’s like a little America in Japan! Isn’t that amazing?

Yet every time we went there, we just ate big American steaks, juicy hamburgers, drank tasty juice, and enjoyed fun shopping. It was nice, but we never spoke to American people in English. What a waste!

Sometimes my parents suggested that I try talking to the Americans, but whenever they did, I was embarrassed. Very embarrassed! I had many chances, but I didn’t have enough courage to speak to the American people there on the base. I tried to speak to them many times, but I just couldn’t do it!

For example, when I was shopping, and I found a cute t-shirt I that wanted to buy, I said to the staff in my broken English, “I’ll — take — it!”  But he gave me a funny look, and asked me, “Are you still thinking about it?”  I said “I’ll — take — it”, over and over again, but I just couldn’t communicate my meaning.

Yes, my English pronunciation was very bad!  It was so frustrating. So I gave up! I let my fear get the better of me, and I stopped communicating before I had even started!

But I didn’t lose all hope! Whenever I failed, I told myself, “All right. Good job. Good job.” trying to encourage myself. And I made a promise to myself: I would study hard at school, improve my English and pronunciation, and try again next year. And that is just what I did!

Well, last summer, I went there again with my family. But this time, something was different. What was it? This time, I had made up my mind to speak English with some Americans…no matter what! So screwed up my courage, and I spoke to a family of four that I saw nearby. There was a father, a mother, and their children – a brother and a sister.

I said “Hello!”  And surprisingly, they understood me, because they answered me,  “Hi, are you a high school student?” Wow! We were really communicating! I got so excited, so I wanted to take a picture with them. I asked, “May I take a picture with you, please?”  They happily said, “OK!”  After taking the picture, we kept talking for a short time. Of course, I was very nervous at the time, because I couldn’t understand everything they said, but somehow, the joy of communication helped me to forget about my nervousness.

Later that day, even I spoke to some soldiers, and to some cheerleaders who looked like they were about the same age as me. I could even take some pictures with them. So I was very happy! It was perfect for me. I was on cloud nine, and my parents were proud of me.

My message today is simple: I don’t want you to be embarrassed communicating with foreign people. If you try it, you can do it, just like me! Please just say “Hello!”, or “Excuse me!” or “Hi!” Anything is OK. Remember, making mistakes is better than not trying! In the beginning, I made a lot of mistakes, and at first, I let my fear stop me. But then I remembered that failure is the root of success, and then I wasn’t scared anymore. So now, after my great experience at the base, I want to study English harder from now on!

It’s a big world out there, and we will all become more and more involved with foreign people in the near future. So that way we need to get accustomed to international exchange experiences! Such experiences will open up, and broaden our minds, making us better, people, and making our world a better, more friendly place.

Thank you for listening to my speech.

Ei-ichi gave an evaluation about a few of the many good aspects of Rie's speech.

[Note: After Rie's speech, Ei-ichi, an advanced student at Mayflower, was invited to give an evaluation of her speech in front of her, and the entire audience of fifty people. In order for Rie to have a more rich and edifying experience, he gave an impromptu speech about a few of the many good aspects of her speech, some aspects that could be improved, and then he identified the most outstanding aspect of her speech. It was Ei-ichi’s first time to give this kind of constructive evaluation in English in a public setting, and it was Rie’s first time to receive such an evaluation. Indeed, it was our first time at Mayflower to have one of our students evaluate our Special Guest Speaker at MPP, and it hopefully will be the beginning of a long tradition! Thanks, Ei-ichi!
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Mayflower英語教室

週末は英語漬け!
http://msoe.jp/

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