April 15, 2002

Jessica Chan
1821 Wedgewood Ave.
Nashville, TN 37212
615-298-4141

Honorable Mayor Isomura,

When I started high school the only exposure I had to the Japanese culture was through my childhood best friend, Mari-san. It was through her influence that I ventured to take Japanese to fulfill my high school language requirement. Almost immediately I fell in love with the class. Takemoto sensei, my phenomenal Japanese teacher, incorporated nihon bunka in addition to learning how to speak, read, and write Japanese. She emphasized the need to appreciate every aspect of the culture, not just the language. During my first three years of Japanese class my hunger for more knowledge about Japanese culture grew exponentially. I thought, "What better way to fully appreciate and experience the culture, than to go and live in Japan?" I was determined to find a way to travel to Japan and live the culture.

My dream came true through the generosity of the San Francisco-Osaka Sister City Association. Those five weeks in the summer of 1995 is one of my most favorite memory and definitely a life-changing experience for me.

My host family, Omori Otoosan, Omori Okaasan, Megumi Oneesan and, Manabu Oniisan, were very hospitable and made me feel like part of their family. I remember waking up that first morning and Megumi-san taught me how to make a perfectly soft-boiled egg and every morning after that I had a soft-boiled egg for breakfast with her. She also introduced me to the delicacies of Japanese cuisine, particularly Osaka cuisine-my favorites being okonomiyaki and takoyaki.

I lived as a member of their family, helping them prepare dinner, going grocery shopping with them, vacationing with them in their summer home by the sea, watching television with them, and helping them with their laundry and their daily chores. I think that even their cat thought of me as one of the family. My Japanese improved a hundred fold since everybody insisted that I speak only Japanese. Megumi-san's friends even taught me Osaka-ben in exchange for English conversation lessons. I think that I was able to make a contribution to their lives as well, sharing with them my life in San Francisco and what it meant to be a Chinese American.

Megumi-san was kind enough to introduce me to a girl, Reiko-san, that she tutored who was about my age at the time. I spent one whole afternoon with Reiko-san and even though she did not know much English and my Japanese was limited, our curiosities about each other's respective lives gave us more than enough to keep us entertained all afternoon. We shared what teenage girls share: music, high school life, friends, favorite actors and actresses, etc. We were both enthralled by how similar and yet how different our lives were in Japan and in America.

I not only had the opportunity to learn about everyday life in Japan through my experiences with my host family and their friends, but I also had the opportunity to appreciate the history and beauty of Osaka and the surrounding city of Kyoto. The shrines, castles, and museums I visited were awe-inspiring. I was also fortunate enough to attend Noh and Bunraku performances, giving me a taste of the beauty and intricacies of Japanese traditional dance and theater. I remember feeling really Japanese dressing up in blue and pink floral print yukata and learning how to serve tea in the Japanese tea ceremony. I was fascinated with the rules and the solemnity of the ceremony.

I could write pages about all of the fond memories that I have had in Japan. Every time I have a soft-boiled egg, I am reminded of my experiences of living in Osaka. Even though it has been seven years, I can still hear the subway conductor yelling out the names of the station before my stop in Ibaraki-shi. I can still smell the sweet and tangy sauce of the takoyaki. I can still feel the excitement of watching bunraku in the humid outdoors of the garden of the neighborhood shrine. I can still feel the warmth and hospitality of my host family, the Omori's. I do not think that I will ever forget the hospitality that Osaka showed me seven years ago when I was a curious sixteen- year old just waiting to soak up everything Japan had to offer me and I find myself compelled to return the favor.

Perhaps the best way to reciprocate Osaka's hospitality should be by opening up San Francisco's Golden Gate to the high school students of Osaka. It would be a wonderful opportunity for Japanese students to experience what I experienced in Japan. It would be a dream come true fore me for high school student to come to my hometown and leave with the fond memories similar to the ones that I have of their hometown. Perhaps sometime in the near future a Japanese student will be able to share his/her fond memories with the mayor of San Francisco as well.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Jessica Chan