Where words fail, intention speaks
Erica finished her introduction, and I was next in the line up. What would happen next wouldn't be the last. Interpreters, farmers, agribusiness men, teammates, and coaches sat around the table as I began my Japanese introductions:
"Konichiwa (Good afternoon)! Hajimemashte (Nice to meet you)!Watashi wa Breanna Holbert des (My name is Breanna Holbert). Bre toe yande kodesei. (You can call me Bre!) California kari kimashte (I'm from California). Basketbal guy di suki des (I like basketball)! Yoroshiku onegaishimasu (Be kind to me)!"
Well at least that's what I though I said. Here is what I really said:
"Konichiwa (Good afternoon)! Hajimemashte (Nice to meet you)!Watashi wa Breanna Holbert des (My name is Breanna Holbert). Bre toe yande kodesei. (You can call me Bre!) California kari kimashte (I'm from California). Basketball toe yande kodesei (You can call me basketball)! Yoroshiku onegaishimasu (Be kind to me)!"
I noticed my mistake when one of the agribusiness men raised his hand to greet me with: "Hi, BASKETBALL!"
We all laughed off the silly mistake and moved on. However, that day would kindle a new sense of appreciation from the Japanese culture, one with no words needed (as funny as these mistakes may seem)!
ONE 12 HOUR FLIGHT LATER....
We landed in Japan! When we arrived, we met with the adult representatives of the Future Farmers of Japan, took a bus passed Disneyland Japan, and made it to our hotel in Tokyo to share dinner with folks and stay in pretty authentic Japanese hotel rooms. Immediately on arrival, it was obvious that even though California shared an ocean with Japan, we were an ocean away from home. Thousands of miles from what was familiar. Every sound from a person's mouth was indistinctly different and already I felt the fear of not knowing enough Japanese sink in. All I knew was my introduction, "yes" or "no", and a few other greeting sentences. Ordering food at restaurants or shopping in stores was a field day of hand motions and verbal "ehhh", "ahhh", and "hai hai hai"s.
Through the words lost in translation, we were accompanied by our Translator, Cheiko-san. The Olympian when weaving through train stations and subways (leaving us all in the dust), the food critic when visiting grocery stores, gas stations, or restaurants, and the friend when sharing jokes or stories on the bus or hiking to any of our destinations. Cheiko made life easier by knowing just what to say to the people of Japan.
With Cheiko-san's aid, here's what our ten day journey looked like:
ARRIVAL INTO JAPAN
SHITAKI MUSHROOM FARM
QUEEN-ISITAN GROCERY STORE
NAUGI HIGH SCHOOL
OUT ON THE TOWN
STRAWBERRTY FARM
(Side note: Literally ate my body weight in expensive strawberries.)
TRIP UP TO NIKKO
DINNER AT THE RYOKON
GONE CATTLE RANCHING
EXPLORING THE INDUSTRIES
OF JAPANESE AGRICULTURE
(Vinegar farm, Equipment operation, Produce Stores, Glass Blowing)
KAGOSHIMA
DAIKON (RADISH) FARM
MAKING SOBA NOODLES AND
TOURING THE SAKI FACTORY
HIKING TO THE SHRINE
Every single step of the way, Cheiko-san was by our side. That was, until, the home stays.
We arrived at the school where Erica and I sat in front of our name tags and two woman, one shorter and about 18 years old and the other taller, stout, with shiny black hair. When we picked up our luggage from the front of the school, loaded it in the back of the box shaped car, and shut the door behind us, I knew that we didn't have Cheiko anymore. We were completely solo going to an unfamiliar house in an unfamiliar city with unfamiliar people trying to decipher an unfamiliar language. What kept me calm was the multitudes of keychains hanging from the car ceiling, all very KAWAII (cute) and cartoonish. I thought to myself: "Okay so this is a good sign, they must have a sense of humor or maybe some fun outlook to their life. They must be good people."
We arrived into a housing structure about twenty minutes from the school, similar to what a town house complex would look like, and walked toward the left of the stretch of buildings. The last house on that side, very SOCAL beach vibe, was where our sister, Akari-chan, and mom, Momma-chan, took their shoes off and entered the home. We followed, entering the home that greeted us with hundreds more keychains and cute Knick knacks hanging off a dresser.
We brought our luggage up the stairs and into Akari-chan's room and proceeded to change out of our street clothes. That was until I realized we had no clothes to change into. Arriving to the house, we only had one suite case. All I had was my uniform and street clothes from that day. Erica and I raced downstairs to speak with Akari-chan. We tried using easy words in English and hand motions to explain that we had left our big luggage at the school, but it was no use. It was like a mime trying to interpret the Da vinci code to someone. Erica ran back up stairs and grabbed her google translate, still our words were lost in translation.
Going back up stairs, we just used what we had. Erica had her PJs (smart) and I had my uniform skirt and her quarter zip (ridiculous).
We made due. At that moment, clothes weren't important. Erica and I were eager to sit and chat with our sisters. We went back downstairs and sat in on some anime with Nana-chan, Akari-chan's 15 year-old sister. After a while, Erica and I started to ask the girls questions about what they liked to do, how school was, and share the neat experiences we've had in Japan so far.
Through the aid of translator apps and a bunch of patience, we managed to share with them about our homes, show them pictures of our animals, and just laugh. Later, we received our luggage back and made a quick change before joining our family downstairs again.
After sharing a meal and meeting Sil-san, the father, we all shared time together through Origami. We didn't speak much to one another. We would laugh, share ideas with looks or gestures, and aid one another in folds. No words needed to be expressed to know that we were sharing a special moment as a new family.
Our families love for us continued to form in the absences of conversation. During the bus ride to our journeys that day, Akari-chan and I sat next to one another. At first, our conversation was minimal and I felt the pressure of needing to speak with her over the roars of laughter coming from the back of the bus. I thought: "She could be sitting by those folks and having a bunch of fun, but she is sitting next to me. How can I get to know her more?" That's when I saw her phone screen, a picture of two young Japanese students with weirdly interesting filters on them. I laughed to myself and asked her who they were. She explained that it was her and her boyfriend. This opened the door to so many questions about pictures, photography, modeling, and her future aspirations. Akari was a pretty girl with a dream of potential being on magazines, but she wanted to do more than model.
Akari shared with me that her goal in life was to become a vet and aid sick animals. I shared with her mine as well, my dreams of becoming a teacher back home. Mind you, all this conversation took place from one translator app to another.
We talked for a while, took silly photos on Snapchat , and hung out the whole day together. We discovered somethings like "tacos" and how "tacos" in japan was strips of squid-which is obviously not the taco I was talking about. We sang Disney songs hiking to the shrine, took pictures along the way, and the group of Japanese students and I played multiple games of soccer with chunks of ice down the slope of a mountain.
Later that night, our journeys would continue with our host family.
Intense games of Bowling, very interesting games while Arcading, and eating Korean BBQ, our family treated us to a night of fun, laughter, and memories so very small but will never be forgotten. Entering back into our home and going to sleep that night, I felt like I was apart of their family.
Our conversations were as minimal as a script for an extra on a sitcom, but the intentionality of our family is what mattered. They showed they cared through action and the way they made us feel while around them. Where words failed, their intention spoke millions.
Intention makes the unfamiliar transform into care and love. Being intentional helps others to see how much you are invested in them, and that intention helps those we impact feel like they are "apart of the family". Words are powerful, but words aren't always the way to let others know our intentions. The actions we carry out for others can equally show how much we care.
After ten beautiful days in Japan, we arrived back home. Now back in the US of A, our team has made intentionality a goal of ours. Not only that, my intention has been heightened as well. I am not perfect, and there are still places where my intention can grow. Because what's cool about, when visiting chapters, students, teachers, or agribusiness leaders in our country, that is where words fail, intention speaks.