2018/06/21
当時高1の息子と留学生が、交流を通じてお互いに国際的理解が深まればと思い、ホストファミリーをしました。
我が家に来たジャスティンは2m超の長身の青年で、高知の日曜市で小さな盆栽を手に取った時、それがさらに小さく見えたほどです。
彼とは夜中まで色々な話をしたり、佐藤さんの工房での団扇作り、尾上さん主催のバーベキューや花火に参加したりしました。
彼は翌年夏に我が家に再来し、さらに楽しくかけがえのない思い出を残してくれました。今度は医学生になった息子が渡米し彼と再会できればと思います。
最後に去年、50歳代の若さで他界したホストファミリーの一人、多田羅尚登さんのご冥福をお祈り致します。
合掌。
I volunteered my family to be a host family with the hope that my son Ryuichi, a first-grader in high school at that time, and an American exchange student would be able to acquire deeper international understanding through mutual communication.
Justin, the student that we hosted, was a young man more than 2 meters tall (6′ 6″). When he picked up a tiny bonsai tree (a miniaturized potted plant) at the Sunday Market in Kochi-city, the bonsai tree looked even more miniature. We chatted about various things past midnight on some nights, made uchiwa (a traditional Japanese fan) at Mr. Sato’s art factory, and enjoyed BBQ and fireworks hosted by Mr. and Mrs. Onoue. Justin visited our home again in the following summer of 2010, and gave us more wonderful and valued memories. Ryuichi is a medical student now, and he is looking forward to visiting the U.S. and meeting Justin in the near future.
Sadly, I must take a moment to pray for the father of one of our fellow host families, Dr. Naoto Tatara. He passed away last year much too young in his 50’s. May his soul rest in peace.
