Fall Inside this issue Postcards from Hanamaki p. 3. Strong in the Rain p. 13. Seeds of Peace p. 14. Relationship continued p.

Transcription

1 Fall 2010 Insid this issu Postcards from Hanamaki p. 3 Strong in th Rain p. 13 Sds of Pac p. 14 Rlationship continud p. 17

2 ABOUT THE COVER Domo arigato gozaimasu Th 2010 dlgation trips to Hanamaki wr mad possibl and succssful thanks to th assistanc and gnrosity of th following voluntrs who gav of thir tim and rsourcs. Ichiro Fudai Ryuji Sato Tomoaki Mohri Hanamaki City Hall Staff Hanamaki Intrnational Exchang Association Citizns of Hanamaki Mlani Masino Dorothy Morris Th Zunick/Olivr Group at Morgan Stanly, Smith and Barny Davis and Sulln Tillman Circl of Frinds Hot Springs Villag Rotary Club Sunris Rotary Club Robrt Zunick Ann Hair Jant Chk Dln Davidson Hot Springs Convntion and Visitors Burau At a colorful, usrfrindly Wb sit in English hostd by th Japan Foundation, visitors can tak fr lssons in bginning Japans, play gams and tak quizzs. This is a grat rsourc for host familis or anyon wanting to try thir hand at basic Japans convrsation. Chck it out at 2 Carla Mouton HSSCF Prsidnt Sistr City Foundation nws Th Hot Springs National Park Sistr City Foundation is working hard to mak a vry xciting yar for our program. To th nd of incrasing community awarnss about our rlationship with Hanamaki, Japan, w hav addd thr nw mmbrs to th Sistr City Foundation Board of Dirctors; ach of thm bringing a much ndd dimnsion to th board. W wlcom Kay Brockwll (Dirctor of Businss and Rcruitmnt Hot Springs Chambr of Commrc), Mlani Masino (Prsidnt of th Jan Howard Foundation and Frlanc Documntary Filmmakr), and Robrt Zunick (Financial Advisor Portfolio Managr Morgan Stanly Smith Barny). W ncourag ach of you to join th foundation and donat your tim and rsourcs to promoting pac and undrstanding through cultural xchang. From 7 January through 12 January 2011, w will b hosting a dlgation of studnts from Hanamaki. W want and nd voluntrs for that visit dmonstrating th hospitality most notabl hr in Hot Springs. Plas contact Mary Nilson if you hav any qustions about what you can do to hlp. Thr is a plac for vryon at this tim and in all of our projcts. In 2010 w snt two tachrs, tn studnts with thir chapron, and four citizns along with our coordinator, Mary Nilson. All rturnd with an incrasd awarnss of th importanc of cultural xchang in th ffort to mak this a mor pacful world. Plas b awar that w ar a non-profit organization and your donations can b spcifid to go dirctly to scholarships that mad it possibl for svral of th studnts to travl to Hanamaki this fall. t

3 r u t c f r P t a w I, i m u z i Hira Postcards from Hanamaki 2010 Studnt Dlgation Wondr and Wisdom Janis Brmr, 2010 Studnt Dlgation Chapron Stpping off a plan on th othr sid of th world was just th bginning of a lif-changing xprinc for tn Garland County snior high studnts. Thanks to th gnrosity of many and th fforts of th Hot Springs Sistr City Foundation, ight girls and two boys rprsntd our community Sptmbr 4-12 in Hanamaki, Japan. Th wondr of a diffrnt languag, driving on th wrong sid of th road, visiting a Zn Tmpl, and mting hundrds of Japans studnts was almost ovrwhlming at first for our kids. But vry quickly th hospitality and considration of th Japans popl rplacd any nrvousnss with absolut xcitmnt about all th nw xprincs. Our studnts visitd svn junior high and high schools whr thy lovd participating in th ancint martial art of Kndo, origami, judo, and calligraphy taught to thm by th Japans studnts. On of th most wondr-filld momnts cam at th full-school assmbly whr our studnts ntrd as clbritis to music from th band and took th cntr stag as stars for th day. Th formal Japans ta crmony gav th studnts anothr insight into th cultur of Japan as studnts followd th ancint ritual. 3

4 4 Howvr, dspit all th wondr, th ral lif-larning cam through our studnts intraction with th studnts and adults of Hanamaki. Exprincing lif with thir host familis was phnomnal - from ating Japans food, using squatty pottis, watching Japans tlvision, and communicating in anothr languag, our studnts larnd much about th Japans way of thoughtfulnss, giving, and kindnss. Thy talkd non-stop about how nic th Japans wr and saw, vn in th schools, th Japans opnnss to making nw frinds and showing gnrosity to thir gusts. Th wisdom thy gaind from thir xprincs will chang thir way of looking at th world for th rst of thir livs. Each of our studnts xprssd a strong dsir to shar what thy xprincd with thir frinds and familis at hom and to rturn to th land of Japan to larn mor from a popl who hav much to tach. t My Japans Exprinc Taylor Wrst, studnt Th lif-changing influnc this xcursion abroad had on m covrd vry aspct of th Japans xprinc, including travl, prsonal intraction and cultur. No on in my family had travld ovrsas until I was givn th privilg through th Hot Springs Sistr City Foundation. d a r a p n o s t n d Stu I hav accumulatd a working knowldg and undrstanding of th Japans family that can only b gaind through xprincing host family hom stays. That givs m th xciting opportunity to ducat othrs about Japans socity from th prspctiv of participating in my host family s hom activitis, and witnssing thir daily routins. t

5 Whitny Houston, Frid Chickn, and Birthday Candls: 5 How my trip to Japan will stay with m forvr Jill Tylr, studnt From th start, I knw that th languag barrir was going to b a challng. My host fathr didn t spak any English, my host sistrs wr just larning som English at school, and my host mothr knw a slct fw words and phrass. But, on ara whr w could all connct was music. Navigat ing Gib i Gorg On morning, whil my host mothr was driving m to th Intrnational Cntr, I was looking through hr Amrican music. And thn, I saw it: Whitny Houston s Gratst Hits. Whn I pointd this out to hr, sh said You know Whitny Houston and Bobby Brown? Aftr I told hr ys, sh put th CD in, and w sang I Will Always Lov You togthr whil driving through th strts of Hanamaki. Aftr this occurrd, Whitny Houston s Gratst Hits ALWAYS playd on our car rids togthr. Th othr touching Whitny Houston momnt was aftr my host mothr and sistrs had pickd m up for th day and w wr on our way hom. Th sun was stting, th windows wr rolld down to lt th brz in, and all was wll. Th nxt song that cam on was Jsus Lovs M. Bing a Christian, it had bn diffrnt for m not to s a stpl on th horizon whn w drov anywhr, and I had bn fling a littl down about it. I knw that my host family was Buddhist, but to my astonishmnt, thy wr all humming along to th song. I askd, Do you know what this mans? in my bst brokn English/charads languag that I had bn using all wk. Thy askd m to xplain. I noddd my had and said, Ys. Thn, I mad a cross with my fingrs and said, Jsus. Thn, I crossd my arms ovr my chst and sang,...lovs M. I saw th rcognition of my words on thir facs. At first, it was quit, but thn whn th chorus cam in, I hard, Ys, Jsus Lovs M This was truly on of th most spiritually gratifying momnts in my lif. To think that I had mad an imprssion of my faith upon my host family, vn with a simpl song, filld m with joy. t

6 A Magical Wk 6 Julia Ross, studnt Gtting off of th plan at Narita was in a way, lik stpping into a nw world. I had prpard for th trip to Japan as much as I could hav. I had studid th languag, mastrd using chopsticks, familiarizd myslf with th food, and larnd mor about Japans rock music than most Amricans would vr car to know. s p m a h c g n i t a l Nood Dspit all that knowldg, it was still strang to s all th signs writtn in Japans, Ito En grn ta in th vnding machins, and to b counting out yn instad of dollars. I ralizd as I lookd around and took in th nw atmosphr, that no mattr how much I studid, how much sushi I at, and how many Japans Twittr and blog posts I rad, nothing could hav vr prpard m to xprinc how dlightfully diffrnt Japan was. As I look back on that wk in Hanamaki, I raliz that thr s only on word I can us to dscrib my xprinc, magical. I found that word in vrything from th landscap, to th fstival, to my intractions with high school and junior high school kids. Hanamaki has a kind of magic to it that is probably impossibl to find or rcrat anywhr ls. t

7 I ll Nvr Forgt Hanamaki 7 Paig Morphw, studnt From a young ag, Amricans ar pushd into th concpt that Amrica is th gratst cultur, but in Japan th studnts ar vry wll roundd; thy can s that Japan isn t th only country in th world. Thy hav prid in thir country, but thy also apprciat othr s diffrncs. Mor Amricans should xprinc th fling you gt whn you visit Japan; with th hospitality of vryon, along with th pacful atmosphr, thr is nothing that I don t think about or wish to s mor of. I ll always want to go back and vn mor so, I plan on sharing that kind of mind st with my family and frinds. t mi Practicing Origa Ta crmo ny kshi o K g n i Paint dolls

8 8 d a r a P n o Adults Postcards from Hanamaki 2010 Citizn Dlgation A dlgation mad up 5 Hot Springs rsidnts took part in th annual Sistr City Dlgation trip to Hanamaki on Sptmbr A city mploy, a rtird tachr, a rtail managr, and a gntlman with a long history with Japan mad up th 2010 dlgation. Thy ach shar thir imprssions of this spcial journy to our sistr city in th following articl. Enjoy Always an honor Mary Nilson, Sistr City Program Coordinator It is an always on honor to rprsnt th City of Hanamaki during Sistr City xchangs whthr in Hot Springs or Hanamaki. This yar I was honord to prsnt som vry spcial gifts to th Mayor and citizns of Hanamaki. At th lavish wlcom rcption sponsord by th Intrnational Exchang Association to wlcom th dlgation to Hanamaki, I prsntd th Mayor, who is also th Chairman of th Intrnational Exchang Association, with two gifts. Th first gift was a bautiful, framd pastl cratd and donatd by Ann Hair. Th scond gift was a translation of th Kagura Guidbook prsntd to th Mayor and th City of Hanamaki. In 2009 UNESCO addd th Hyachin Kagura danc, which originatd in th Ohasama ara of Hanamaki, to th Intangibl Cultural Hritag List.

9 9 Th popl of Hanamaki tak grat prid in th rcognition for this danc that dats back ovr 400 yars. A guidbook in Japans is availabl to hlp visitors bttr undrstand th complicatd dancs of th Kagura Hyachin. An anonymous voluntr translatd this 27 pag guidbook into English. This printd vrsion along with th disk so it can b ditd was prsntd to th Mayor of Hanamaki. on i t a t n s r P Guidbook Our gift will facilitat translation into othr languags, allowing othrs to gain knowldg and apprciation of an important part of Japan s history and cultur. Th Mayor as wll as th citizns of Hanamaki wr so apprciativ of this spcial gift. Mlani Masino was so kind to donat a photo montag of Jo Corria s photos. This digital montag was prsntd to Mr. Miyazawa, who is th prsidnt of th Hanamaki Chambr of Commrc. H will plac th digital fram in his offic whr othr citizns and businss ownrs can viw and njoy th amazing photos. t I ll not soon forgt Mrlin L, citizn W had a wondrful tim in Japan. Th popl wr gnrous, th country was bautiful, th food was scrumptious and th wathr was grat. Th bst parts of th trip for m wr whn I was involvd in som activity, such as waving on a big loom, making dcorativ papr or printing on a Japans lantrn. Making papr

10 10 And I ll not soon forgt bing in th parad and trying to larn th lantrn xrcis. Bing a vry snior citizn, I had a lot of xtra attntion. A young lady and a young man smd attachd to m, making crtain I had a chair and a fork whn othrs had to at sitting on th floor and us chopsticks. I noticd thy watchd m closly whn I was on stps. I d go again in a hartbat. t Mditation in th tmpl Robrt Nilson, citizn Thr wr so many incrdibl xprincs in Japan; it is hard to summariz it in just a fw words. Th hospitality of th popl and th ability to xprinc th cultur and history was wondrful. On aftrnoon that rally stands out is th visit to th Buddhist tmpl whr a Buddhist monk assistd us in trying zazn mditation. Whil I wasn t vry succssful at my first try at mditation, it was grat xprinc. Normally th crmony lasts 40 minuts, howvr, th monk said h would stop it aftr 20 minuts. H ndd up nding it at only 15 minuts. I think h could s w wr all struggling to push all thoughts from our minds. Th visit to th tmpl allowd us to s and xprinc this compltly diffrnt cultur. Th history associatd with th typ of mditation as wll as th history of tmpl was vry moving. Mditativ M onk Aftr th mditation xrcis w wr abl to look around th tmpl and thn walk through th cmtry. Tmpl cmtry

11 11 Th tmpl was xprincing som rmodling and it was vidnt that admirabl car, matrials, and quality craftsmanship will nsur th tmpl will b thr for hundrds mor yars. t Tmpl rnovation I couldn t stop smiling Christin Black, citizn What a grat opportunity th Sistr City Program affords th popl of Hot Springs! Th visit to Japan was wondrful, so full of surpriss and grat xprincs. I lovd mting th popl in Hanamaki, spcially thos who wr in ducation sinc I am a rtird tachr and administrator. Th school visits wr dlightful, as wr th xcursions to th musums, shrins, and th rivr cruis. I was most xcitd by th scnry, which was so much lik Arkansas. My photos of th flowrs, th mountains, th woods could hav bn takn right hr in our stat. I was amazd by th bauty. Th fstival parads wr also a visual trat, and I was most imprssd that at th nd of th vning aftr hours with hundrds of popl watching, ating, and drinking; th strts wr as clan as if thy had bn swpt. No on littrd. Th othr high point of th trip was a chanc to visit a formr studnt from Lak Hamilton Schools and his family who liv in Tokyo. Thy took us out to suppr at a nighborhood rstaurant, walkd us on a short tour, and thn took us to th Tokyo Towr. Tom Robrts has a grat carr in pharmacuticals and it is nic that many of our studnts hav a chanc to s that thir opportunitis ar worldwid. I m so vry glad that th Sistr City Program includs our studnts and allows thm to xpand thir horizons. Bullt train I ncourag vryon to b a part of th sistr city program and visit Japan. Hanamaki is a wondrful plac, much lik Hot Springs and yt vry diffrnt. t

12 12 Rcognizing similaritis Joy Black, citizn Th whol xprinc of travling to Japan as part of th Sistr City Dlgation was fabulous. I larnd a lot about th cultur. I lovd xprincing thir outdoor bathhous. It was similar to ours but also vry diffrnt. I rally njoyd th tim th voluntrs took to tach us thir nativ and rgional crafts lik papr making and waving. Th countrysid was bautiful and vn though litrally a world away, similar in many rspcts to Arkansas. I would go again in a hartbat and I ncourag othrs to tak advantag of th uniqu travl xprinc. t g n a h c Gift x

13 th PrSon i Striv to Bcom Th words of Knji Miyazawa wr in our ars as th 2010 citizn dlgation xprincd th hospitality, cultur, and bauty of our sistr city. As you s in th photos, th trip was an amazing xprinc for ach of us. Although th mmbrs of th dlgation rprsnt diffrnt backgrounds, w wr ach touchd by th words of Hanamaki s favorit son, th famous pot, writr, agriculturist and astronomr, Knji Miyazawa. Whil on a tour of th musum ddicatd to his lif s work, our guid rcitd a pom to us that was writtn by Knji Miyazawa, Strong in th Rain. Our guid, lik most othr Japans school childrn had committd th pom to mmory at a vry young ag. That vning at dinnr, a gntlman who was sharing Japans potry and songs rcitd th sam pom. I think w ach flt how much th pom rprsnts th spirit of apprciation of simpl plasurs, gnrosity, and gnuin concrn for othrs that th Japans cultur rprsnts. t 13 Strong in th rain By Knji Miyazawa B not dfatd by th rain, Nor lt th wind prov you r bttr. Succumb not to th snows of wintr. Nor b bstd by th hat of summr. B strong in body. Unfttrd by dsir. Not nticd to angr. Cultivat a quit joy. Count yourslf last in vrything. Put othrs bfor you. Watch wll and listn closly. Hold th larnd lssons dar. A thatch-roof hous, in a madow, nstld in a pin grov s shad. A handful of ric, som miso, and a fw vgtabls to suffic for th day. If, to th East, a child lis sick: Go forth and nurs him to halth. If, to th Wst, an old lady stands xhaustd: Go forth, and rliv hr of burdn. If, to th South, a man lis dying: Go forth with words of courag to displ his far. If, to th North, an argumnt or fight nsus: Go forth and bg thm stop such a wast of ffort and of spirit. In tims of drought, shd tars of sympathy. In summrs cold, walk in concrn and mpathy. Stand aloof of th unknowing masss: Bttr dismissd as uslss than flattrd as a Grat Man. This is my goal, th prson I striv to bcom.

14 Sowing Sds of Pac 14 Octobr 2 was a bautiful day to clbrat pac at th Hot Springs Crk Grnway in downtown Hot Springs. Th Sistr City Program hostd a booth at R.E.G.A.R.D. s annual Sds of Pac, a Community Pac Fstival. Th Sistr City booth offrd fstival visitors th opportunity to fold origami crans. Th booth drw all ags that njoyd larning about this traditional Japans art form of papr folding. Visitors had th opportunity to find out about th history of th papr cran. S th following two pags to find out mor about th Pac Cran and instructions for how you can fold your own. t

15 Tsuru: Th Japans Cran 15 Throughout history, birds hav bn viwd as animals of spcial valu and hav bn ndowd with manings oftn drawn from lgnds and storis that hav ndurd ovr many gnrations. For th Japans, th cran - or tsuru - is considrd a national trasur, apparing in art, litratur, and folklor. Th Japans rgard th cran as a symbol of good fortun and longvity bcaus of its fabld lif span of a thousand yars. It also rprsnts fidlity, as Japans crans ar known to mat for lif. Ovr tim, th cran has also volvd as a favorit subjct of th Japans tradition of papr folding origami as childrn and adults attmpt to mastr this art. Shortly aftr th nd of World War II, th foldd origami crans cam to symboliz a hop for pac through Sadako Sasaki and hr unforgttabl story of prsvranc. Diagnosd with lukmia aftr bing xposd to radiation aftr th bombing of Hiroshima, Sadako bcam dtrmind to rach a goal of folding 1,000 crans in hops of bing rwardd with halth, happinss, and a world of trnal pac. Although sh did bfor raching hr goal, th tradition of snding origami crans to th Hiroshima mmorial has ndurd as a symbol of th Japan s ongoing wish for nuclar disarmamnt and world pac. This tradition of folding 1,000 crans rprsnts a form of haling and hop during challnging tims. Aftr th vnts of Sptmbr 11, 2001 th Japans Amrican National Musum coordinatd fforts with local studnts and visitors to th musum who foldd thousands of crans, and in a gstur of support and hop for pac snt thm to fir and polic stations, musums, and cultural institutions throughout Nw York City. Today, Hot Springs Sistr City Program brings you ths origami papr crans to symboliz hop for a mor pacful world. Th purpos of th Sistr City Program is to promot pac through mutual rspct, undrstanding, and coopration on individual, on community at a tim. For mor information about th Sistr City Program, plas contact Sistr City Program Coordinator Mary Nilson (s blow). HOT SPRINGS SISTER CITY PROGRAM hotspringsssistrcity@yahoo.com

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17 A Sistr City rlationship...continud 17 Mio Kimura first cam to Hot Springs in 2006 as a junior high studnt as part of th annual ducational xchang from Hanamaki. Sinc hr trip to Hot Springs, hr family has hostd numrous visitors to Hanamaki, including Janis Brmr, who visitd Hanamaki as a Sistr City Foundation tachr scholarship rcipint, and Dln Davidson, who visitd Hanamaki as part of th 2009 musical xchang. Ths tis ld Mio to visit hr many frinds in Hot Springs again. Bfor Mio hadd off to collg this fall, th Kimura family mad plans for thir daughtr to visit Hot Springs. Mio s flight was bookd, and sh rturnd hom with th fall dlgation. Janic Brmr, Mio Kimura and Mark Brmr Whil Mio was in Hot Springs, sh was hostd by many of hr frinds and had th chanc to mak many nw frinds. Mio plans to b an lmntary tachr, so sh wantd to visit lmntary schools, collgs, and univrsitis during hr stay in Arkansas. Sh njoyd a tour of National Park Community Collg and th Gangstr Musum, and was vn abl to obsrv som of Karla Nardi s food prp class. Mio was abl to spnd a fw days with Krystl Payn, who had stayd with th Kimura family whn th Fountain Lak studnts travld to Hanamaki to film th award-winning documntary, A Prfct Match. Krystl is now a studnt at UCA, whr Mio joind hr for a fw days to xprinc univrsity lif. Mio also spnt a day with H-Kyung Juhn at Hndrson Univrsity. Othr highlights wr visits to Jssivill School, Langston Magnt School, and Laksid Elmntary School. Mio also njoyd many othr xprincs whil in Hot Springs. Cathy Ruddr, who had joind hr for th day at NPCC, also tratd Mio to a day of kayaking on Lak Ouachita. Carla Mouton and Ann Hair introducd Mio to Hifr Intrnational, whr sh was abl to fd a caml. On highlight was an lgant vning at th opra, whr Mio and hr hosts Marc and Janis Brmr wr tratd by Dln Davidson at th Muss Crativ Artistry Projct s Annual Opra Gala, a formal vnt hld at th Pabody Hotl in Littl Rock. For th first tim, Mio was abl to war a formal drss and fals fingrnails, and lookd bautiful in hr fancy updo. Mio rturnd hom on Sptmbr 26 and has now bgun hr univrsity carr in Morioka, Japan, taking a bit of Hot Springs with hr in mmoris and frindships. Mio said of hr xprinc in Hot Springs, Evry momnt was prfct, and is so gratful to all hr frinds hr.t

18 Visit Sistr City Program Coordinator Mary Nilson s blog at Sistr City Program on 18 Call for voluntrs Th annual studnt dlgation from Hanamaki will arriv in Hot Springs on January 7, and stay until January 12. Whil in Hot Springs, th studnts and chaprons will hav th opportunity to stay with host familis and xprinc Hot Springs ara attractions, find out firsthand about Amrican cultur and gt to know nw frinds in thir sistr city. Mor photos of th rcnt Hanamaki trip can b sn by clicking on th following links: Hot Springs Sistr City Program pag Hanamaki Int l Exchang Association Whn you visit ths pags, plas indicat that you lik thm. Th studnts will b attnding ara schools on Monday and Tusday and b abl to larn about Amrican schools. This yar, th numbr of studnts will b fwr than in rcnt yars. This yar s dlgation will b mad up of two studnts and two tachrs from Hanamaki Higashi High School, sistr school to Laksid. Thr will b 8 studnts and on tachr from Hanamaki schools and on city chapron, Kana Tada, who accompanid last yar s dlgation. Thr will b many voluntr opportunitis for planning, hosting, stup and clanup. W will nd to hav svral translators availabl to assist studnts with thir host familis, and to provid ach school with a translator for at last th first day of school. As in yars past, a wlcom rcption will tak plac on th vning th dlgation arrivs in Hot Springs. W hav not yt rsrvd a location and would wlcom suggstions of a location that would b willing to host such an vnt. Thr ll b approximatly 70 attnds, including visitors, host familis, and voluntrs. Plas contact Sistr City Program Coordinator Mary Nilson at with any suggstions or for voluntr opportunitis. Hot Springs Sistr City Program P. O. Box 700 Hot Springs, AR Phon Fax Ddicatd to fostring global awarnss and apprciation through cultural xchangs and shard xprincs A publication of th Hot Springs Sistr City Program Hot Springs, Arkansas, USA Volum 8, Issu 3 Fall 2010 Editor Mary Nilson Sistr City Program Coordinator hotspringssistrcity@yahoo.com Sistr City Journal contributors Public Information Dpartmnt Jff Filds and Trry Payn Sistr City Journal onlin E-subscrib to th journal now at