The people of Izena were always very warm to us. Because of them, I think that our experiences there were really valuable. The Shoen Drum Troupe especially moved me. I could feel their tremendous love of and pride for the island, and it almost moved me to tears. I decided that I want to live like that, pursuing my own dreams.

It was the first time a foreigner stayed at our house, so I was worried that Kosoo might find it uncomfortable. But we were like real sisters, and since I don't have any brothers or sisters, it was a very precious experience for me. I realized that language barriers aren't a big deal if you really understand each other.

We fell asleep as soon as we got home because we were so tired, and since we had school the next day (laughing). During recess, classmates introduced themselves in Korean. Though it was only a period of two days, I was really happy she got along with everyone.

What left the strongest impression on me was what happened after we finished our interviews, returned to the community center, chose our project topic, and were deciding who else to interview. As the group leader, I shouldered the responsibility of following up on people's comments and making sure everyone understood what was going on, so I experienced firsthand the difficulty of cooperation in creating something, and the joy that comes when it is successfully completed. This was something I felt especially with the webpage. Up until then, I used to think that working in groups was a drag, and preferred small numbers of people. But through this opportunity, I learned to be open to other people's views and to look at things from various perspectives. I was really glad that I was able to be a reliable (I think) group leader!

Firstly, as a group leader, it was difficult for me to figure out how to encourage a certain member of our group with what were really solid ideas to speak up in front of everyone else because she was embarrassed. Of course, since it had only been two days since we first met, the fact that we still felt some distance between us had something to do with it. The participant soon began to actively take part in the discussion perhaps because she realized that her views would be accepted, and that made me feel good. I think that being accepted by peers from different countries and cultures can give you a lot of confidence.
      When we were trying to decide on a project topic, there were five or six ideas, all of which were great. I recall that we had a lot of trouble narrowing them down to one. We decided by first having each person vote for two ideas, then by voting on the final two. I thought that this difficulty of choosing a topic meant that the participants had a great deal of interest in Okinawan culture and were enjoying themselves. That made me very happy as well, however hard it may have been.

When someone was expressing their views, those who were active speakers as well as those who weren't as active listened carefully, giving each other advice on how to make improvements. That left a strong impression on me.
      When we started getting tired from our busy schedule, we cheered each other on with meaningless phrases like "CHA☆" and "chichikichii," which may seem silly, but I could really feel that we were getting closer and closer to each other.
      Our final discussion where we talked about the sequence of our presentation that would be most effective in communicating our message to the junior high school students—in spite of our exhaustion—was lots of fun. Everyone was really passionate! (laughing)

Until I participated in this program, I shied away from group activities because they seemed like such a hassle and a waste of time. But having experienced the joy of completing a project through cooperation with others and the sense of fulfillment we felt, I'm completely addicted! I realized how fun it is to be connected to other people. Also, having been given the opportunity to be a group leader, I've gained confidence that I—one who has always been on the receiving end of support—can lead others. I've also become able to voice my own questions and opinions, no matter how trivial, without dismissing them for fear of being considered weird. It's a lot of fun, now, to express my own views.

It might be true that understanding is possible despite language barriers, but I often became impatient about the fact that I couldn't clearly communicate what I wanted to say. I was irritated and regretful of that. This is just my personal opinion, but I feel that language is very important, and there are some things that can only be communicated through a certain language (for example, itterasshai in Japanese), so I've decided to study language further. Also, during our Internet chats after the program was over, I was blown away by the expression LOL (laughing out loud)! which would be the equivalent of（爆）in Japanese, and want to learn more of those expressions. I'm going to master English before we all meet again, five year from now (laughing).

As we grew closer, we all gathered in one another's rooms to party or just hang out, and before we knew it, we had become great friends. Ever since we said goodbye, I've felt like there's something missing inside me, and I think about the times we shared many times a day. It makes me realize how great an emotional support the participants became for me. At the same time, I am reminded that we have to keep in touch in order to meet up again in five years. I say this because from my own experience, I know that relationships between people are fragile, and are difficult to reconstruct once a connection is broken. On top of that, the fourteen of us all live far away from each other. I hope to keep in touch with these people, who have given me the most thought-provoking and truly enjoyable memories of my life.