I arrived in Japan on March 21st, 2004. The next morning I left with my host family and spent two days with them. We arrived back at the Shinagawa Train Station and I got to meet some of our JCs. They were all really friendly. Go, with his goofy energy. Shunya and his quiet innocence. Chihiro with her great smile; and Aika with her cool style, but we didn't meet them until we were up at camp. Ayako, our camp director was there as well, but she was leaving that day for our camp. That day was our free day in Tokyo and Tamar, Ashley, Shunya and I had a blast.
      The next morning we were down in the lobby at the lovely hour of six a.m. We loaded our stuff on to the bus, and Ayami and Sonoko arrived. I had woken up with no voice and I was a bit embarrassed talking to them. They presented me with a gift of food, and little Maho wrote me a letter. We boarded the bus and took off. We had received our folders with everything we needed for camp. The bus ride was long and it gave us some time to prepare. Guy put me in charge of the movie for My Town. I brainstormed a bit and decided to do "The Matrix."
      I was jumping out of my seat when we arrived at the camp facility. I had spent time there last year and I really enjoyed the set up. We had about a half an hour to get ready before the campers arrived. Guy didn't know where our rooms were and I, being the expert that I thought I was, led everyone to the rooms we stayed in last year, but they happened to be the wrong rooms. The buses were going to arrive in a few minutes so we had to run our stuff back down to where our rooms really were. I felt terrible and tried to apologize to everyone. A bus had arrived and it was time to become a councilor.
      For the first few minutes we were bringing everyone's luggage to the rooms. After everyone arrived we found our one-minute drill groups and went to lunch. My one-minute drill group was composed of three really shy girls and three even shyer boys. Miku, Ayano, Yuka, Akihiro, Genki, and Takuya were hard to open up. After lunch we made name tags and named our group. Soon, we began working on the memorization of the sentences for one-minute drill. We took a little break in between to play a game of sharks and whales, which everyone seemed to enjoy. My group was making excellent progress and soon it was time for My Town.
      My Town was very successful and the new edition of the beauty parlor was quite a hit. Boys were having their fingernails painted and their hair was being put into pony tails. Go's hair was absolutely fabulous and Becky practically used a whole bottle of gel on Spenser's hair by slicking it back. I was in charge of the restaurant. After everyone got a chance to visit all the stations Spenser, Cory, Ashley, Tamar, and I got ready for our big production of "The Matrix." The campers laughed at our antics and everyone enjoyed the fight scene. We had dinner and like before my shy group left me early and I joined Tamar's group and got to know them a bit. I was going to be working with them next for My Story. What a bunch of talented kids. Aya can beat box like no one's business. Ikumi joins here and a couple of other girls for an amazing musical quartet. Junya plays piano, and Ryo is an amazing athlete. Then there is Kenya. Now this is a kid who wants to be at camp. He is talking to everyone and making all kinds of new friends. Kenya is originally from Korea. He moved to Japan when he was two years old. He can speak Korean, Japanese, Chinese, and his English is awesome as well. Kenya does martial arts and he has an amazing singing voice. I have never met anyone with a bigger heart than him. He was a joy to work with. After dinner we started to work on My Story. The campers filled out a worksheet to give them ideas about what they wanted to write about. It really gave me a chance to get to know them better. Their stories really started to develop some character, when it was time to start the dance party.
      We did the Macarena, the Hokey Pokey, the Locomotion, YMCA, and a few other group dances. Everyone was having a blast. I still had no voice, but it didn't matter anymore. I don't remember seeing anyone without a smile on his or her face. The dance party had been a success. After the dance party we had our bath time. The warm water was soothing to everyone. After our bath we had a bit of free time until we had our nightly meeting at 10:30. My bed was greatly appreciated when I finally fell into it at 11:30. It had been a long day and I was going to sleep well.
      The next morning I awoke to the sounds of campers tiptoeing around the room, making trips back and forth from the room to the bathroom. I got dressed and ready and we cleaned up our room a bit. At 8:00 everyone went to a wonderful breakfast. My meal was yet again uneventful and I joined up with group "H" again. They were sitting by group "I" and I got a chance to meet my skit group. Takahiro was going on his second serving of natto, the slimy, spider web-like fermented beans that only a select few enjoyed eating. Takahiro was one of the select few. Tomohiro is the craziest kid I have ever met. He has more energy than five people and he is an awesome basketball player. Kanami has the greatest smile I have seen on anyone, and she makes sure everyone sees it because she is always smiling. Rinako has a wonderful imagination and came up with the idea for our award winning skit. Tohka is the greatest hero. She is a little quiet, but puts up quite a fight with the sword she wields in our skit.
      After breakfast we went to work on our skits. After a bit of brainstorming, Rinako came up with an amazing idea. I took her idea and elaborated it and wrote the script for our skit. It was perfect. The lines weren't too difficult to say or memorize and soon they went to work on our props and we had everything finished in no time. The next step was to memorize, but we would have more time for that.
      Our next activity was recreation. The junior high school students decided that they wanted another chance to play sharks and whales. After a few rounds the councilors decided to teach them the game of Marco Polo. It was a great group activity and soon people were pushing each other in front of the blinded "Marco"; and I was being pushed by people and everyone was laughing and giggling. We had a few kids who didn't want to participate, but we made sure they did. We went to a well deserved lunch and moved on to the final one-minute drill session.
      Go came around with score sheets and after an hour my kids were ready. I had some good scores and some not so good scores, but overall they did well.
      I quickly ran back to my room to get ready for Carnival. I was the tattoo lady and needed to wear a tank top and shorts. I froze as I ran back to the room underneath my coat. The councilors made sure everything was in order and the Carnival began.
      At first the campers didn't understand who I was. They thought I was giving out the tattoos. They caught on and soon I was covered in colored pencil. Everyone really enjoyed themselves and soon it was time for the drawing. The campers received tickets for playing games and the other half of their ticket was thrown into a drawing. Guy gave out a few prizes and it was soon time for the grand prize. Guy had a certain number of extra staff T-shirts which the councilors had signed. I could hear all the campers whispering to one another how they wanted the T-shirt. A little girl ended up winning it and the smile on her face was huge.
      After the Carnival I ran back to my room to change and then met up with my "My Story" group. I was a bit cold, so Kenya gave me his sweater. He is such a considerate person and I really appreciated his offer. Once again we worked on pronunciation and grammar. Their stories were developing into wonderful insights into who they are as a person. They soon began to memorize what they had written and it was amazing how quick they were. We went to dinner and I got a chance to eat with my "My Story" group for the first time. It was quite an eventful meal and I was serenaded by Kenya. He has an amazing singing voice and I enjoyed hearing him sing. After dinner I met with my Skit group and we began memorizing our lines. We had a little break before the campfire so I grabbed Junya and pulled him over to the piano. I was dying to hear him play. He was doing amazing when he suddenly became shy and swore he had forgotten how to play. I didn't want to force him so I let him be.
      Everyone began to gather around the fire pit. Go and Shunya lit a fire and we were ready to go. Our first activity was to mingle and that's when I really got a chance to open up Akihiro. We were standing by Aya and Ikumi and Aya helped me get Akihiro to really laugh and have fun. I stuck by my boys Junya, Ryo, Kenya, and Tomohiro and we grabbled the right number of people we needed for each set of mingling while some of the campers made their so'mores. I was hypnotized and acted like a dog, crawling around on all fours in front of all the campers. We taught them how to do the chicken dance, and soon we were going into the Macarena again. After everyone had their share of so'mores it was time to take a bath. We had our nightly councilor meeting and went to bed. Our next day was our most important one. It was the day of the Eigokai and our last day of camp and I wished it would never come. I had never had such a wonderful group of kids, and I didn't want them to leave.
      I woke up the next morning to the same sounds as the morning before and got myself ready and all my bags packed. Although we had another camp we were going to be moving to different rooms, and everything needed to be cleaned. We took the beds apart and cleaned up all the garbage and swept the rooms and went to breakfast. I ate again with my "My Story" group and my boys and girls and I had a really good morning. They were practicing their My Stories and really trying to memorize them. Takahiro had his customary two helpings of natto with lots of mustard. He loved to see everyone cringe when he ate it, especially Tamar, who he adored. After breakfast I got my bags and Kenya helped my carry my bags to the locker area. He is such a gentleman and always wanted to help.
      It was time to present My Story. I was really confident in my kids and knew they were ready to present. They had their stories memorized and Kenya had all his actions ready. When they went up in front of everyone I was so proud of them. They projected and had amazing pronunciation. They all did awesome, but Kenya was the one who blew me away. He set down the microphone right away and began speaking with an amazing energy. His voice was loud and he was excited to be reciting his story to everyone. I knew from the second he started that he was going to win the first prize award for My Story. After everyone finished, the councilors had to set up for My Town for the campers who had arrived late. After setting up we went to the echo room to present the skits.
      On the way to the echo room there is an animal display and my boy Junya is a bit frightened by animals. He and I walked through the animals and laughed at how hideous they are. We arrived at the echo room and started the skit presentation. The skits were really imaginative, and you could tell a ton of work went into making them. My group went seventh and we blew them all away. The projection was great and the story was original and we received tons of laughs out of everyone. It was a success. After the skit presentations we went to lunch and I sat with my skit group. Ashley ended up with my one-minute drill group and they left her and she came over and joined my table. Tomohiro pulled out his cards and began showing us some amazing card tricks. He was so animated when he showed them to us, and I had a good time. We played a couple games of babanuki, and it was time to go back to the echo room to give out awards.
      First we gave out the awards for one-minute drill. My host sister Ayami received one of them. I was really proud of her. Next, we gave out the awards for My Story. Each place had a tie and I was extremely pleased when Junya took second place and Kanya took first. They had worked extremely hard and deserved the award. Our last activity award was for the skit. My group, group "I" won! Kanami's face lit up like a candle and even Takahiro became excited. They did a wonderful job and earned those awards. Lastly we gave out graduation awards to all the campers and the councilors said a last word to their original groups. I was really emotional. I had become really close with a group of amazing kids and it was hard trying to fight back the tears. I walked out with the campers and hugged my kids. They all got on their buses and I walked around grabbing everyone's hand and trying not to cry. Kenya came to one of the windows and asked me not to forget him. How could I forget him? I know I never will. He grabbed my hand and handed me his bottle of apple juice for the long ride home.
      "Here, for you, a gift." I couldn't hide the tears anymore and my eyes stung I thanked him and asked him to write to me. I know he will and I am looking forward to hearing from him again. I will never forget this group of kids. They touched my heart in their unique and wonderful ways.
      We had the rest of the day free, and a few of the councilors went into town to get some snacks. I asked for some ice crème and some cough drops. Cory, Tamar, Ashley, Katie, and I got a game of cards going and we played until dinner.
      At dinner Ashley wanted grape juice so Katie got some for her. She decided she wanted coffee as well, so she went to go get some for herself and Tamar. While she was up filling the cups Tamar grabbed the soy sauce and poured quite a bit into Ashley's grape juice. Ashley walked back over and drank her coffee. Tamar asked her if she was going to drink her grape juice after Katie had kindly gotten it for her. Ashley picked up the glass and took a sip. The look of disgust on her face was priceless, and everyone began to laugh. She started pointed fingers and Tamar admitted to the deed. I hadn't laughed that hard in a long time. After dinner we took our baths. Tamar, Ashley and I were the only ones in the bath and we had a nice long soak.
      After we got out of the bath we went back to our rooms and the councilors that had gone out were back. I went up to the boys room and asked for my cough drops. There was a bit of confusion about them. They got me some candy instead, but I didn't care I just needed something to moisten my throat. Tamar, Ashley and I made the ninety some name tags we needed for tomorrows camp and I talked to Jenny about my cough drops and she was convinced they had them. She ran up stairs and I tried to get my shoes on to run after her, but the other shoes were in the way and I got all tangled up, and boom, I fell flat on my face. I was laughing so hard I was crying. I walked upstairs and Go looked at me like I was crazy. He asked me if I was alright and I nodded and kept on laughing. He finally realized I was laughing and not crying and laughed with me a little bit. We had another meeting that night and it was off to bed.
      The next morning we slept in a bit and went to breakfast. The cafeteria was empty and we had a relaxing breakfast. Jackie and I went over and sat with Go and he told us of the snow monkeys that were a few miles from our camp. There are also hot springs and you can sit in the hot springs with the monkeys and drink with the monkeys. It was exciting hearing about that and everyone wanted to take a little detour with the bus when we left.
      After breakfast we prepared for our next camp and I was told I was working with the little kids for this camp. They arrived and the rest of camp was a blur. My little girls Haruka, Yuna and Hanami the twins, Satoko, Sayaka, and Yuri had more energy than twenty children. By that time I had gotten my voice back and it was a good thing. Satoko enjoyed running off on her own and I was always calling for her. The activities we did with the younger kids were a little different than the older kid activities. They were quite basic like the alphabet and songs and games. Many times it consisted of the little kids using Shunya as a punching bag.
      At My Town I worked at the Doctor's Office station with Yosuke. We wrapped the campers up in toilet paper and tape and tied their limbs together. We had one camper who came back six times because he has so much fun with his bandages.
      We had another awesome dance party, and that night I really valued my bath, but it was different because I was with little kids and needed to be with them the whole time. After the bath the kids wanted to call their parents so I went with them and I got a chance to really talk with Go. I hadn't really gotten a chance to know him, but during the second camp I did and we became really close.
      For my kids the lights were out at 10:00 and I had a free half an hour before our meeting. After the meeting I fell into my bed and tried to get the young girls to quiet down and go to sleep.
      I awoke in the morning to little girls running around and screaming at 6:00 in the morning, not 7:00 like before. I rolled out of bet and tried to get them to calm down so I could sleep, but that didn't work. So I was up. It was another eventful day. During recreation we went outside and had a mild snowball fight and played tag. I was hit with an enormous ice chunk, which bruised up my elbow pretty bad. We went inside and had a couple more activities. Carnival was a blast again and next we had a safari with the younger kids. I was a tiger and scared the wits out of the children as they passed by.
      Later that night we had our camp fire and I led the chicken dance, which everyone enjoyed. The councilors were hypnotized and the people standing next to me smelled like garbage; Cory became the most beautiful women in the world and fell in love with Go. Yosuke, Go, Cory and their boys sang the Backstreet Boys and rocked the stage. They got an encore and performed again. The bath was amazing on my sore body and was over too soon. Again that night my girls called their parents and I got another chance to talk with Go and some of the older campers. It was really nice bonding with them. Lights out at ten and a meeting at ten thirty and I was once again in bed.
      My girls woke up again at six and I reluctantly got up from my warm bed and joined them. It was our last day of camp, and we were going to sing Old McDonald Had a Farm. All the young kids made pig and dog masks and sang in front of everyone. They were the cutest little animals ever. At the graduation ceremony I was moved to tears when I saw one of our sixteen year old boys with tears running down his face because he had such an amazing time at camp. I nearly cried when I got up and said a last word to my little girls. The night before we had voted on the Erik Spindler award. Erik was a councilor who gave his all to his campers. He was someone with a huge heart who was at camp for the campers. At the graduation ceremony Matt received the award. He was our best councilor and was always with his kids. He was really honored to receive the award and he really deserved it. Ayako, our camp director got up in front of everyone and said a last word. She had told herself she wasn't going to cry, but did. I couldn't hold the tears in anymore. Her speech was so touching, I don't think there were many dry eyes there.
      As I walked out of the room Go saw me crying. He walked over to me and pinched my cheek and tried to wipe my tears away.
      "Don't cry." He said to me. I swatted his hand away, and he laughed. I walked with my little girls to get their bags. Go came over and helped. I was still crying and I told him I was trying to stop. He laughed at me again.
      "It's okay," he said. "It's cute." I rolled my red eyes at him and helped my girls bring their bags out to the bus. It was hard saying goodbye. Most of the River Falls councilors were crying. My little twins started to cry as they hugged and said goodbye to me. Little Satoko would run on the bus and then run out to hug me and she repeated the process several times. Ashley's little boys were crying and Tamar was crying too. We waved good bye as the bus finished being loaded and I signed some more autographs. I felt like a celebrity. The camp facility began playing mournful music out of the speakers which didn't help the present situation. The tears flowed even more. The busses left and we went back in to clean up and then took pictures.
      It was hard leaving the facility, but we boarded our bus and had a five hour bus ride back to Tokyo. I slept on the bus; I knew we were going to have a long night. It was our last night in Japan together and we were going to make it memorable. We got back to our hotel and freshened up a bit. Guy took us out to a wonderful dinner. We ordered about seven of everything on the menu and picked what we wanted. It was a blast and I really got a chance to bond with Go, and the other councilors from Washington and Japan. After dinner we went out and did karaoke. We sang at the tops of our lungs for four hours. I had the time of my life and didn't want to leave. We returned to our hotel room at five a.m. I fell into my bed and slept until eight. I woke up and took a shower and got all my bags ready. We were leaving for the airport at 11:00.
      At the airport we had lunch and I was really miserable. It had been the best two weeks of my life and I did not want to leave. I exchanged e-mail addresses with Ayako and Shunya. I already had Go's and I was going to get the rest of the e-mail addresses from Jenny. After much stalling, we hugged the JCs goodbye. I was crying uncontrollably. I promised I would be back soon. Go kept trying to get me to stop crying but I couldn't. I didn't want to leave. I hugged everyone about five times and slowly inched my way through security. I finally went through and looked back to the JCs waving at us. Shunya had tears in his eyes, and Ayako told me she was coming to Wisconsin in a month. I walked though with Jessica and the other girls from River Falls. We parted ways and went to our gates. It was nearly time to leave but we hadn't said goodbye to half of the councilors form Washington. Becky and I walked over to their gate and met Cory, Jessica, and Tegan halfway. I don't know where the others were, but we were ready to board and couldn't wait. I hugged them and they walked with us to our gate and said goodbye to everyone. We got on our plane and departed Japan, the country that I love. It was a long flight home and I know I will never forget the amazing time I had in Japan. I can't wait until I get another chance to go back and work at camp again. It was a life changing experience and I am so fortunate to have been able to participate in it. I met so many wonderful people and they will be in my heart forever.