Emily is in third year Japanese this year. When she came home with an opportunity for our family to host two exchange students from Japan, we jumped at the chance. What a great way to mutually learn about another culture! (Unfortunately, when the time came, she wasn't feeling well, but she hung in there as long as she could.)
We would only have our students for three nights, so the pressure was on for meaningful activities with lots of conversational potential. Hmm... what to do?
We met the students who would be staying with us following a Cultural Exchange Assembly at Sunset on Friday afternoon. One of our guests, Mako, gave the welcoming speech from Shukutoku Yono High School - in English - to the assembly. Her English was excellent! Nao wasn't as fluent, but she tried hard and listened to everything we said. Mako was very good about translating for her - and for us - when necessary.
Emily had a soccer game that afternoon, so, after a quick trip home to show our guests their room and to get changed, we headed to the game. Afterward, we had dinner at McGrath's Fish House. We hadn't considered how extensive - and overwhelming - the menu would seem. But, Mako and Nao were able to find something to order and enjoyed their food.
In fact, as the weekend progressed, they ate everything we put in front of them. I'm sure there were times when our food seemed strange, but there was never a complaint or a hint of pickiness. I was so impressed! I was also impressed that they asked if they could help with dinner preparations each night, an offer I happily took them up on. One night, they were in charge of making "pigs in a blanket" and after watching my demonstration and listening to my explanation, they executed the most beautiful crescent-roll wrapped wieners I've ever seen!
They did their part to clean up, too. They were very careful to put their dishes in the dishwasher after every meal. Now, if I could just train my own family members that well!
The firsts night, back home after dinner, we were presented with gifts, including cakes and cookies (all gone now - very tasty!), chopsticks, origami papers, a Hello Kitty folder and towel, miso soup mix, green tea. How kind!
The next morning we arose and headed to
Saturday Market, Portland's every-weekend waterfront arts and crafts festival. Artisans were present in their usual stalls: jewelry, clothing, pottery, glass, duct tape wallets, candles, and lots of soap, to mention a few.
The
Spoonman, however was Mako's and Nao's favorite. They even found things there to take home with them.
And, apparently, they weren't the only Shukutoku Yono students there; as we left, we were stopped by their official field trip photographer, wanting to take our picture on site.
Street performers were busy.
And we saw some typical Portland landmarks.
It was a beautiful day, warm enough to test out Portland's own
Benson Bubblers, invented by Simon Benson to give loggers an alternative to saloons at the turn of the century.
After lunch back at home, Larry joined us for a trip to Sauvie Island where we visited
Kruger's Farm. This was the first weekend their Pumpkin Patch activities were open - we really lucked out! We discovered that a corn maze is a great equalizer, and map-reading is an international language of its own. Emily, Nao, and Mako studied their maps and led us through the maze with only one wrong turn. Great job, girls!
There were pumpkins in the field for the choosing, and at the farm store in bins, as well.
The farm store had pumpkins, yes, indeed. But there was also a variety of fruits and vegetables, including cabbages larger than any I've ever seen, and peppers still on the branch.
We bought caramel apples to eat on the drive home - a great way to tide us over till dinner.
On Sunday, we took a road trip to Mt. Hood and enjoyed brunch at Timberline Lodge. This historic ski lodge was built by the WPA, and is an amazing feat of construction performed by out-of-work citizens who did everything from raising timbers to building furniture to weaving fabric for curtains, and creating works of art to adorn the walls. It is a treasure, and we're so lucky to have it within such easy access.
You can certainly understand why this place is called "Timberline." This, indeed, is the spot where the trees end on this mountain.
Our next stop was Multnomah Falls, another iconic Portland tourist spot. Not surprisingly, the guest book showed some of Mako's and Nao's classmates had also been there the previous day. Yep, we know how to pick 'em!
Remember Simon Benson of Benson Bubblers fame? He donated the land Multnomah Falls inhabits.
I am so glad he had the foresight to protect this beautiful spot!
Back home, dinner included the aforementioned pigs in blankets, cole slaw, and corn on the cob - American picnic food!
We all seemed very aware that this was our last night together. Nao brought out her photo album and showed us pictures of her family at Tokyo Disney, describing her favorite characters. Mako, too, found pictures on her camera to share. Emily had been feeling worse and worse as the weekend wore on, and I was disappointed that she needed to retire to her bed and was missing much of this conversation. Larry and I, however, really bonded with our visitors over their photographs.
Our final morning, Nao and Mako made green tea to go with our breakfast of scrambled eggs, sausage, and pancakes. They were careful to show me how to make it so I could replicate the process another time.
We loaded their suitcases into the car and said a tearful farewell at the tour bus. I think even Xeda was sorry to see them go. She was especially well-behaved for their visit - very un-Xeda-like!
Back home, we discovered Pocky and other snacks, accompanied by thank-you notes - so polite and thoughtful!
We truly enjoyed every minute with our visitors. We'd have them back again any time!
