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14 SOLERA DIAMOND VALLEY | JUNE 2024 By Janet Boyce, Resident My passion for travel, both near and far, was permanently established aer my travel experience to Japan through Rotary International. My father was a lifelong Rotarian, and so I interviewed for this trip opportunity, primarily to please him. I was surprised when I was chosen as one of the five students to go: three boys, and two girls. e purpose of this homestay trip was to heal the division and hatred caused by WWII, and re-establish friendship between our countries. e trip to Japan was for two months, during the summer of 1967, when I was between my Junior and Senior year of high school. e five of us were each assigned a family to live with in the City of Toyokawa, which is about 200 miles south of Tokyo. Initially, it felt like I had been dropped onto another planet! e culture and customs were so different, and I was taller than almost everyone. Japan was not as westernized back then, as they are today. is was 57 years ago. My Japanese family was so wonderful to me, and every day was so unique and exciting. I am still very close to my Japanese sister, and I have been back to Japan four more times since then. When I returned to America aer the first trip, I took a year of Japanese during my Freshman year of college. I don't know enough to speak fluently, but just enough to understand some of what is spoken. My second language is Spanish, which I used a lot during my years of teaching. Japanese food was not very familiar to America in the 1960s. It was mostly Chinese food back then. I learned to like Miso Soup, which we had every morning for breakfast, along with fresh tomato wedges besides eggs. Bitter green tea, with a sweet bean pastry called Omanju, was first served to me during a traditional Tea Ceremony. Many of the foods I didn't like at first, but grew to like eventually. Exceptions were raw octopus, and fried eel. One dish I never tried was fried locust bugs! Of course, I learned to use chopsticks quickly, or I wouldn't be able to eat. I will end with a funny incident during our foreign-exchange student stay. We wanted to show our Japanese families how Americans celebrate the Fourth of July with picnics of hamburgers, baked beans, potato salad, etc. Going to the Japanese grocery stores for the food, we thought we found the hamburger buns, but when they were sliced open, there was sweet Omanju bean inside! We still used them for the beef patties, but that was a good laugh for everyone. I will never forget all of my incredible experiences in Japan. My last trip back was in February, 2023. e longer I live, I have realized that material things come and go, but no one can take away your memories that come with travel. Travels to Japan Another excerpt from my wonderful little book I Could Chew on is by Francesco Marciuliano. I hope you enjoy it. Submitted By Linda Weiss, Resident KISSES I lick your face when you bend down to pet me I lick your hand when it hangs off the chair I lick your palm when you nuzzle my chin I lick your feet when you're sound asleep I lick your nose I lick your legs I even lick your eye (When I try to lick your cheek) I lick and lick and lick you All over and over again Because I love you And because one day you're going to fall Into a vat of taco meet And frankly I don't want to miss out Kisses

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