Skip to main content

Saying Good-Bye to 4-H


Nick sent us this photo from Japan with our first Japanese exchange student, Kenji, via the 4-H program in 2001.  I can safely say that Kenji was the start of it all.  Nick now lives and works in Japan, speaks Japanese fluently, and is married to Sachiyo, who is Japanese.  Need I say more? Kenji, I had no idea the effect you would have our family.  After Kenji's visit that summer, Nick went to Japan for the first time the following summer in 2002 through the 4-H program and stayed with Kenji's family.  The ball was rolling.  We proceeded to host two more Japanese exchange students, both boys who, once again, bonded tightly with Nick.  By that time, Nick was taking Japanese in high school, competing in the Japan Bowl and traveling to Washington, DC.  He continued to take Japanese in college when he met Sachiyo, who was a Japanese exchange student at his college.  The rest is history.

 Today, I received my letter from the Extension Office asking for interview judges of projects done by 4-H'ers at the Western Idaho Fair.  This has been routinely a part of my August for several years. This year, I will be in Seattle so I had to check "No".  


It wasn't because I was not interested, it was because we are moving.  I had to let them know.  Since we had just received that photo from Nick with Kenji, I thought it would be nice to attached that photo with an email which I did.  In 2002, Brian was the person in charge of the Japanese exchange program in 4-H and now he is an Extension Educator.  I still see him every year at the judging and we always chat and get caught up.  So, I sent him an email: 

Dear Brian,

Attached is a photo of Nick and Kenji, our first Japanese exchange student from 2001. They recently re-united in Japan. Can you believe it? Kenji is a professional rugby player now so Nick has been following him on his web page until he traveled to Nick's town. We will hear all about it Thursday when Nick comes for a 3 week visit from Japan. Nick now lives and works permanently in Japan. We visited in November for the first time and it really left an impression, so amazing. Nick now speaks fluently and is thriving there.   We are moving to Seattle so I won't be able to volunteer for judging anymore. (500 miles closer to Japan...) I mailed back my postcard. I wanted to thank you all for everything you've done to influence Nick and Lauren to become the adults they have become. We will never forget...

Love, Sylvia


His response:


Sylvia-

Thanks for sharing this great story. Ada County will truly miss your family for the long term impact you have had on our program. It’s been really cool working with you and I really appreciate you keeping in touch with us. I have shared your story with the state 4-H office; we rarely get to hear what happens to our youth 10+ years after they participate in our programs.

Thank you so much for the kind words, it makes all my work worth it.

Brian



Packing isn't the hard part of moving, it's saying good bye.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Meatloaf by Mark Bittman

Once again, I turned on the television yesterday and saw that Mark Bittman was on the Today show and was making his version of  meatloaf .  This must be meatloaf season.  It was surprisingly similar to the  Pioneer Woman's version  who was also recently on.   I was a little surprised of his version because Mark Bittman is into healthy eating and has lost a lot of weight and improved his health by changing his diet which he writes about in his book,  Food Matters .  His meatloaf recipe also included bacon and cheese!  I must be doing something wrong.  The thing to remember, which he writes about in his book, is that you can eat healthy without going extreme or changing your whole life.    If you don't know who Mark Bittman is, he is a food writer and a four star chef with multiple cookbooks who loves to eat but changed his food philosophy to improve his health.  He tells his story in Food Matters and provides ...
4 comments
Read more

Trader Joe's Gluten-Free Oatmeal, Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip Cookies

I don't have very many gluten-free cookies on my blog because quite frankly, I usually don't like gluten-free.  But occasionally, I do find a good recipe and this is one that is from the back of the Trader Joe's oatmeal and it's a good one.  My friend brought some over to our house last weekend when Nick and family were here for our birthday celebrations  and we all loved them. My friend lives a few blocks away and we walk the neighborhood together on weekends.  We can easily go 5 miles in no time, talking non-stop.  She loves exploring our neighborhood as much as I do and we discover so many favorite little spots.  We even found a property with a horse (or more like a pony, I should say.)   The views are always quite lovely, too.  Bruce and I had our thirty-ninth wedding anniversary on July 18th and I made a point of walking past the house where we had our wedding reception.  I told my friend, "Thirty-nine years ago today, t...
2 comments
Read more

Waking Up in Vegas

and just like that...we were Waking Up in Vegas.   Just like the Katy Perry song. We went to her 78th performance which was her second-to-last Las Vegas residency show entitled "Play".  That was perfect for us because we went to Vegas simply to play.  Her concert was a great finale for us because it was high energy and full of silliness, just the way Katy Perry is.  And we were feeling it after three nights in Las Vegas. "Get up, and shake the gutter off your clothes now, That's what you get for waking up in Vegas".    Here's what she said about her show: "I created this show after the birth of my daughter, Daisy Dove. When I met her, it was like all the love I was ever searching for finally showed up. This show is for everyone’s inner child and for the hope that maybe if we could all see life through the eyes of a child, we would be free. Because never forget, love is and will always be the key,” she said. We went to Vegas spur of the moment because Br...
Post a Comment
Read more