My most memorable time in Japan

Natalia Olivia Diaz
Norman Thomas High School
Manhattan, New York

What a great experience was going to Japan! It was the most amazing thing happened in my life, staying with the host family, going to school, seeing cultural sites in Tokyo and visiting the different non-profit organizations. However, the best time that I had in Japan that touched my heart was on Saturday April 26, 2003.

This day we went to do community service with the Japan Food Bank and help out many volunteers to give food out to the homeless people in Tokyo. Going along the Sumida River and seeing all these tents and people in them was so surprising to me. The homeless people live so differently from those in New York. They were so clean and amiable. They appreciated the fact that we brought them food. We didn't give them a lot, but the little that we delivered to them mattered to them.

It was amazing, just being there to help out people that need and want help. There were so much food to give out and so many volunteers from all walks of life working together on a Saturday afternoon. It was wonderful!

For me personally, it was great to see all the beautiful sights and sceneries of Japan. But it is also important to see an aspect of a country that is less shiny and polished. Only by then you could really say that you may have got a good sense of that country or a part of that country. At the end of that day, I felt a huge satisfaction inside of my heart because I went across the Pacific Ocean to see and to help. I felt so good with myself!! Even though I saw homeless people all around in New York, and I knew about homeless issue through our social studies class, I gain much more understanding during the community service of helping homeless people in both New York and Tokyo. This was the best and most memorable time that I experienced in Japan and I will never forget it!!