Noa stares off into the distance lost in thought patiently waiting for the class to begin. A cool breeze rushes through along with some thoughts.
- Is this ok? I've been guarding my heart this whole time but now I'm reunited with old friends. Am I allowed to be this happy?
Every summer I would visit my grandparents in Japan. In the 3rd grade, however, my father had a business in Japan. So he decided to move down here.
Back then I could hardly even speak to my grandparents because although Japanese was spoken in the household. I liked speaking English to a fault. My father only spoke Japanese at home and it was mandatory for us to do the same. But when I would consistently mess up and switch to English, over time he would become more lenient on the rule.
I love my grandparents but back then I had trouble communicating with them. Which was all the motivation that I would need to strengthen my Japanese that year. We started speaking Japanese again at home.
It was intimidating moving to a new school (this would be the first time before I began serially going trough many) and on top of that, I had to use a language that I wasn't very good at. That changed with Hiro and Kazu. They were like my shelter in the rain.
The kids at school weren't mean so much as they just couldn't understand me. Translating my thoughts to words would cause me to stumble over my words and stutter. That language barrier would be the source of many misunderstandings which is why I started shying away from the rest of the class. When Hiro and Kazu found out that I was American they came to talk to me in English.
Noa sits in a shaded corner as the kids run around the playground.
Hiro: "Hey want to come play with us?"
Noa: "Me?"
Kazu: "Yeah come play hide and seek with us"
Hiro's father had met Kazu's mother while she was interning as an English teacher in an international school. Their parents similar to mine had an English only rule at their home.
They lived close to Grandpa's house where we were staying at the time. We spent the weekends at each other's homes. It made my time in Japan fun and filled with laughter.
It was bittersweet returning to the states. However; every summer I would visit them and we would play together again.
That is until...
One summer, after I had just finished the 6th grade when my grandparents told me that Hiro and Kazu's parents had split-up. I tried going to the park where we would play, hoping that they might show up. Sadly no one ever did. Another summer went past and still no one.
After that the past two years, my family had some financial struggles; which meant I couldn't come to visit my grandparents anymore. This would ultimately play a role in my dad's decision to move to Japan.