Back for the first time
Posted Jul 19 2007
To me this interview was very straightforward. I learned a lot of things that thought I knew. In the interview the lady talks about the difference between the two countries. She says that in Japan people do what's best for the group, but as of for the U.S., they do what is best for themselves. She feels that the United States isn't really united. I feel that this statement is true after what I learned in class.
In Japan the students in school must clean up everyday after school gets out. The teachers teach the student responsibility and self-discipline. In the U.S. we have one person who does all the cleaning for hundreds of students called the janitor. The interviewee also talks about since Japanese know how to live and work together that there is a lot less violence. I disagree with this statement. I feel that since Japan is so crowded all the time that people can't get away with violence.-Jestin R.
I can relate in not fitting in with people in school because of the way I looked. When I was little people expected me to talk fluent Spanish. I was also born in the U.S and raised in another country. When I went to Mexico I was considered not Mexican. When in the U.S. I am not considered American. I guess I'm stuck in the middle of both cultures and lifestyles.
How are the Japanese parents different when educating their children? When you went back to Japan where their any major changes that made you have a different perspective? When growing up in the U.S were therr any times when you wanted to go to Japan because of the way people were treating you? When I was growing up in the U.S their where things that I couldn't do here, but I just had to get used to it.-Mario G.
Even though she was born in the U.S. she grew up most of her childhood in her home speaking Japanese. It was difficult for her to fit in with all the other kids because they were mostly all white. She is like any other immigrant because she grew up speaking one language but then we have to get used to speaking English. Many of the people who are raised speaking two languages have a weird accent. Other kids tend to make fun of them.
In my personal experience I speak Spanish when I'm in my house, but when I begin school it is like a whole different world. We tend to speak English so we could keep on getting better at it. Also so we could get used to the language that we are being forced to speak. We tend to forget our roots and where we come from and that we have to keep our beliefs up. My parents, as well as hers, encourage us to speak English because they believe it will be better for us in our future. My parents, when we immigrated to the U.S., did as much as they could so we could attend school and so that we could speak English and have a brighter future. I would like to go to Mexico so I can visit the place where I was born. I wish I could catch up to all the things I don't know about Mexico. I want to know about the culture that I don't know.-Karina V.
The interview was good because what they talked about here was the tragedy that happened with the bombings. She said both of her parents were raised in Japan until the bombs were dropped. When that happened they returned to the U.S. It was bad because they lost everything in Japan after the incident. Her mother received her high school education back in Japan and she had a hard life.
For me it's messed up to think about it because I'm going to high school with no struggle. Me, I have my parents to look out for me still but her parents and grandparents all died due to causes from the bomb.
This interview was interesting for me because this girl went through a lot of stuff while traveling. To me she is very strong for traveling that long on a boat with no stabilizers, I wouldn't make it to the other side. It's rough to be traveling on boat and being sea sick specially when you are on your own. It said in the article that she was one of the oldest surviving members of the family which is incredible for her age. She is 78 years old and she was called the oldest survivor because all the other ones died in their 40's and 50's.-Jaciel G.
My reflection on the interview is that it seems unfair. Many lived or were born on that country and lost a lot. Also if you had American roots they would count you as an American. So the country of Japan is way different than the U.S. This women that visited her land of the ancestor has to struggle with her own culture. Her parents died in their own country. I think that it is sad. I also think that those who lost families should be helped in all they need. They have to start over. Like the houses and jobs they got for all the work they had put in their lives. My questions are about homes,family and money.The people that lost homes, how did they get it back? Because if everything of theirs, what was there to do next? How did many live without their families? What if a child got left behind? What happened to the money? Their jobs got destroyed too so how did they get it back? -Leticia M.
Your mom is living after the bombs were dropped to age 78. That must be unheard of. A lot of people were not killed at first but the radiation poison, like you said, got them in the in their 40s and 50s. I can see where you are coming from. I'm African American and most other people can just go to their home land. I have a good idea of here my family comes from because of the older members of my family.
How did your family save up money like to live in the suburb of L.A.? It must have been cheaper then. You said your mom worked in a sweatshop. That's a move up. Being Japanese American and not having that language had to be hard.-Ed H.
I think it was a good article because Donna tells us about stuff that happened to her and her family in Japan and how she was saying that her grandparents were affected by the atomic bomb. That was interesting because the atomic bomb was dropped and then a year later they died because of the poisonous radiation. What caught my attention, and what I agree with, is you don't have to go to church or temple to be spiritual, because it's true. You don't need a big building covering you to become religious. I agree that organized religion is the number one evil in the world. I think it's just better to do the religion like in your house or at a buddy's house and do your worshipping and Bible studying.-Henry O.
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