I was asked to give a speech at the danjiri dinner

Every fall, Japan has a special harvest festival tradition. It is called danjiri. These mini shrines on wheels are pulled and pushed through the streets, making a terrible amount of noise, to celebrate the end of the growing season and a bountiful harvest. While watching the danjiri is a truly exciting event, being part of your local danjiri festival is even better. Thanks to Otose, I was able to join this amazing event. I spent two days with a fantastic group of people. At the end, I was invited to a special dinner to celebrate the closing of the danjiri season and the group's tenth anniversary. As one of the first foreign participants, I was also asked to give a speech. I spent a lot of time thinking about what I wanted to say to these people who had been so kind to me. Here is what I came up with:

I think there are several things that help a foreigner feel more at home when they move to a new country. One is being able to speak the language. Another is having a shared culture or heritage. Obviously, I strike out in both of these. As you know, my Japanese is embarrassingly bad. Thank you for your kindness and patience with my childlike, grammatically incorrect attempts. As a language teacher I know it can be hard to understand a language learner sometimes. But thank you for encouraging me to improve and letting me practice. I am just so glad you are so much better at my language than I am at yours.

As for the shared culture and heritage, while that would make it easier to live here, the vast difference between Japanese and American, Eastern and Western culture, is one of the main reasons I moved here in the first place. I wanted to see the world through a completely new set of eyes. I have traveled and studied a lot. I am fascinated by people. But it was always within my own Western culture. It was always through the same set of eyes. Although people in Europe are quite different, they have many of the same morals, values, and philosophies. So no matter how far I traveled, I never got very far from home. But Japan was finally something new. Your traditions, religions, everything about your culture comes from a vastly different way of looking at the world. And luckily, I found a great group of people to help me navigate through Japanese culture. I know I have made many social mistakes, and will make many more, but as with language, you have been amazingly helpful, patient, and kind. You have made the task of understanding and embracing a different culture so easy and enjoyable. Spending time with you all has helped me better understand not just your culture, but my own as well. This was a major part of my decision to move here. So thank you!

There is a third thing, though, that can really help a foreigner adapt and thrive in a new country. It trumps both language and cultural barriers. That is a welcoming community. That is what I have found in Ikuno-ku. And what I have found with you. In all my travels, I have never met a group of people as accepting and kind as you. Even where I live in America it took me years to find the sense of community I have found in just two month, really two days, with you all. You have shared your food, your drink, your music, your religion, and most of all yourselves with me and I am truly grateful. You have helped me see past the lines between Japanese and American culture to those similarities that lie at the core of every human being. You helped me find the humanity I was looking for. Because while our differences make life interesting, it is the things we share that make us human. Spending time with you, I realized that while the food, language, and group members might be a little different, the feeling of friendship and community is the same. We even have a similar tradition of daring others to eat gross foods.

Spending time with you helped me realize that despite differences on the surface, many things are universal. There is something universal in the beat of a drum, the sound of a laugh, and the taste of food shared with friends. It is this universal core that I think is the most important thing to understand and appreciate. Because, in the end, it is the similarities that will bring the people of our world together. And it starts with inviting one lonely girl from America to be a part of your festival.

Even in my own language I cannot express how thankful I am for everything you have shared with me. I came to Japan expecting to experience many new things. But in just two months, I have done, seen, and been a part of more than I could ever have imagined. When I passed the danjiri posters and asked Otose about them, I only wanted to watch. But you allowed me to join you. It was an amazing experience that I will cherish forever. I learned so much being with you all. And I have enjoyed every second of it.

My time here could have turned out very differently. I don't speak the language. I don't always understand the culture or traditions. But I managed to find an amazing and accepting group of people that is excited to share these things with me. And I hope you continue to do so. There is still so much I want to do and learn. And I can't think of a better group of people to share my adventures with.

Now my speech would have to be translated since many of my new friends spoke little or no English. To that end, I had emailed it to the designated translator so that she could prepare herself. But on the day of the event, things did not work out as planned, and the translator wasn't able to make the dinner. Rather than rattle on and give the poor gentleman assigned as replacement translator a heart attack, I did some last minute revisions on a dinner napkin. So here is what I actually said:

Everyone, thank you. When I asked Otose about the danjiri, I only wanted to watch. I never expected to be asked to join. This has been an amazing experience. My best since coming to Japan.  I feel like I am part of a community. It makes me very happy. Even in English I cannot tell you how happy and thankful I am.

Not quite as elegant as my first attempt, but it got to the heart of what I wanted to say. I really could not thank these wonderful people enough for welcoming me and making me feel like I was (am) actually part of something. Many people will never feel as comfortable and accepted in their own country as I do in this foreign place. And it is all thanks to wonderful people like the ones I met in my neighborhood danjiri festival.