By Tristan Lam

The Wednesday KAKEHASHI exchange was much easier than the TOMODACHI one Saturday because the students in the Wednesday class were more fluent in English than the Saturday class. I also felt like I got to know the kids on the Wednesday exchange better because there were nine of them instead of sixteen of them. However I could relate to the TOMODACHI exchange’s struggle to communicate, as while their English was much better than our Japanese, there was a clear indication that we had trouble communicating with each other.

On Wednesday, we gave our presentation to the KAKEHASHI group about places to visit in DC. I introduced them to the National Arboretum. Afterwards the KAKEHASHI group did their presentations on the meaning of cherry blossoms and how fortresses in Japan were made. Cherry blossoms, while beautiful, wilt very quickly, thus they often take the meaning of the end of something. Fortresses in Japan were made to optimize their defensive capabilities (e.g. being on the top of the hill for higher ground, having holes in the walls to shoot arrows out of, having a cramped entrance to the fortress to slow down the enemy, etc.). Overall, these exchanges were very memorable for me and helped to teach me how to communicate without speaking, like via hand movements, gestures, and using items to explain new words.