One day, when I was a small kid, my mother and I got on a train to go to the city where my relatives were living at the time. We got off the train and we took a taxi to the gate of an interesting building. A gate keeper checked our clearance pass and we could enter that large facility. It was the US base camp where they lived.
The scenery inside the camp was very different from ordinary Japanese scenery. Houses had lawn gardens without fences. It was like a miniature America. That was the first time for me to see such American TV drama-like scenery in an actual situation, so I was very curious about that.
The family had three daughters whose ages were close to mine. We played together and we watched a popular anime show on TV. We talked to each other in Japanese because they were bilingual at the time.
However, when they talked to their parents, they switched their language to English. I felt that was cool and I decided that I will speak English like them someday.
Because of the anti-Vietnam war movements and the harsh students activities that happened in Japan like in the US. Some of the US base camps in Japanese mainland were closed. Therefore, the family moved to Okinawa, and then, they returned to the US.
Mamy years later, they returned to Japan for the reunion. To be continued.
