By Lily Yasuda

Lily Yasuda is a sixth-grade student at a Honolulu middle school. She is a Gosei who enjoys spending time with her cat and eating gummy bears while watching The Great British Bake Off or other shows in her free time. Lily was one of the four students selected by the Japan-America Society of Hawaii to represent JASH and Hawaiʻi at the 36th Annual Asia-Pacific Children’s Convention in Fukuoka, Japan, in July 2024. 

I had the amazing, once in a lifetime opportunity of traveling to Fukuoka, Japan, during July 12-23 of this year to participate in the Asia-Pacific Children’s Convention, or the APCC, as a junior ambassador. During this convention we experienced not just the convention, but a homestay and a two-day school visit too. The APCC is a unique and special experience where I met children my age from about 33 different countries and regions. As a Junior Ambassador, I share about Hawai‘i and our culture while learning about other cultures. 

Our trip, right off the bat, was already exciting – we were delayed for two hours. We arrived at Fukuoka Airport at 8 p.m. and we were the last ones to arrive that day. All the other countries’ delegates rode a chartered bus to the Marine Camp. However, because we were the last ones, we rode in the APCC boss’s car! Since we also missed the mealtime that day, he ordered special bentos for us, too! We were all so surprised that he would personally drive us and get us bentos! We were very appreciative of him for taking care of us that night.  

My roommates were from four different countries, and we stayed at the Uminonakamichi Seaside Youth House or Marine Camp. I had so much fun during the camp. I made friends from Australia, The People’s Republic of China, and the Philippines. One of my favorite parts of the camp was exchanging business cards. Business card etiquette is a part of the culture in Japan.  They use the cards to make connections with people but in Hawai‘i, we rely more on personal connections. They used the cards often and that was so interesting and different from Hawai‘i. The cards were to keep in touch, but it was also cool to collect and see what the different countries’ cards looked like.  

I listened to other people’s stories of their daily life, favorite foods, and learning new words and phrases. By the end of camp, we all tried to speak in each other’s accents and use their slang words. The camp was only three days, so it was really cool to see how quickly I could connect with people from different places, especially with a partial language barrier.

After that, I met my host family. They were so welcoming and warm. Small gestures like leaving my clean clothing in a little basket made me feel affection because she didn’t have to do it for me, but chose to treat me as one of her own. During the homestay, I also went to school with my host sister, too! I always wanted to attend an elementary school in Japan to see the similarities to schools in Hawai‘i, so that was very exciting for me. 

I attended a class at every grade level. I noticed that the students were different and yet the same from students in Hawai‘i. One difference I noticed was that they all had great enthusiasm for welcoming us. For example, we had some classes in a gym room. Every time we walked inside all the students and teachers clapped, smiled, and sometimes stood. They made the school feel so warm and welcoming. I almost felt like a celebrity or something. 

I experienced a calligraphy class with third graders. It was so funny. Every time I made a stroke on the paper, I heard, “wow,” “aaaa,” and other Japanese remarks of awe. By the end of the class I had a tiny circle of students around me all cheering me on. During the two and a half days I was there, I made connections with people despite the language barrier. I looked forward to going to the school every day because of the good vibes the school shared with me. 

While I was there, I realized how much of an impact smiles had because I felt safe and friendly. American writer William Arthur Ward said, ”A warm smile is a universal language of kindness.” By the end of the school visit I was sad to leave, but I knew how valuable this experience was. I hope to spread my understanding of kindness and smiles with everyone I meet.

Lastly, at the end of my trip, we arrived at the airport early, so we talked and signed shirts and bags. By the time we left to go to our gate, my host mom was bursting with tears. I was so touched that she had such a strong bond to me and that made me cry too. The elevator door closed to take us to our gate and we were off, back to Hawai‘i. By the time we were back at the Daniel K. Inouye Airport at the group exit, it finally hit me – I was back to my regular life in Hawai‘i. But, I knew that I would have these experiences for the rest of my life. Now, when I meet new people, I try to smile and say hi. After this trip, I know what the true aloha spirit is and that anyone and everyone is capable of spreading it.