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Birth
I was born in Nagoya, Aichi prefecture in Japan. I was my parents first child. We lived in Jingu Mae next to the Shinhori River on the 7th floor. The park (Jingu Higashi park) which was right outside of our apartment would be where I would spend a lot of time during my childhood in Japan. -
Kindergarten
Kindergarten In Japan is a much different experience than in the U.S. One thing I remember from Kindergarten is that we start off our day with exercise by going through an obstacle course. -
Elementary school
While I lived in Japan I attended 1st and half way through the 2nd grade. In Japan the schools are much different because you have to switch your outside shoes with house slippers to walk around. It is also really humid and hot during the summer because at our school there was no air conditioning. Although I think school in Japan was more challenging It prepared me a lot when I moved here because I had already memorized the multiplication table in Japan. -
Moving to the U.S
I was both excited and sad to leave my home in Japan. I was sad that I had to say good bye to my friends and family. I was also excited too, to see the U.S and be closer with family here. I remember landing in NYC and waiting at our gate for our plane to Charlotte as it got delayed due to a snowstorm. We finally arrived in Charlotte and I faintly remember when my uncle picked us up from the airport at around 12:30pm. -
First day of school in the U.S
Everyone was returning from Christmas break but for me it felt like I was back in Kindergarten on the first day of school. Everything was different, There were new faces, new things that I was just now seeing for the first time. After introducing my self to the class I think everyone was surprised that I could speak English and Japanese fluently. -
First Halloween in the U.S
I always looked forward to Halloween in Japan but I remember especially being excited about my first Halloween in the U.S. In Japan they have Halloween except its not as fun since mostly everyone lives in high rise concrete apartments. During trick or treating I soon fell in love with Halloween here because there were way more cooler Halloween decorations in peoples yards and I got double the candy. -
First Thanksgiving
I was never introduced to Thanksgiving in Japan nor did I ever hear anything about it. So when school got out for Thanksgiving break I was still unsure what the purpose was. later I learned more about the history behind it with the native Americans and the colonists. On the day of Thanksgiving I was shocked with the amount of food there was. I don't specifically remember my first Thanksgiving but I know we always end up with leftovers for weeks. -
First Christmas in the U.S
Christmas in the U.S is a lot different than in Japan. It is much more influenced here than in Japan when it comes to Christmas music, decorations, and Parades. Since we lived in an apartment we had a very small tree only about 4 feet tall. Now we are able to have a 12 foot Christmas tree in our living room which is 3 times taller than our tree in Japan. I also discovered a new tradition that my family now does which is to watch the Polar Express on Christmas Eve. -
Camp Thunderbird 5th Grade
This was my first ever overnight trip that I would ever take. I remember being really excited about the trip because I was looking forward to all the fun activities at Camp Thunderbird. I remember the events that we did like zip lining, canoeing , rock climbing, hiking and other things like learning about the history of the area. It was a 2 night trip. -
First day of middle school
On the First day of Middle school I was nervous because this was my next step towards getting closer to high school. Prior to starting middle school I remember watching how to videos on how to open a lock since I was worried that I would have trouble opening my locker. Everything worked out fine and I made new friends which I am still in contact with today. -
Covid-19
I remember when Covid had just become a thing and I had heard about it on the news a few times but I never thought in my mind what a major impact it would cause world wide. When Covid finally got to the U.S everyone was in a panic to stock up on different things I remember seeing the Walmart allies empty. -
Carowinds Band Concert
This would be my first ever band competition. I was playing Trumpet in 8th grade and our band was preparing for our competition for weeks. The Competition which was hosted at Carowinds would have 3 judges that would give us a ranking based on our performance. Since we were first on the list we were one of the first bands to start. Which we got a superior rating. After we were allowed to ride the rides at Carowinds for the rest of the day which was very fun. -
First time In a small plane
I was always interested in planes If we would ever go somewhere on a plane I would always request to sit at the window seat because I always liked watching the movements and functions of the wings (Ailerons and Flaps) but this would be my first time ever riding in a small propeller plane. After we got in the air I was in love with the incredible views from the sky and being able to see out over the horizon. After this flight it inspired me even more to want to become a pilot. -
Middle school Graduation
I was not excited or sad to leave middle school. I wasn't really looking forward to going to high school at the time but I also didn't like middle school that much either so I was okay with it. At this time in my mind I would be going to Robinson because West Cabarrus was not fully built yet. -
Getting accepted into the Aviation Academy
After Finding out that West Cabarrus would be ready by the time they let students in. I was really excited when I found out that I got in the aviation academy because originally you had to request it and your name would be pulled out of a drawing for your seat in the class since there were too many people who signed up. -
First day of High school
My first day of high school was pretty boring. Due to Covid-19 it was decided that I would learn through virtual. I hated virtual especially in math because it was always harder for me to understand something when the teacher is having to explain something through a computer screen. -
Leaners permit
I was very excited to get my learners permit because I wanted to eventually be able to get my license to drive fully on my own. I ended up studying way to hard for the test to get your first learners permit even though I got a 100. Most of the questions that I had studied for weren't even on the test. I also didn't like my experience with the people who work at the DMV because they are some of the rudest people I have had to communicate with. -
Washington D.C
This was a vacation that I took over the summer to Washington D.C to go see the monument, white house, capitol, and the Lincoln Memorial. While were were here we also went through the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum which I found very cool because there were hundreds of planes in there big and small. I even go to see the Enola gay. Which is the plane that dropped the bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. -
Air National Guard Field trip
This was our first Field trip as an Aviation class and I really enjoyed touring the Air national guard at Charlotte Douglas INT. I loved all the interesting stories behind the C-17s which were based at the airport. I learned that a few of them had helped transport Aphgan refugees. I hope to be able to do more Aviation field trips like this one. -
Trip to Japan
I have been on plenty of trips to Japan ever since we moved to the U.S but I especially enjoyed this one because we got to travel to a lot of places in Japan that I had never been to or seen even when I liver there. We got to go to Hiroshima and Miyagima Island Where the famous Tori Gate stands out in the ocean. We also got to go to an old village which is a world heritage site called shirakawgo which has preserved houses made from straw.