Hosting: Nirayama Students

My family has hosted students from Nirayama High School, Japan, even before I entered Polytechnic, so I have been exposed to Japanese students every November for the past 5 or 6 years. However, this year was of special interest to me. We hosted 2 boys aged 16, Takato Okumura and Rikuto Watanabe for their one night stay. We took them to Southern California’s iconic In-N-Out to have the double-double animal style burgers for dinner. Yes, they have had hamburgers before, but In-N-Out is so California that we decided that the Japanese needed to experience this event. They absolutely loved it. My mother bought them each an In-N-Out t-shirt to commemorate their experience. From past stays, I know that the Japanese are not used to American portion sizes and were also aware that they will force themselves to eat everything so as not to “lose face” with the host family. I told Takato and Rikuto that it was okay not to finish everything if they are full. I need not be concerned, these boys polished off everything! After we returned to our house, we left them to settle down while I finished some of my homework. Later Takato and Rikuto asked our family to come down as they have something they wanted to share with us. At our kitchen counter, the boys took out some beautiful origami paper and told us that they were going to teach us to fold origami cranes. I have always been interested in origami and have learned to fold many different things, but for some reason, I have never made crane so I was excited to learn. Takato and Rikuto came prepared, they even had English instructions in the event our communication got stuck and Google translate failed to do the job. I have seen many origami cranes and thought it would not be too difficult to do as it was my understanding that making 1,000 origami cranes was a Japanese tradition. Believe me, it was not as easy as it seems. There are numerous steps and some of them not easy. The smaller the crane, the more difficult to fold. During the process, the boys explained that the crane is a symbol of success and good fortune in Japanese culture and folded into origami, it is believed that your wish will come true. It is the reason why Takato and Rikuto said that brides will fold 1,000 cranes to ensure the success of their marriage and students send folded cranes to temples to pray for success in exams and college entrances. This was one of the most enjoyable evenings that I have had in a while. I always thought the one night stay with the Nirayama students was too little. With language barriers, time just fly by too fast, but this year, I had the distinct pleasure of learning to fold an origami crane and learn the symbolism it represents to the Japanese people.