Last letter from Japan — touring the islands

Dear Friends at Capilano College:

Thank you for sending me to Japan. Classes
at Aichi Gakusen are finished, but the
learning is far from over.

Graduation was on March the 23rd. It was
hard saying good-bye to all the friends we
made and the teachers, staff and families
who had been especially good tous. Knowing
there was a good chance I would probably
never meet them again, I left the school
with tears in my eyes.

Before graduation we had a month of free
time. Classes ended in mid February. During—
this time I got a part-time job working in

a coffee shop. It was fun and I learned a
lot of Japanese.

On April lst Colette and I left together
for Okinawa. We went by ship—2 days and 2
nights. It was great. When we got to
Okinawa it was hot and humid. We got to
the youth hostel where we met some Japanese
people who we ended up travelling with for
about a week. We took another ship and
came further south to anisland called
Ishigaki. Here we camped together and
toured the island. After, we went to
another tiny island called Taketomi, a
very tiny island with the most beautiful
white sand beaches I have ever seen.

Well, after about a week of travelling
together we all went our separate ways.
Colette went back to Aichi, our friends
went to another island, and I remain on
Ishigaki Island waiting for a friend to
come from Canada on the 23rd of April.

I have taken a job here on Ishigaki. I am
the caretaker and life guard of the pool
at a hotel resort. It's a great job and a
lot of fun. I have met many interesting
people here. I am living with a family
while teaching English to the kids in
exchange for a room. It is really nice.
The people on Ishigaki are very kind and
friendly. They have had very little
exposure to foreigners and don't speak
English. The lifestyle here is very slow
and everybody seems very pleasant.

After my adventure on Ishigaki, I will
return to Naha, Okinawa to meet my friend.
After we meet, I don't know where we will
go. I am not travelling with my bicycle as
I had planned. I had prepared a tour and
heavily trained all winter. Soon after I
arrived in Japan I overcame my fear of
riding on the same roads as these crazy
Japanese drivers. I cycled every day,
almost everywhere I went. It was a really
good way to get to know my way around,
explore out of the way places, and get

to know the people.

Anyway, one week before I was going to
leave on my tour, the staff of Aichi
Gakusen asked me to reconsider my tour and
leave my bicycle behind. They were very
worried about me because I was female and
was going to do it alone. These Japanese
people don't realize the strength of us
Canadian women. However, I didn't have a
choice and could not go against their
wishes. Needless to say, I was crushed at
having to deal with this fact of no
bicycle to ride. All my plans had to be
changed.

A few days later my host father's friend,
who is a doctor, came by to see me. I had
had a very sore knee and wanted to know if
it was something serious. It turns out I
have water in my knee from training too
hard so that I could ride my silly bicycle
around Japan. He told me to stay off my
bicycle and not to use my knee until it is
better. So here I am hobbling around Japan
with my backpack, but having a fantastic
time despite all the unfortunate news.

I look forward to returning home. It has

been a fantastic experience and I look

forward to sharing my stories with you. I

wish everybody well at Capilano. Please
take care.

Thinking of you,
Jillan Valpy