JAPANESE CONNECTIONS 1997...
In 1997 I befriended two Japanese girls (Yuki and Chi) who were at Rosehill College for the year. They needed to email reports back to their school in Kiriyu and so they were sent to see me. I soon became an English tutor at lunch and after school. I loved teaching them unusual phrases, such as: "Are you with me?" and the proper reply: "So far". Instead of saying "Hello" when we met, they would have to say: "Third Rock From the Sun" and I, in turn, had to say: "Dai-san iwa kara ano taiyo". Being very shy they hadn't made any friends with Rosehill students. Their host families were only interested in making some money and treated them as borders. So I decided to take them out surfing. We also brought them along to Nick's place at Opoutere during a term break. And they came along to our place once in awhile.
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Hagoita Doll 12 Dec 1997	Karioitahi Beach	31 March 1997
10 Dec 1997	Yuki Opoutere Apr 97	with Veronica
The girls told me that NZ soy sauce was very weak. So without them knowing it, I emailed a request off to one of their teachers, Noriyo Sato, to bring some along when a class came to visit their sister school at Waiuku. As it turned out Noriyo ended up staying with the Whites and so we were able to see her socially a couple times. She attended university in New York, and her English is perfect with an American accent. And we became instant friends. They stopped in at Rosehill one day to pick up the girls and bring them along on the days' Auckland outing. Noriyo gave me a kokeshi that had been made by parents of her students.
Kokeshi from Noriyo	Noriyo Sato	note from Noriyo 4 Apr 1997
email from Mr Ishikawa 20 Feb 1997	Kokeshi from Hikaru	Hikaru Saito Mar 1998
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