good chilly morning. the north winds continue! this is the coldest hawaii will ever be. not as cold as japan, but pretty cold for hawaii standards. keep warm and keep healthy.
pretty sad as my house feels empty since Hiyori-chan left. 16 days of fun with the sweetest girl! it was just 2 months ago when the idea of her coming to hawaii came up, and now she’s already come and gone. her mother Naomi-san wanted Hiyori-chan to become independent. she was already independent before she came to hawaii. very respectful, very thankful, very organized, and very well mannered. i was impressed on how this 11 year old was already so independent. and aunty Ryoko-san wanted Hiyori-chan to love the ocean again. she loved the ocean from the first day and seemed the happiest while surfing.
Hiyori-chan’s also a great listener. everything she was supposed to do, she did from the very first wave. i’m sure she does well in school too.
the part of traveling i think is the most important is making friends. i have so many friends in the world and it’s such a great feeling. i made my first friend in japan at age 23 so these kids have a great start to a very strong international relationship.
i asked her what her favorite hawaiian snack was. she said “Shave Ice!”
Hiyori-chan gave me a thousand presents. every single smile was a gift for me. and not just for me, for everybody that knows her. i’ve been getting so many emails and texts from people that were so happy to see Hiyori-chan smiling.
somebody also asked me how i know Hiyori-chan. i’ll make it short. i met Hiyori-chan in tohoku on one of our We Are One missions when she was 9. it was right after the tsunami/earthquake in japan. she lost her house, she lost her school, she lost her entire village, and she lost her dear father. i remember looking into her eyes back then and could see the pain. a look from a child i will never forget. we kept on going back to tohoku and kept on getting closer to Naomi-san, Ryoko-san, Hiyori-chan, and her whole family. i feel like they are part of my life now. i feel like my life has changed ever since i felt their strength and will. they are survivors to me. they survived something i couldn’t. i’ve shed many tears thinking of what they experienced. that’s why every single smile of Hiyori-chan’s is a gift. every single smile makes me happy. this little girl has taught me how to be strong. this little girl has taught me how to appreciate everything. her father must have been a great man. her father must have loved his little girl more than anything in the world. and now, her father must be very happy knowing her little daughter is surfing and smiling.
to all of our We Are One members, this is what our whole mission was all about. i’m sure you all feel the same way as i do. and to all of our supporters, we couldn’t have done this without you. thank you very much from the bottom of my heart.
