gosh, it was so nerve racking yesterday morning going before so many students and teachers from this elite private school. i haven’t prepared for something like this since my college days. i had to self teach myself how to use Powerpoint to make my slide show, i had to practice my speech over and over. i’d wake up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom and practiced before i went back to bed. i’ve never done this kind of presentation in my life. on top of that, i pull up to Mid-Pac with slippers? omg, there is a strict dress code requiring shoes and colored shirt. i was the only one in that whole campus wearing slippers. my bad.
i pull up to Mid-Pac at 7am. greeted by Mrs. Kurashige. i walk into the auditorium and OMG! 175 students will be sitting right in front of me staring into my eyes? gosh, i felt like Bill Gates when he launched the iPhone 3. only my presentation was way more important than any kind of electronic debut, it was about Tohoku. real life, real people, real hardships, and real stories. i meet the teachers and tell them “i’m sorry if my english is broken up. i’ve been speaking japanese for the past 25 years so my english isn’t the best anymore.” maybe that was just my excuse? haha.
from the start, i was so nervous. my hands were shaking so much i had to stick one in my pocket. then once i started going, i didn’t want to stop. there were so many stories i wanted to share with these kids. i had 30 minutes of the microphone to myself but it felt so short. i’ll get back to this story a little later.
then i had to shake the nerves off so after i picked up Nakamoto-san, we went straight into the ocean. i told the kids in my introduction that “i’ve been a surfer all my life living out my dreams.” this is what i meant!
Nakamoto-san and i had a great time. it was totally empty! the dirty water flowed out of the ala wai again so the water was dirty at many spots, but not where we surfed. clean water and nobody. score!
then ate spicy seafood noodles korean style. spicy and delicious!
then i took Nakamoto-san for shave ice. the perfect way to wash down the spices.
back to the presentation. half way through, i took a look into all the kids eyes, most of them looked like they just saw a ghost. i think they were tripping out on the photos and stories. at one point, i even got caught up into the whole drama again and felt like it happened all over again. even got the chills at one point.
want to thank the teachers and kids at Mid-Pac for the opportunity to talk about our We Are One project. and want to thank my little surfer friend Aoi for meeting me in front of the school before the presentation. i enjoyed my experience at your beautiful school!
it felt so good after surfing the perfect clean waves. i was catching the small ones trying to get a miniature tube ride. if it wasn’t for surfing, i honestly don’t know what i’ll be doing. i have absolutely no stress when surfing waves the size of buildings, but i have tremendous stress inside a building with 178 pairs of eyes all on me. sound crazy huh? haha.
WE ARE ONE!
