As the only Japanese American I am acquainted with here in Germany, I often feel like a fish out of water. I miss a lot of things that gave me a sense of "me" in California, like bazaars at the local Buddhist temples, the Cherry Blossom Festival in San Francisco, the easy access to Japanese food and events.
That's why I'm really happy to be able to write this column in the Pacific Citizen. It gives me a feeling of being part of the community. And what I've especially enjoyed is the fact that my writing has opened up an avenue of communication with readers on the other side of the globe. Some of the mail has been informative, some comical, but in every case they've all been very interesting, so I'd like to share a few with you here.
The funniest mail I received was from Denny, who listed some German customs he remembered from when he was stationed here 30 years ago. From his list, it seems that he spent most of his off time eating and drinking! Here are some outtakes:
1. Don't ask for water (at restaurants) and forget the ice.
2. Order two beers with your thumb and index finger. Otherwise you are going to get three.
3. Get accustomed to eating at a picnic style table with strangers.
4. Germans don't really consider American beer to be beer, particularly if they are made with rice (aka Budweiser). The good news is you can drink more German beer because they are less carbonated and come with little or no collar or head.
Then there was Vanessa from Spain, who wrote to me to ask for advice on what to see and where to stay in Düsseldorf. She said she read my article over the Internet and is a fan of Japanese culture. After I told her about one of the biggest Japanese events in the city, the Japan-Day festivals in June, she's now going to come and visit!
Chuck Kubokawa wrote to see if I could help him get in touch with any Nikkei here in Germany. Chuck is the founder of the Pan American Nikkei Association, otherwise known as PANA. I sheepishly had to ask him to please tell me what a Nikkei is, since I hadn't heard that term before. He said that these are people of Japanese descent who are citizens of a non-Japanese country.
Unfortunately I wasn't able to help Chuck because here in Germany, unlike in the U.S., one does not become a citizen when one is born in this country. With some countries, there is an agreement made that a child born here can have dual-citizenship until they are adults, at which time they have to choose. I don't know if there is such a deal between Japan and Germany, but in any case I don't know of one single Nikkei here. Sorry Chuck.
The road to really "belonging" in Germany is a long and frustrating one for most immigrants. This was brought home to me after receiving an e-mail from a reader, who was surprised that I did not know that the EKO Haus (about which I wrote an article) was established by the Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai (BDK), Society for the Promotion of Buddhism of Tokyo, Japan.
However, after again going through all the material I had collected for the article, and speaking to someone at EKO Haus, I realized that there really is/was absolutely no mention of this significant piece of information. And then a thought struck. Buddhism is not only not considered a religion here in Germany, it is not recognized as such, and is in fact often described as a philosophy.
Marilyn Takahashi Fordney-Havasi wrote to tell me about her experiences during World War II. She was interned with her parents at the Santa Anita Racetrack. Unsettled by their circumstances, her parents sent a letter to Father Flanaghan in Boys Town Nebraska, describing their situation. Father Flanaghan appealed to the U.S. government to release the family, and then agreed to hire Marilyn's father if the family could be sent to him.
Years later, Marilyn became a competition ballroom dancer. During that time she wondered at the lack of children competing in ballroom dancing, and so she went about setting up a non-profit foundation to help support young people interested in the sport. The Fordney Foundation Web site can be found at: www.fordneyfoundation.org.
I hope you too will take the time to write if you'd like to comment on anything I've written or if you'd just like to say your piece of mind about anything at all. I'll be eagerly waiting here in Germany. Thanks.
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