On October 17th, I went to Centrair Airport to welcome 10 students from University of Hawaii at Manoa and Hilo to Nagoya with Aya and few GP members. I was very nervous to see them because I had only talked to few students on Skype and e-mail, but more than that, I was very excited to see them. I was ready to start getting to know each other and learning about each other. When I saw them coming though the arrival gate, it brought a smile on my face by just seeing them. I was relieved to see their faces since they all looked really nice and not so tired from a long flight from Hawaii. First, we introduced ourselves briefly and headed to the hotel in Sakae. I was surprised that they were surprised to take a train to the hotel. Many students said it’s their first time to come to Japan and for some, it was even their first time to visit a country outside the United States. After helping them buy tickets for the train, we talked and introduced each other on the train which was about an hour long. They seemed very impressed by the sight from the train and how people dressed in Japan. Also, they looked very surprised at how crowded the subway is. It was hard to guide them to the hotel because they all had big bags with them, but it was more fun and I felt like I’m one of the visitors from Hawaii too walking down the street in Sakae. After they put their bags into their rooms, we went to eat dinner at a Chinese restaurant near the hotel. I was glad they liked food in Japan. Unfortunately, I had to leave early, but I was glad and very happy to see them on the first day of their stay in Nagoya. Picking them up from the airport gave me a great chance to get to know them and motivated me to enjoy many activities with them while they stayed in Japan. It was the beginning of fun memories we made in Japan as the GP group and I was very happy that I participated in it.  

by Mei K