During our stay in Japan, the only time Uta asked me how to say something in Japanese was when we were on our way to Narita airport to return home to NY. Our friends, the Noda family, were giving us a ride and a proper send off, with lots of waving and hand shaking. Papa Noda is an old friend of Papa H's. Over the years their friendship has grown right along with their families. Now we are all quite fond of each other, particularly Uta and their son Kiichi, who is just nine months older than Uta. Uta and Kiichi understand very few of each others words but remarkably they always seem to be in sync with what the other is saying. Together they conspired and giggled and battled their fathers, fortifying a friendship that may just last a lifetime.
Usually kids don't concern themselves with translations, which is why they learn new languages so swiftly, the route they take to understanding is direct, unencumbered with futile words from the old language. (I, on the other hand, can not say a single Japanese word without clarifying it in my mind with at least thirty english words. Slow doesn't begin to describe the speed at which I speak Japanese.) On this one occasion, however, when we were riding to the airport, Uta wanted to be certain that there was no misunderstanding. He turned to me and solemnly asked, "How do you say, Come to New York if you want to?" I told him. Then he turned to Kiichi. It took him a good five minutes to muster the courage to invite Kiichi to visit us in NY. Kiichi just smiled and softly grunted yes.
(Tomodachi means friend.)
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