Sadness in my heart

When it was time to say 'sayonara' to my host family it was very emotional. In the very short period of time we spent together we had a profound emotional exchange, despite our inability to speak each other's language fluently. The generousity and kindness the Kitayama family expressed towards me was very moving. Despite our cultural differences we laughed with each other, learned from each other and shared so much of ourselves with each other. The woman with the red umbrella is Kumiko and the one just to her left, with the light blue umbrella, is Nagisa her daughter. I will keep them close to my heart.