Back in the USA, we moved into a upper story of a farm house in Middletown, PA. This was around the time of the Three Mile Island meltdown. I didn't know much about that. I slept in a tiny bed that my grandfather made for me, tucked into a closet-like corner. I was proud of that bed. I liked to go downstairs and play games with Grandpa Hertzler, the owner of the farm (who lived beneath us). I also traipsed through the fields dodging cow-pies and explored the barns, building hay-forts and swinging from a rope tied to the rafters high above.

That year, I went to Miss Barbara's kindergarten class at Mount Calvary School. I remember a boy in my class had his apendix taken out and showed us his scar for show and tell. We also sang Oh Come All Ye Faithful for our parents - i thought it was at my graduation but it makes more sense that it was at some sort of Christmas pagent.

The following year, my brother was having some trouble and so we moved to Millersville, PA and spent more time with a woman who seemed to be able to help his learning disability. I attended Lancaster Christian School for the first grade. This is where i learned the Pledge of Allegance to the American flag, crossing my heart and trying to stand very still. We followed it with the pledge to the Christian flag, which seemed to be equal or of greater importance. I was always nervous I would say it incorrectly because I was a foreigner. I also noticed that my teacher, Miss Swanson's knees seemed to bend backwards. I tried to stand like her but my knees simply bent forward like normal people.

At the end of that school year, I was excited to move back to Japan.

written by  Sparkplug on February 23, 2007 from Nagano, Japan
from the travel blog: Nomadic Pushpins
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That year, I had unprecidented freedom to roam the machi streets or explore the mossy mountain forests at will. The summer was particularly adventurous as the other MKs from around the country gravitated to their cabins Karuizawa for summer vacation. We played endless games of kick the can and ghost in the graveyard together. In the fall, I rode my bike to the one-room school house where I was the only student in 2nd grade. My best friend was Ann Gay. She was in the 5th grade. To this day, i have every bike trail, rock, tree route and shortcut around TEAM Center memorized. When I close my eyes, I can smell the Tamarack trees. This was home.

In 1982, we moved back to America for good. Again, my father took us the long-route. We flew to Amsterdam, where my mother lost her purse at the zoo. For $2000 dollars, we bought a blue van and some camping equipment. That summer, we drove to Germany where we visited friends at Black Forest Academy and then on to Auschwitz. I recall the gravel road and fence surround the concentration camp. The ovens made a great impression on me as I learned about the horrors that had happened during the war. Although I was only nine, it made a lasting impact on my view of war and history.

I recall climbing the narrow staircase of the tower of Pisa in Italy and frightfully peering out a window near the top. I recall the beautiful gardens of Toulouse, France and being pulled over for speeding in Andorra. Spain and Portugal were particularly hot during our visit and I remember blowing up a yellow and blue inflatable raft which we used in a stream near one of our campsites. One campsite even had a pool. I also recall with a mix of delight and disgust a can of pig feet that my parents served us during one meal. We children were convinced that we found a piece of pig hoof-nail.

In Portugal, my father had some trouble selling the van but eventually we boarded a flight and returned to America. Tim and I were enrolled at Living Word Academy, a private charismatic school that I had been taught to believe was a cult. I quickly relearned the ways of a chameleon and tried my best to fit in. That first year, I recall several fights with some boys in my class which evolved into an on-going series of boys against the girls games at recess and physical challenges of strength and speed in PE class. I still brought seaweed as my lunch time snack. In the 10th grade, I enrolled in the public school and endeavored to expand my knowledge of America beyond the conservative Christian circle that had enveloped my life. Since, then the expansion has only continued.

written by  Sparkplug on February 23, 2007 from Nagano, Japan
from the travel blog: Nomadic Pushpins
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