Nanami Arai
Nanami lives just outside to Tokyo, Japan. She arrived at Dulles International Airport on August 3, 2019 and left us on August 22, 2019. As you can see her stay was way too short.  

Nanami arrived as a quiet, somewhat shy girl from Japan. By the time she left she was singing her answers to me and dancing because she had just made the WV food: Pepperoni Rolls.

One thing we learned was she was not shy about having her picture taken. She was willing and playful when posing and this will go a long way for us as we look at those pictures later. It didn’t take her long to become comfortable with us and our community. 



As with all of our exchange students she jumped right into everything with us and seemed to enjoy what she was doing and who she was meeting.

Since her time with us was short we were on the move most days. We went to Washington, DC, Luray Caverns, Skyline Dr., Seneca Rocks, Spruce Knob, the National Aquarium in Baltimore and to visit Jon & Crystal Goodwater.

Jon and Crystal were supposed to host Nanami. In late June early July Crystal called to tell me that she had broken her ankle in May and could be facing additional surgery. After some discussion we decided that it would be best for Nanami to stay with us. I promised both Crystal and Nanami that we would get together so they could meet. While we are sorry for Crystal’s accident and it preventing her from hosting Nanami we are so happy she came to stay with us. Crystal and Jon are looking forward to hosting next year. 

Mike and Ann Funkhouser were hosting Mana Yamada from Japan and Nanami spent one night with them. While she was there the two girls cooked vegetables tempura for a picnic being hosted by Mike & Ann. The following Sunday Nanami made the vegetables tempura for our fellowship gathering after church. There were NONE left over!  

Lorrie showed Nanami how to can green beans from the garden and our weekly produce basket. While the beans were in the canner, they made pepperoni rolls and Nanami was so excited she did her “happy dance” as seen on Restaurant Impossible when Chef Robert Irvine is happy with the way a dish turns out. Pepperoni Rolls are now a new favorite as is Restaurant Impossible.

One day we went bowling with Mike, Ann and Mana. We spent one evening at the Clarke County Fair. She had never been to a fair like this and she really enjoyed seeing all the animals. 

We spent a full day in Washington, DC visiting the various memorials. Our first stop was at the Jefferson Memorial. We explained that in 1912 the cherry trees around the tidal basin were a gift to the people of the United States from the people of Japan. She especially enjoyed Ford’s Theatre, the house across the street where Lincoln died and the Lincoln memorial. When we finished at Ford’s Theatre, we went next door to the Hard Rock Café where we had lunch and she bought some souvenirs. Later in the afternoon she and Lorrie got out to visit the Viet Nam Memorial, Lincoln Memorial and the White House. We then drove along side of the National Mall to the US Capitol and then the heavens opened and that was the end of our day in DC. By the way, what do you call a liquid zoo?  An Aquarium.

Our last trip was to the National Aquarium in Baltimore with Sarah, Isaiah and Ellis. Aside from lunch at the inner harbor we spent the entire day at the aquarium. We saw the show with the porpoises and then saw EVERYTHING else in the building. We all enjoyed the day together and what we saw. The aquarium is awesome and something everyone should see. 

Time to go home comes so fast and it is the hardest part of the exchange for all of us. All our exchange students arrive in WV as exchange students and go home our daughters from another country. When they leave, we don’t know if or when we will see them again. We have seen several of the girls since their initial visit and plan to see the others. They all go home knowing they are welcome to return to their American family and home any time.  
Photo Gallery of Her Stay With US
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