Thoughts

ASIJ Class of 1974 Sanjunenkai

1974-2004

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Please share your thoughts and memories regarding your 30th Reunion experience. Email your musings, meditations, ponderings, intellections and recollections to Lisa DeYoung Jastram at  for display on these pages.

 

 

Heather Pratt ('77): Going to the Nashville reunion was a turning and returning point for me in my life. Big things had been brewing for me - a time for change and looking ahead to better times. I am one of many who has had to , in a sense, sweep my life in Japan under the proverbial carpet, as it were, in order to fit in here in my relatively new life in New England.
 
I came from twenty years in California where I graduated from college and began my life as a professional musician and instructor. Having two beautiful children pushed me to move out of the crime and into a more serene and safe environment for my whole family. But here I discovered that the circles are more tightly knit, the traditions are what they are, without looking to the rest of the world and especially not to "third culture kids" - we might as well be aliens in this part of the country - Southern Vermont, that is. Don't get me wrong, I like it here and appreciate that my kids are getting that hometown homebase life I never had, and mostly that they are safe. But Mom has had to let go of life in Tokyo and live as a misplaced New Englander in order to create a good life for the kids.
 
Until I came to the reunion.
 
There I realized that life in Japan and the memories I cherish are still very much alive in my heart and soul and I need not bury them anymore. It was, of course, all about the people I connected with and the memories we all have of a party extravaganza I have never known the likes of. Brent Ware gave a piece of himself in a way that many people can't even conceive of, and it was a gift to me I will treasure forever. I am sure I am not alone in feeling this. The events and the people attending the events made it what it was, and I feel blessed for the experience. [Click Here To View More of Heather's Thoughts]

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Some of the people I connected with were Naomi Nakajima - we picked up where we left off twenty-nine years ago as if the time in between hadn't happened. She is a peach and sent a Christmas package to me and my kids, Nashville photos included! I hope to meet with her again in the near future. Nathan Lund, whom I knew very little of, was a monumental help to me in overcoming, finally, a severe case of lead poisoning, by offering me vitamins from his stash that did the trick. I was not only eternally grateful but also able to enjoy the rest of the trip as I arrived with yet another sinus infection which threatened to disable yet another trip for me. Thank you Nathan!! You are a great guy. Mirja Karikosky - I loved and idolized her as a freshman when she was a senior, and had thought about her lots after ASIJ days. My condolences to her for the tragic death of her wonderful sister Eija, whom I also remember with love and humor!! On Saturday, at the farm, Mirja was in the living room with the grand piano when I had the chance to play it - such a treat to play such an instrument. She then asked me later if I would send her some of my music, which I am working on. It was inspiring to touch someone with my creativity and to be so appreciated.
 
Nanae Hunter was someone I knew very little of at ASIJ, but was the first person I spoke with at the Hilton that Friday afternoon, and we clicked. Somehow we were able to spend some quality time during the events - amazing - as there was so much happening all at once, wasn't there? I hope we keep in touch. Carl Sundberg, well, he is an icon of ASIJ from the past, the present and will be into the future. I had such wonderful talks with him on Friday night, Saturday on our horsebackriding adventure (one of the highlights of the trip for me) and he gave me a sense of resolution regarding some very delicate issues that had been bothering me for some time. Carl, you are a very kind and gentle soul and I am so glad you are still an active part of life at ASIJ. Maybe that choral position will open up for me and we'll be co-workers...Another wonderful soul I connected with but didn't know very well at ASIJ was Paul Swain. Although we didn't spend a lot of time together, the time we did share was priceless and I am really glad to have gotten to know him. We became good friends and he has had a lot of intelligent input on life changes, marketing, parenting, all offered with an incredible sense of humor. Thank you Paul, for such a kind heart. You are a great inspiration. I know we'll keep in touch. And to all of you I didn't mention, thank you for a wonderful time in Nashville!
 
The memories both opened up and created have given me a sense of hope I felt I had lost years ago. I wouldn't have imagined that going to a reunion (it wasn't even my class!!) would or could have done this for me and I am eternally grateful - especially to Brent and all those who worked to put it together. Needless to say, I hope that there will be more and I will attend. Likely I will bring my children so they can get a feel for the incredible people I knew so long ago and the culture that is the beauty of Japan and the American School in Japan.

 

Marcia Sanoden('75): Inspired by the words of others, I add my 2 yen's worth. I couldn't really name what it was I was looking for when I decided to attend. It seemed a little incongruous to have an ASIJ reunion in the heart of an icon of Americana: the music city of Nashville. I was curious enough to give it a try.
 
Music-wise, I was not disppointed! It felt like royalty to be treated to great Southern Rock by the Renegades, as well as wonderful blue-grass music at the farm!
 
One of my hopes was to connect with at least one person that I would not have otherwise have thought to stay in touch with. There were several delightful people that I reconnected with; but I especially enjoyed my conversations with Nathan Lund. Other special conversations included, of course, the other "m.k.'s," some former students of St. Marys, and, of course, playing music at the memorial with Lisa.
 
I was the most surprised by how gratifying it felt to be with people who understood the Japan part of me. Usually, my background is an anomaly and I get tired of people's strange conceptions so I just shut up about it. Then here comes a weekend where everyone understood! Riding the bus, singing old "Ultra Man" show songs and other corny 70's Japanese pop tunes (some not so corny). And, surprise of all surprises, I came very close to CRYING when I heard Heather's arrangment of the ASIJ school song. In high school, I would rather have died than sing, much less CRY to the ASIJ song. I realized THAT's what I was looking for, and it was priceless.
 

 

Jim Kreyling ('73): It has been almost a month now since returning from our "mountaintop" re-union and I have been thinking so much about our time, and so many memories and feelings and nostalgia have come back to me. I have been meaning to write, but it has been so hard to find time and there is so much I want to be able to say that I don't really know where to start.
 
Our weekend in Nashville truly was a "mountaintop experience" for me. You know, the two most climbed mountains in the world are our dear Fujisan, and here near by me in New Hampshire, MY mountain, Mt. Monadnock. When I scramble to the top of Monadnock as I TRY to do every month or two, I am filled with the joy and exhilaration of the beautiful views of the mountains of Vermont, New Hampshire, and to the south, Massachusetts, all the way to the towers of Boston. Year-round, when I am able to reach that top, I am filled with a Joy and thanksgiving to my God, for the beauty of his creation, and for how blessed I am, even in hard trials.
 
My memories of our reunion in Nashville, as together we looked out over the broad vistas of the years and distances that we have come, that have separated us, and from which we came together again briefly, are very like those Monadnock peak moments. I came wondering excitedly what it would feel like to see you all after being apart for thirty-three years, And left, too early, full of joy and sadness, longing, yearning to rebuild the rekindled bonds. It is really hard to keep in touch, especially as life leaves so little time, and each day demands to be served. But I shall try.
 
Lisa, you, Dave, Nan, Marcia, Dan, Nathan, Jaylene, and so many others are all so very much a part of that "past life" from which I feel I was torn back in 1971 when I was sixteen, and our family left Japan, never to have returned.
 

 

Grace Fukuda Berman ('75): What I have to say about our weekend together was that our experience of being foreigners in Japan definitely links us somehow in a way that I can't really explain. There were people that I never even talked to over 30 years ago that I was able to become friends with after that weekend. I so enjoyed seeing old friends and meeting people for the first time at this reunion.
 

 

Tom Kitchen ('75): I was really blown away by the events that I was able to attend. I'm sorry that I had to leave early and missed the service on Sunday. I am always there in spirit whenever people are remembering those of us who have already passed to the other side of existence. I really did not want to miss being there to honor these missing friends.
I did not get a chance to catch up with so many of you. I always seem to emerge from my daze after these events have already passed. It was always so dangerous to get too close to people who were destined to go away. Young hearts are the hardest to heal. I welcome the pain now, it is life. The pain is what reconfirms that I am alive and well, my soul is at peace now.
 
I welcome anyone to correspond with me at any time. I have much freedom now and am able to listen, learn and grow with all of you who are also just trying to fit into our planet. We must acknowledge that there are countless souls who are lonely and do not fit in. No matter what life experience one has had, it is not easy to form lasting bonds of true friendship. We must cherish all of the people who are our potential friends.
 
We must not waste the commonality of our past experiences. There is much potential there to help others who are presently going through the process. We must not get too carried away in considering ourselves unique. Every human being is potentially the most unique person who ever lived. I have loved many who are already gone. I hope there will be many who can say the same for all of us one day.
 

 

Ellen Zak Danforth ('72): First off, I had a blast at the reunion. It completely exceeded my expectations. Brent's hospitality was overwhelming. His contribution to the weekend cannot be understated. And Lisa's memorial service at the end of the reunion put an otherwise fantasy-filled weekend in perfect perspective. I deeply enjoyed reconnecting with the few that I have remained in touch with over the years. I also was thrilled to connect with others that I didn't know well while I was at ASIJ, but found, in conversations at the reunion, that those I didn't know and I had plenty to talk about. It was actually this latter discovery that led me to reflect on the reunion (my first) in this way:
 
I attended ASIJ for only one year, my graduation year, and it was a completely positive experience for me. But I did not feel the displacement that others have mentioned, upon graduation, in trying to fit in with peers who did not have the ASIJ experience. I've always felt incredibly lucky that I had that year. It was a huge privilege. And I think we, as alums, need to be particularly mindful of that and never set ourselves apart (or, unconsciously, above) those who didn't have that privilege because our real lives began after graduation, after ASIJ.
 
Whether we attended ASIJ or not (e.g. most of our spouses), it is not our high school years that make us who we are today. It is the last 30 years that have really shaped us. In my conversations I found that I wanted to know more about everyone's life after high school. The time at the reunion was not long enough to share everything. I was struck by how little reminiscing was done, in relation to the sharing of lives and current thoughts and interests. I was struck by two seemingly contradictory conclusions: we have not changed (everyone was recognizable) and yet we have grown up. And I like the middle aged adults we have become more than the memories of who we were as teenagers.