Chasing a dream (2)
October 25, 2002 Masashi Shigemori
When I was leaving for the U.S. at the departure lounge of Narita Airport, it was crowded with many people who were leaving Japan after enjoying the World Cup soccer tournament. As it was my first step forward to achieving my dream, my heart fluttered in anticipation regardless of my 65 years.
After I arrived at the San Francisco Airport, I rented a car for one week and went to my sonfs apartment for a four-night stay. During those four days, I went to the City of Berkeley twice, accompanied by my son Isamu to sign an apartment contract and to apply to the English school. Isamu lives in Pal Alto and the place I planned to go is Berkeley. These cities are located in the opposite direction of San Francisco Bay. It took an hour to drive to each city. In order to know how to use the public transport after returning the rent-a-car, we also tried to use buses and trains to go to each city.
My son taught me how to buy tickets and how to use the bus and train, however it took about three hours just one-way. We used three different public transport with different routes. We used three busses and three trains and there were no difficulties for wheelchair access. Specifically one of them was called Caltrain. This train was equipped with a wheelchair lift. The fares for people with disabilities were all cheaper than the normal fares. On the second day in the U.S., I was impressed with the great care of physically challenged(P.C.) people and I also felt that although I had visited the U.S. many times, I had never realized this matter. To know the place is to live there.
The apartment contract was initially three months, starting from July. However, as the freshmen's long term contract starts in September, I shortened the period by two months. Through the kindness of Andy, the son of the landlord, I started my life in the U.S. from the same room where Isamu stayed. The rent was $1,200 and it had doubled since my son lived there twelve years ago. However, I felt it was cheaper than the average rent. The room was the same except for a reformed kitchen. I remembered when Isamu came to the U.S. the first time.
I already explained a little about Isamu's study abroad before. First we thought MIT was the most suitable, however we changed our minds because two American friends told us that University of California at Berkeley (UCB) was the best for P.C. people due to the mild climate of the Berkeley area and because of the full facilities for receiving P.C. people. Furthermore, for studying computers, we were recommended to Berkeley. I started visiting while on business trips or privately visited there to research the possibility of him to study at Berkeley two years before Isamu started studying abroad. The following year, our entire family, including Isamu visited the U.S. for summer vacation and research work. At that time we visited a blind woman in San Diego who had graduated from Berkeley.
In 1990, Isamu graduated from Takushoku University and, at the same time, he obtained permission for admission to the English school of UCB extension. We accompanied him to the U.S. and my wife stayed there to support him for four months. I only stayed there four days in May. We finished the application for admissions, visited the student with disabilities acceptance office at Berkeley (introduction of attendant and apartment, renting and repair of a wheelchair, etc.), opened his bank account, and looked for his apartment before I left for Japan.
In the end we made the apartment contract before I left for Japan. Next day, I cleared out of the hotel and went to the San Francisco Airport with my family. As my wife was planning to use the rent-a-car , I showed her the roads and how to drive on the free way. However, these insufficient instructions lead to complaints from Isamu and my wife. Whenever they have any problems, they always say, "You deserted us at the airport when Isamu had a serious handicap and I was not good at speaking English and also, I had no experience driving in the U.S."
My wife had quickly improved her skill at driving a car within four months, I believe, and studied English conversation at an adult school. When I visited the U.S. the next time, she welcomed me by giving me a kiss in the American manner. I was so bewildered. When she left from the apartment after leaving Isamu there, Isamu saw her to the apartment entrance and told her, "I'm OK. No problem." While she was driving the car to the airport, she prayed to God that he would be taken care of. She could not keep back her tears before she reached the airport.
Since then, Isamu has encountered various hardships and he has overcome these obstacles. Presently he is working as an engineer with Sun MicroSystems.
In the next essay, I will write about my experiences in the U.S., encountering many people, my wife's and my dream, and the concrete plan.
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