I was in JTW from 1996-1997 almost a year and a half ago, although it feels like much longer ago than that. Recently some fellow JTWers and I got together for the first time since we left Fukuoka. It was a lot of fun to see how people were doing after coming back to the states.
For me, one of the best part of the year, was hanging out, practicing, and competing with the Kyushu University baseball team, which I joined right after I got to Japan. Like all newcomers to Japan that couldn't speak Japanese, I discovered that meeting and making friends with natives was frustratingly difficult. I didn't know many KyuDai students, so my time was spent mostly with other foreigners a valuable experience of its own, but not what I came to Japan for.
So a JTW staff persuaded me to try out for the team, and that was the best advice I could have received. I still remember going to practice the first day, barely able to introduce myself, and wondering how they would accept me. And at first I couldn't speak very well, so didn't fit in at all. They had to pantomime drills and directions to me. But always, there was nothing but support from the other players, even from those who played my position. When the season began, they allowed me to pitch the first game, something I'll never forget. And somehow, as the season and practices went on, baseball allowed us to break down the huge communication and cultural barrier that I thought was insurmountable. I'm still amazed at how, a year later, when I had left, some of my best friends were on that team, who I still keep in contact with.
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