Glen Rock August 1, 2012 THE VILLADOM TIMES II • Page 3 Onomachi welcome features pizza with chopsticks by John Koster Pizza eaten with chopsticks was just part of the fun as Glen Rock Mayor John van Keuren welcomed Mayor Ryozo Shishido of Onomachi, Japan, and the other visitors from Glen Rock’s sister town on central Honshu, just outside the tsunami and radiation disaster zone. Mayor van Keuren, who is also honorary mayor of Onomachi, made his annual welcoming speech in phonetic Japanese. Mari Aral, a borough resident and native of the Japanese island of Shikoku, lent a hand with interpretation, and Mayor van Keuren received warm applause. Some of the gestures needed no translation: Mayor van Keuren gave Mayor Shishido a Dodgers T-shirt with “Shishido” printed on it, and Mayor Shishido gave Mayor van Keuren a Japanese-style banner with “Glen Rock” printed on it. Mayor Shishido then spoke briefly. “He does a much better job of speaking in English than I do in Japanese,” Mayor van Keuren said. Mayor Shishido fell back briefly on his Japanese -- he groped for words and said “sukoshi” to explain something was small -- but his conclusion was in clear English. “Thank you very much for hosting us again,” he said. He was warmly applauded. The best English-speaker among the Japanese was Tadayuki Ono, principal of the Onomachi Middle School the 14 teen students attend. Ono studied English for three years in middle school, three years in Left: Mayu Yoshita, left, and Chinatsu Suzukim right, found Glen Rock a friendly fairy tale town full of warm and generous people. Right: Onomachi Mayor Ryozo Shishido, and Glen Rock Mayor John van Keuren celebrate the international friendship between Glen Rock and Onomachi. Onomachi Principal Tadayuki Ono tries some pizza with chopsticks at the Glen Rock Annex. Sushi was also served. high school, and four years at the university. He is now learning Chinese. “We are very happy and very excited,” Principal Ono said. “I was an English teacher until a few years ago.” Ono thanked the Glen Rock families who volunteered to host the Onomachi youngsters and the adults who came with them, including board of education trustee (continued on page 21)