Page 6 THE VILLADOM TIMES II • August 8, 2012 Glen Rock Onomachi visitors depart with memories of borough by John Koster The farewell picnic for the visitors from Onomachi, Japan revealed the fond memories the three men, one woman, and the middle school students will take home with them. Middle School Principal Tadayuki Ono probably had the most expansive tour. The day before the picnic, he visited Wall Street, where his host, a senior executive, had taken him to see the corporate office. Ono also saw South Street Seaport, the reconstruction of the World Trade Center at Ground Zero, and Yankee Stadium. On Sunday, he visited Fort Nonsense, the Revolutionary War fort constructed by George Washington’s army at Morristown, and saw the home of Commodore Matthew Perry, the American naval officer who first stirred Japan out of its self-imposed isolation in 1853. “They had a wisteria plant from Japan which was planted by Perry’s posterity,” Ono noted. Joseph K. Grew, America’s last pre-war ambassador to Japan, married Alice de Vermandois Perry, Commodore Perry’s granddaughter. Ono said he was impressed by the intermingling of very old and very new buildings in New York City and in Morristown. Minoru Suzuki, a member of the Onomachi Board of Education, visited the Statue of Liberty with his host family. “All I ever saw before was Lady Liberty in a picture or a movie, but this time it was for real and I enjoyed it greatly,” Suzuki said. Chinatsu Suzuki, one of the students, said her host family took her to New York City to see the skyscrapers. She said she realized Americans could build such tall buildings because they did not have to worry about earthquakes. Onomachi was outside the damage zone from the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, but sheltered many fugitives from closer to the epicenter. Mayu Yoshita, Natsuki Matsomoto, and Kiwako Gunji got serious about marshmallows at the Glen Rock Pool farewell picnic. Natsuki Matsumoto and her host family saw the musical “Stomp.” Matsumoto said she was impressed by the speed of the dancing. “You can’t see anything like that in Japan.” Kaina Kubota said her host family took her to Chinatown in New York City and did some shopping. She said she found Chinatown very interesting. Japanese use the old Chinese alphabet as one of the four they learn in school, but the spoken languages are com- pletely different. About a million ethnic Chinese live in Japan. Yume Tatekawa visited New York City with her host family, and paused to reflect at Ground Zero. She also visited the Bronx Zoo, where she marveled at sea lions, gorillas, chimps, and other animals. While the girls got serious about learning how to toast (continued on page 25)