Nelson enjoys Japanese Rotary adventure

Patty Miller
The Edmond Sun

EDMOND August 15, 2008 11:49 pm

— He may not be a rock star, but Tait Nelson, 17, recently returned from a trip to Japan where he was treated like one.
Tait was one of a group of 12 student ambassadors from Oklahoma who participated in the Rotarian program Wings of Rotary. He was sponsored by the Edmond Rotary and was accompanied by his Rotarian mentor, Mason Sommer.
“The ‘Wings of Rotary’ program has been going on for 30 years,” Sommer said. “It is a cultural exchange between Oklahoma’s Rotary District 5750 and Japan’s Iwate Rotary District 2520.”
The students spent 14 days in Japan, visiting various cities for about three days each in the Iwate and Miyagi prefectures.
“I had the honor and privilege to lead the 2008 outbound team to the following cities: Tokyo, Kuji, Morioka, Ohshu and Kesennuma,” Sommer said.
The students stayed in Rotarians’ homes and were immersed in the local culture while they visited Japanese schools and businesses.
“They (the students) go to school year-round with a month off a couple times a year,” Tait said. “The funniest thing was the Japanese girls all screamed and acted like I was a rock star because I have blonde hair and blue eyes. That was strange to have girls bowing down and trying to touch my clothes.”
Sommer said at one point a group of girls were following Tait at the local mall.
“Tait was an excellent ambassador and asset to the team,” Sommer said. “His outgoing, friendly nature enabled him to make many friends in Japan. He was open-minded and eager to learn and experience the culture.”
Sommer said Tait tried hard to learn the customs and to even speak in Japanese using his iPhone.
Tait thought Japan was beautiful but he said many things were a surprise to him.
“In some ways their technology is behind ours, and in other ways it is further ahead,” Tait said. “No one had an iPhone, and they were very interested in mine. Yet, every home had high-tech flat screen TVs that are more sophisticated than what most Americans have.”
He said their homes are quite small and they love to cook outdoors.
“What I liked most was the food,” Tait said. “I love sushi and it’s a good thing because the Japanese primarily eat fish. Every meal is fish. I got to catch my own fish and make sushi for myself. I even ate a sea urchin that was still moving as we spooned out its insides. This was a delicacy in Japan.”
Tait said the Japanese people use little air conditioning, despite the hot, humid weather.
“I stayed in homes of Japanese businessmen and they were great hosts,” Tait said. “I was treated like royalty in many ways by all of my host families. Most of my hosts did not speak English so I played a lot of charades to communicate.”
Tait attended Rotary meetings in Japan and was even photographed and featured in a Japanese paper while there.
“We were taken into their factories and businesses and I did metal works, pottery making, fishing and brought back many gifts from my experience,” Tait said.
He added he also made great friends from Oklahoma.
“We got along really well and had a great time together,” Tait said.
While in Japan Tait and the other Rotary ambassadors experienced earthquakes.
“One thing that was extraordinary was there were three earthquakes while we were there,” Tait said.
“The first two were small but the last one was more serious and people were killed not far from where we were staying. It was the morning we were leaving and we had to take a bus instead of the bullet train to get to the airport.”
He added the transportation is different because the Japanese people use small cars that get 50 miles to the gallon, as well as the bullet train.
“The bullet train goes at lightning speeds and runs very smoothly by magnetism,” Tait said.
He loves to travel and would like to go back to Japan some day, Tait said. He spent a month in San Salvador doing marine biology research on coral reefs, but said he likes Japan much better.
“I plan to go to France next summer with my Dad and older brother, who is learning to speak French now in preparation.
“I really appreciate the Edmond Rotary that sponsored me as well as the Oklahoma City Rotary that took us on this adventure. Mason Sommer was our Rotarian mentor who went with us and he is so cool. I really recommend this trip to other Edmond students in the future. There is an application process and I was really lucky to be selected to go on this adventure.”
Tait will share his experiences with the local Rotary membership in September.
He is the son of Theresa and Dr. David Nelson of Edmond.

pmiller@edmondsun.com | 341-2121, ext. 171

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