Japanese man shares sister’s 1998 diary when she was a 16-year-old foreign exchange student in Iowa

When Yuki was 16 years old, she was a Japanese exchange student for about a year in Iowa. For her brother, who goes by Samurai Shiba, looking through her old diary from that brief time period has been such a joy, and has inspired him to share a few pages. Self-described on his X page as “a Japanese guy who loves America,” he enjoys sharing “stories, questions, history and laughs.” (He also adds that his stories are “inspired by real moments,” and notes that “details change.”) Looking back at one’s life through the earnest lens of a diary/journal can often be a delightfully eye-opening experience. Sometimes, we’re shocked at the things we once felt or might have said. And there are other times when we see, “Oh, yeah…I’m still this way.” For Yuki, it appears there were things she learned that she still carries to this day. A teen writes in her diary. Photo Credit: Canva In a post on X, Shiba shares, “My sister Yuki was an exchange student. She was terrified, so she kept a diary. Let me translate a few pages.” He then lays out the journal pages, which span from August of 1998 to June of 1999. ‘Proud of you kiddo’ “IOWA. 1998. AGE 16. Aug. 22The host father is very big. He shook my hand very gently, like I was an egg. Aug. 25Everyone on the road waves from their trucks. I do not know them. They do not know me. I wave back too late every time. Sept. 2A teacher said “Great question!” My question was where the bathroom is. Sept. 14The host mother writes notes in my lunch bag. Today: “Proud of you, kiddo.” I looked up “kiddo.” I am a kiddo now. Corn is the landscape Oct. 9Corn is not a vegetable here. It is the landscape. Nov. 26Thanksgiving. 23 people. Everyone said what they were thankful for. A cousin I met yesterday said, “Yuki.” My English left. I said thank you in Japanese. Dec. 31I have not been homesick in a while. I think it is because this is also home. June 11, 1999Going home tomorrow. The host father drove me past every field one more time. Every truck waved. Forever waving I waved back on time. Every one.” Shiba adds, “She’s 44 now. She still waves on time.” Some X commenters note that they too noticed how much corn there is in Iowa. One writes, “As a exchange student in 1996 I went to Iowa for 2 weeks and it is crazy how much corn there is.” Japanese prayer Another commenter shares that they laughed when hearing that Yuki’s teacher replied “great question” to her asking where the bathroom was. They also noted the Japanese meal blessing. “1. Sept 2 cracked me up. 2. I love the Thanksgiving reference. Yesterday I found a post about the Japanese meal blessing. I practiced saying “Itadakimasu” and “Gochisōsama deshita.” It’s going to take a LOT of practice, but it’s such a lovely way to start and end a meal, along with my prayer of thanks.” Shiba was impressed, writing, “You’re practicing ‘Itadakimasu’ and ‘Gochisōsama deshita’?! That made my whole day. Here’s a secret: most Japanese people mumble them so fast they sound like one word. If you say them slowly and clearly, you’ll already be more polite than half of Japan.”