My Japanese Host Family

For more than 25 years, the Yuza family has been my Japanese family.

They first welcomed me during my 1999 TCU exchange experience in Japan. Since then, my parents, sister, wife, friends, and students have stayed with them. They have continued opening their home to people who began as strangers, an especially generous act in a culture where hosting unfamiliar visitors at home is not always common.

Their hospitality changed my understanding of international exchange. A program may begin with schedules, schools, and official activities, but the host-family relationship is where another culture becomes personal. Ordinary routines, shared meals, small misunderstandings, and conversations at home teach lessons no tour can reproduce.

Over time, the language of “host” and “guest” becomes inadequate. Relationships deepen, families become connected, and a temporary exchange creates a permanent sense of belonging.

Seeing the Yuzas again was wonderful. Saying goodbye was difficult, as it always is when friends have become family.

Their example helps explain why people-to-people diplomacy matters. Countries can feel distant or abstract until someone welcomes us into a home. After that, the relationship has faces, memories, and people we care about. Political conditions may change, but those personal bonds create continuity.

One experience can redirect a life. My first exchange in Japan shaped my interest in language, international relationships, education, and citizen diplomacy. The Yuzas helped make that experience possible, then continued extending the same gift to others.

Thank you to the Yuza family, the City of Nagaoka in Niigata Prefecture, and the Nagaoka International Affairs Center for sustaining friendships that have crossed countries and generations.