My speech at the Welcome Party for us at Elting Memorial Library on September 11, 2016

This is my speech at the Welcome Party for Niimi College Study Tour Group held at Elting Memorial Library on September 11, 2016.

2016年9月11日、ニューパルツのエルティング記念図書館で開催された新見公立大学・短期大学アメリカ研修旅行団の歓迎会の際行ったお礼スピーチです。
(原稿は読んでいませんが、大体このような内容のことを話しました。)

Thank you very much for having a wonderful welcome party like this for us.

It is always my pleasure to be able to come back to New Paltz.

First of all, I would like to have a moment of silence for Maggie Caccamo who passed away in January.

She was a great host mother for my former students, my colleagues and myself.

She was a great cook too.

Please join me in moment of silence.


Thank you.

This is the tenth Niimi College's Study Tour to USA.

This tour cannot be continued without the understanding and cooperation of the people not only who are here with us in this room, but also who are not with us anymore but who are with us in our hearts, namely, George Danskin, Alfred Marks, Lis Clock and Debbie Kwiatoski.

I am really grateful to the support from all of you.

It is September 11 today.

I cannot finish my speech without mentioning 9/11.

Around this time 15 years ago, my fellow delegation members and myself, and other Japanese tourists who joined us were at a hotel in White Plains, waiting for my friends from New Paltz to pick us up.

Our friends who came down to pick us up were Tom Nyguist, Sue Sherburne, Jeff and Caleb Clock.

Thank you very much for rescuing us then.

I really felt that friends in need are friends indeed.

Thank you again for welcoming us as your friends.

We would like to spend a wonderful week this week with you.

Thank you indeed.