MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan -- As children, many of the decisions we make and experiences we have influence the outcome of our future.
Some of these experiences are life changing, but the easily overlooked experiences can sometimes have a huge impact on our lives later down the line.
“I’m very happy. My dream came true, and I want to continue doing this for the rest of my life,” said Nami Yamamoto, Marine Corps Community Services administrative specialist and youth cultural coordinator.
Yamamoto, known around station as Namisan, is currently living her childhood dream, day to day, by providing cultural exchange opportunities to station residents.
Born in Iwakuni, Nami-san had her first culture shock at age 8, when her parents invited a station service member and his children to her home.
“When I was in elementary school, a lot of the service members lived close to my house,” said Nami-san. “One of them liked gyoza. My mom used to cook gyoza for him, and I would hang out with his daughters.”
Over the years, Nami-san’s passion grew for interacting with foreign service members and their families.
“When I was a high school student, I was a member of the English-speaking society, and through the program, our teacher sent us on a lot of community relation events,” said Namisan. During one of these community relations events, members of the English-speaking society were invited on station to construct and fly kites at the Penny Lake Fields.
Nami-san said she felt extreme happiness interacting with the station residents but felt saddened the language barrier prevented her from expressing herself with her American friends.
“A lot of the Japanese are shy. They want to communicate with foreigners, but they don’t know how, so they stay to themselves,” said Nami-san. “I wanted to be the person to connect the two cultures.”
Nami took the first step toward her dream by attending a junior college for two years to study English. After graduating, Nami headed to England for a year to learn how to teach Japanese as a foreign language before making her way back to Japan to learn cultural studies and education for two and a half years at Hiroshima University.
At this point in her life, she grew fond of teaching and considered following a career in education; however, her childhood dream lingered in mind and heart.
“I learned how to teach English, and at that time, in my mind, I was thinking maybe I can be a teacher in Japan,” said Nami-san. “So I tried to be a teacher in a Japanese high school, but I decided not to because I wanted to do something for the American people in Japan.” Nami decided to apply for a position at the Marine Corps Exchange in order to get a sense of comfort dealing with the American community regularly.
“I started to work at the exchange, and it was so much fun! I loved it!” said Nami-san. “I got to learn a lot about American culture by seeing their merchandise and interacting with the customers.”
Nami grew closer and closer to the American community while she waited for the opportunity she dreamed of, little did she know, it was right around the corner.
“At the time, I didn’t expect the position to open and I thought, ‘Maybe it’s too early because my English isn’t perfect,’ but I decided to apply and let the interviewer decide if I was ready or not,” said Nami-san.
Nami-san’s ‘can do’ attitude and passion for her job and the community landed her the position of her dreams.
“You can definitely tell this is a calling for her, because she really puts her heart and soul into it,” said Pamela Zeugin, MCCS installation supervisory program manager “It’s not just a job for her.”
Over the past year, Nami-san has coordinated countless cultural exchange, cultural adaptation and community-relations events for station residents of all ages. “We’re in Japan. We have to accept their culture and actually embrace it,” said Zeugin. “We should take advantage of all the different things they have here and Nami can help us do that.”
Although she specializes in youth coordination, Nami-san doesn’t hesitate lending a hand with other sections throughout MCCS.
“She’s an outstanding worker and a team player,” said Eugene Clark, director of Youth and Teen Center activities. “She’s the translator between the Japanese community and the family-team programs.”
Nami-san said her goal is to see every child on station eager to interact with the local community and get engaged in the Japanese culture. She will continue to devote herself to her dream until then.