I look at the picture that I’ve chosen whenever I need to think of a better time. With this virus going around I’ve been looking at it a lot more often. It’s a picture from my high school trip to Japan. If I could sum up my entire trip to Japan with one word or phrase rather, I think it would be culture shock. There were so many cultural differences that I did not expect going on that trip. When people ask me what my favorite part of my trip to Japan was, no one ever expects to hear me say the deer.
On the third day of the trip, we visited a park in Nara. At the front of the park there were vendors who I assumed were selling some sort of street food. That is until I saw that they were selling large flat discs that didn’t look too appetizing. I turned to my teacher and asked, “Iya sensei, what are those guys selling?” She told me that they were snacks for the deer. I didn’t really understand at the time, but that quickly changed when my friends bought a package of them.
As soon as they opened the package, we were swarmed. Deer from every direction knew what we had. We had no idea about this exchange but it was old hat for them. They had us blocked from every angle and the only way out was to feed them every last bit. I had never been taken hostage by deer before, but I looked around and saw we weren’t the only ones. I heard a group of young girls yelling and laughing as they all jogged away from another pack. We walked past an old man. He went right up to a deer bowed, and the deer bowed back. Like it was his dog. When the man saw that this deer could follow his instruction it was rewarded with a cookie.
I was so amazed by everything happening around me but also overwhelmed. I stepped away from the group for a moment. Incidentally, I stumbled upon a younger deer laying all by itself. It looked peaceful and yet was unbothered by my sudden interruption. I sat down right next to it. It didn’t even flinch. To this day, I have never had a more personal experience with a wild animal. The deer in the states don’t come up to you the same way. I guess it’s because we give them something over than cookies. Deer like the cookies better.
from Ciera,
ReplyDelete● Max
○ Hello! This was a really great piece of writing, the deer is adorable! The experience was definitely unconventional to the common person so it was cool to read about. For improvements, what I can think of is cracking open the thoughts that were racing in your head when you interacted with the deer. Also maybe explaining more about how this experience has affected you for the future? Other than that, it was very well done. Good job man!
from Ian
ReplyDeleteMax CNF #1
Hi Max I really liked your writing. I have always wanted to travel to Japan but I haven’t gotten the chance to yet. My favorite part was the part about you being taken hostage by the deer that part made me laugh. I could totally picture that happening. One thing I would have liked to know about is what kind of deer those were just a little background on them. I would also like to know why they were so nice and come up to people and the deer in the US don't do that. Overall I really liked your writing and it sounds like you had a great time in japan! - Ian