‘Itadakimasu.’ We say this word at every meal time every day. Do you know what this means? Last summer I went to Australia and stayed with Mr. Regan. I said ‘Itadakimasu" at the table as usual. Then Ms. Regan asked me what I said and what it meant I wanted to answer the question. But to my regret, I didn't know what it meant I didn't know the meaning of the word which I had repeated and repeated. I was ashamed and very shocked by it. I found I knew very little about Japan, Japanese culture, and customs around me. As soon as I came back to Japan, I look up the word in my dictionary. It said ‘Itadakimasu’ means I take your life. We sacrifice the lives of many animals and plants to eat. So ‘Itadakimasu’ is the symbol of thanks for …show more content…
He could understand my English. Of course, Rio could speak English, too. So after that we enjoyed talking in English. On the second day of the camp at dinner when I said ‘Itadakimasu’, Chao asked me ‘What does it mean?’ ‘Oh! What a great question! The same question!’ I said to myself. ‘Last summer I was asked the same question. But I couldn't answer. Because I didn't know what it meant. Now I can give him the answer Oh! I am very lucky and very happy!’ So I started to explain it. But to my surprise, when I finished explaining, he said to me, ‘Oh I am very sorry. I can’t understand you.’ It shocked me. He couldn't understand my English or explanation. That night, I thought and thought in my sleeping bag. ‘Last summer, I didn’t know the answer. This summer I knew the answer but I couldn’t make my English understood.’ I had lost two chances to introduce Japanese wonderful customs. Through these two experiences, I recognized what is important to communicate with foreign people. Firstly, I think understanding our own country, culture, and customs, is more important than anything else. Of course, a number of people have repeated and repeated this phrase. But I was able to find thorough