Volunteer
Mary Beth Connolly
Public Relations

Dateline: Nagano, Japan

On our first visit to Nagano, the bus let us off at the famous Zenkoji Temple. It was quite an educational experience. A ritual at the temple is to toss your change into long wooden bins and make a wish. As we walked around, people were quite intrigued by us. Well - we were quite a sight. This group of Americans, dressed in white jackets with the John Hancock logo on the back. The Japanese people were wonderful. You could tell that they were very excited about having the Olympics in their own town. We met the British bobsled team, had our pictures taken with them and did some pin trading. The whole atmosphere was very festive.

As we made our way down the street, we ran into a group from the Australian TV station, Channel 7. They asked if they could interview me, asking how I pronounced, "Nagano." I told them that I learned it was pronounced "Na-ga-no" - the syllables all flat, with no accent.

We continued down and went to cross the street. We quickly learned that jay-walking is NOT allowed. Rules and orderliness in Japan are very important.

The whole day was a truly amazing experience. Our introduction to the Japanese culture and the host city was one that I won’t soon forget.