Welcome back to my fourth blog! In this blog, I will write an emotional moment include dialogue and at least one symbol. Before writing, I read “Hills Like White Elephants” written by Ernest Hemingway because it is a good example of dialogue and symbolism.
Last winter, I traveled across the United States alone by using Amtrak trains. One night, I was only one passenger who stayed at a room on the first floor of Amtrak's sleeping car. Bathrooms were on the first floor, so I sometimes met to other passengers, but mostly I was alone. Thus, I felt lonely a little bit. In my room, I could not hear any sound except the sound of the train. Looking out of the window, there was a vast plain and some snow. Also, the sky was getting dark. The train was running along the boundary between the United States and Canada, so it was a little chilly. Around 6 pm, I went to a dining car to eat dinner, and I sit at a table with other passengers who were a middle-age man, an elderly woman and her daughter. At that time, it had only four months since I came to the United States. Thus, I could not speak English will, but I did not want to ruin the atmosphere, so I tried my best and introduced myself briefly. The rest of the time, I concentrated on listening their boring stories and giving responses. After I finished eating dinner, I left the seat instantly. On the way back to my room, I was spoken by one elderly man who was a tall and slender. “Are you Japanese?” the man asked me. “Yes, I am…how did you know?” I answered a question with another question. “While I was eating dinner at a different table, I heard some Japanese words, so I was interested in you,” the man said. I did not know about him yet. Thus, I was suspicious of him, but I decided to keep listening to stories from him. “When I was young, I liked Japan, so I studied about Japan’s culture by myself at the front of Vietnam War,” he said. “Really?” I was very surprised. “Also, I had a Japanese best friend who passed away several years ago. Moreover, my daughter is studying abroad to Osaka, Japan for a few years,” he said. At first, I did not believe him, but I gradually thought his stories were true. In fact, he was able to speak some Japanese words. Finally, we had a lively conversation for more than 30 minutes in the hallway. After I parted from him, I went back to my room. However, I did not feel lonely at all. This is because I was able to know the meaning of the saying “truth is stranger than fiction” from that experience. I did not ask for his contact information, but I was satisfied with the miraculous encounter. Before I went to bed, I looked out of the window and noticed a bright city was getting closer.
6 Comments
Aboubacar sylla
9/23/2019 04:01:14 pm
interesting story
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Abby Warholic
9/23/2019 07:10:13 pm
This story makes me happy. People like that are hard to come by in the world that we live in.
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AYLIN
9/23/2019 07:58:29 pm
That seems to be a great experience.
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Doug
9/24/2019 11:04:58 am
Yuki, I liked that story. It's always nice to come by someone like that who, despite not knowing you, comes up and sparks a conversation. We need more interactions like that.
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Aislyn Benasutti
9/24/2019 08:42:10 pm
I think it's really cool that you have traveled across the United States, especially alone! I've never even been on a train; it must have been filled with new experiences and possibly culture shock. I really liked the closing line of your piece.
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Sabatino
10/2/2019 08:34:49 am
I appreciate how you have selected a small but meaningful moment from your life as the primary contact for a memoir scene. I see description, action, and themes of loneliness and social belonging/social connections. I appreciate the juxtaposition of riding alone on a train in the cold and then how are small conversation leads to visions of a brighter cityscape.
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Yuki YamatoI will use this blog Archives
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