On the humid evening of August 20, 2007, Paul Knieser drove a minivan while his five children rode in the back seats. He drove slowly searching and praying for a gravelly gray opening between two painted lines: a parking spot in Walt Disney World, Florida.
In the back left seat, sat a young man of fourteen who wore comfortably an average height and weight for his age. His noticeable blue eyes were pacing back and forth, reading and re-reading notes on his iPod. This young man was me, Nigel Knieser. After scanning the information, I switched to the main screen which read “Beginner Lesson # 86 — Rough Weekend.” The lesson title refers to a Japanese language course which I have been studying independently for the past year.
Already late for our dinner reservation. we finally pulled into a newly vacated space as the sound of unbuckling seatbelts quickly filled the van. “Everyone watch for cars, ” Dad cautioned as usual, “and hurry.” “Alright, stay with me, hold hands,'” Dad told the two youngest. They each grabbed a hand while my two other siblings engaged in a quiet, happy conversation.
Suddenly, across an empty section of the parking lot, I spotted a large unknown object in the distance. The streetlight above it made its appearance dark and shadowy. A large piece broke off of it, and then a smaller one. After the last piece broke away, I could tell from the shapes that the figures were human. One of them was pushing an empty stroller. Another was apparently a child and the last, a woman maybe, was cradling a moving object.
They cautiously approached. The figure pushing the stroller looked to his left, then to his right. Seeing my father, the tallest in our group, the man’s eyes became fixed on him. “Excuse me.” I could see clearly now an Asian man, a boy and a woman holding a baby girl. The man was clutching a glossy catalogue covered with colorful photographs. “We…find,” he stammered, “Umm you where is”
As he approached, I noticed that he was holding a Disney brochure printed with Katakana, Japanese writing! I announced “I speak Japanese!”
The man looked at me, not understanding. I said it again in Japanese. “Nihongo wo hanashimasu yo.” The man’s eyes suddenly lit up. ‘Wow!” he said in English, amazed.
“What’s wrong?'” I asked in Japanese. He paused. “Where is the entrance to the Magic Kingdom?” he said slowly, hoping I would be able to understand. I knew exactly what he was talking about. “Follow us,” I told him in his own language.
They were appreciative and overwhelmed. The boy walking alongside asked, “Mommy, he speaks Japanese?'” We eagerly began to converse in the man’s native language. “Who taught you Japanese?” “Actually, I taught myself. There are no Japanese classes in my school.” “Really? That’s amazing. Why did you want to learn Japanese in the first place?” “Well, I’ve always found Japanese culture very interesting.'”
The father continued. “Where are you from?” “New York state” I replied, distinguishing our home from the city of New York. We conversed as we walked, until we reached a gate that housed a vast area of well-lit ground. He asked, “Is this it?” “Almost. First we must board the monorail.” We led them to an empty compartment, jumping on with only seconds to spare. “The view is so pretty,'” the father said looking through the monorail window. Cinderella’s Castle was in plain view, lit up in all its magnificence.
Soon, we reached the point at which we would go our separate ways. “Well, we’re here!” I said in Japanese.”Yes,” the man said. “What’s your name?” I realized I hadn’t shared my name with them. “It’s Nigel,” I said. “Nice to meet you, Nigel. Thank you,” he said in English. He put his hand out for me to shake, which most Japanese natives are not comfortable doing.
“Thank you,'”I said, grateful for an experience no Japanese lesson could ever teach me. My hard work, invested in what started as simple curiosity, could lead to an opportunity to help other people traveling far away from their homes.
Afterward, as I ate dinner, I happily replayed the evening’s events in my mind. Most people, I realized, wouldn’t hold so much to a chance encounter like this, but I had a feeling that this would be the first of many Japanese conversations I would have in my lifetime.
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1 Reply to “An Unexpected Opportunity”
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Cute. Made me hungry. Have you gone back since?
WOW ITS REAL BEAUTIFUL..
Much better place in Palawan… like El Nido and Club Noah in taytay
Congratulations on your son's upcoming graduation!
For all the information you'll need to plan a houseswap, please search the familytravelforum.com site for "house swapping" or "home exchanges" and you'll find some recommended services that specialize in this.
Let us know how it goes! thanks
Angela, you can read more about the requirements of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative at this link:
http://www.familytravelforum.com/how/vacation_deals/227-News-Families-Have-Cheaper-WHTI-Options-for-Kids-Land-and-Sea-Borders.html
According to the WHTI website, you are required to obtain parents' permission, and we quote from them:
Groups of Children:
Beginning June 1, 2009, U.S. and Canadian citizen children under age 19 arriving by land or sea from contiguous territory and traveling with a school group, religious group, social or cultural organization, or sports team, may also present an original or copy of his or her birth certificate, a Consular Report of Birth Abroad, a Naturalization Certificate, or a Canadian Citizenship Card.
The group should be prepared to present a letter on organizational letterhead with the following information:
* The name of the group and supervising adult,
* A list of the children on the trip, and the primary address, phone number, date of birth, place of birth, and name of at least one parent or legal guardian for each child,
* A written and signed statement of the supervising adult certifying that he or she has obtained parental or legal guardian consent for each participating child.
Thank you for your post. We are looking for a family vacation in France for my son's senior graduation and this sounds just perfect! I've never thought about house swapping or how that is done. Could you please give me more information on how one would go about doing that. I am very interested. I'm glad your family had so much fun.
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This sounds great! I’ve always wanted to go to New Orleans.
Wow, I didn’t know that the disabled were shunned in Jamaica. This was informative and heartwarming!
“I was served a sublime slice of humble pie.” I liked that a lot. You have a bunch of great one-liners in here. Really well written!
Backpacking’ll do it. Great title!
I highly recommend another excelent option to do bike tours in buenos Aires, Buenos Aires City Tours on Bike | Urban Biking.
Thank you very much,
Regards,
Guille
Nepal is good destination for adventure lover. We can announce proudly we have more then 13 highest mountain among the world. Nepal is not famous just for mountain it is famous other adventure activities too. Like river, natural beauty and different culture, society, and many religion too. Nepal have very good destination for trekking, hiking, peak climbing, paragliding, bungee jumping, and other more we offer all above activities at suitable price for you .we would like to be your family member, and Thing positive be positive Nepal will be your's Home and I will be your family member if you choose me .hope see you at my place with your sweat smile.
Sandesh Sharma
http://www.nepalvillagetrek.com
nepalviewtrek@hotmail.com
+9779841397842
Really a fabulous article……………
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I like the bit about the B- movie vampire. Interesting!
Wow. I can’t imagine doing anything like this! Have you climbed more since?
Funny. Cool story!
good afternoon
wowww beautiful… nice place
thanks for sharing this camp, i think i should visit it with my family.
good read, thanks for this article
We have eaten at the restaurant and had drinks at the bar at this Ritz. Both times we left saying they need better customer service. Not up to Ritz standards in our opinion
Would visiting this resort cost me a lot?
Hi, we have been in Athens last summer with our 2 children. It was great!if you are traveling to Athens, there are many attractions for families e.g> Copa copana Park, Allou fun park,Hellenic Cosmos, the cultural center which is a child-oriented museum with exhibition halls, its really great! and many other things for family, try this> http://www.facebook.com/cityofathens?ref=ts,
our senior group from penn estates would like info on a day trip to your facility as we have in the past. please forward info price etc for us to plan and open dates
We love KBH. We have returned many times and are always treated great and have a wonderful time. Price is great too.
This is definitely the wave of the future and will be a demand for traveling business people. I think it has a great design and works well for its intended purpose.
This is devastating. Well-written and insightful, though. Nicely done.
Wow, amazing. It’s interesting that this stuck out in your mind so well even after travelling to so many different locations. Well done!
This IS really good. You have a very captivating writing style; it brought be in at the very beginning. The rose thing was amazing. Well done!
what a joyful clever piece
i can see myself there
i think i dream when i see this beach
but i live in egypt
i love it so much. it's my dream. but now i dont have any money:-(
Please confirm my reservation for Aug 23 in the name of Hansford and Bortels. My question is: is the dining casual as in shorts and sandals? Thank you, and again please confirm my reservation.
Thanks yahoo.
Sounds like fantastic, chaotic fun! Take us along next time!
Hilarious review. I'm not sure I would go but your honest review makes it almost tempting.
This place sounds just great. We had a similarly cultural and fun weekend at Kutscher's in the Catskills and perhaps some of their guests go to the Doral Arrowwood on alternate weekends!
Thanks for sharing what sounds like a great cheap family vacation.
i hope travel to uroup but i am poor i dont have more money ,
Nice article…I appreciate the effort for posting this…
In my experience, babies usually like the sound and smell of someone they miss, and may stop crying.
maybe your partner can make a tape/phone message of their voice, and leave behind some clothes, like pajamas, that they might feed the baby in. Having that to offer the baby might comfort her.
Another option is giving baby something warm and moving, like the feeling of being rocked in someone's arms. our son loved being wrapped in a blanket and held on top of the clothes dryer (turned on low), which moved a bit, made some sounds, and seemed to help him stop crying.
Otherwise, just wait. It is sure to pass.
wah it is v amazing and wonderful resort
Nepal is a very popular destination for trekking and expedition. The range of treks in Nepal varies from a short gentle hike through terraced foothills to lengthy expeditions to Mount Everest’s summit. Depending on your level of fitness, stamina or experience, you’ll find an adventure of your lifetime. The Himalayan regions of Nepal contain some of the best places in the world to go trekking. You can choose from treks like Everest base camp, Annapurna or Langtang to less popular trekking options including Mustang or Kanchenjunga Base Camp.Trekking is the gift of Nepal to the world in adventure tourism. To be one with Nature, to regenerate one's own confidence, to relive oneself, to appreciate Nepal's exquisiteness, to interact with its generous and responsive peoples are some of the places of interest of trekking in Nepal. Trekking is one long-lasting activities that draws reiterate visitors to the country. Consequently, Nepal is the definitive objective for the trekking supporter. for more information log on to nepal travel information website: http://www.nepalvisitors.com
no!!! the best beach in world is boracay!!!! ^_______________-
thanks n v informative
i'like porto saint georgo in italy why not in your list?
Funny. I enjoyed the bit about Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower, etc.
This gave a wonderful picture of Dublin in my mind. I went to Ireland eight years ago; his brought me back.
I am also curious: what writing program were you on?