A Picture in My Mind--People in Kyoto

Encountering people and discovering different cultures and life styles in a foreign country are exciting and unforgettable experiences of going abroad. While backpacking through Kyoto, Japan, with my family this summer, I met some nice locals who helped me in different ways. The People I met reminded me of the warmth, hospitality, and mutual respect of valued humanity, which crosses international borders.

When my family and I arrived in Japan, we couldn’t take the scheduled train because of some accidents. We proceeded to the station counter, and a man in uniform came to ask me some questions. He told us about the railway accidents and how we could take another line and transfer. Although my Japanese is quite poor, he still tried to answer all my questions of traffic in a clear, slow, and easy way to help me understand. Finally, we found that taking the shuttle bus was the easiest and most direct way. We appreciated his assistance and departed. The information note he wrote is still in my drawer now.

Once, I had difficulty getting a bus and I turned to ask a Japanese man whom I thought was also a traveler. He answered my questions and gave one of his local maps to me. He still had a few maps, and he kept looking at them. After a little chatting, I found he worked for the local government, whose building was located on the opposite side of the road. He told me about the city bus, the festival, and the historical attractions of Kyoto, etc. He said that Kingakuji is the must-see place. After we got on the bus, we waved goodbye to him. But what impressed us the most happened in the next fifteen minutes. When the bus arrived at our stop, we didn’t notice that we should get off because we didn’t understand the language and supposed the destination is two stops farther. The driver burst out saying, “Taiwanese people, Taiwanese people!” We were surprised and immediately knew what he meant. We felt grateful that the man we met at the bus stop had reminded the driver where we would like to go so that we would not miss our destination. How thoughtful and kind he was.

I met other polite, generous, and earnest people in Kyoto and all of them composed the wonderful memories of my travel experiences. Thanks to them all, I really had a delightful time.