Toastmaster Kiminari Azuma's mother was waiting for me when I arrived at the Information Center of Hakata Station at 8 o'clock in the morning. At the first sight of me with my luggage and backpack, Azuma's mother teased me about my appearance. She told me that she expected to see an elegant lady in fashion, in stead of a sturdy woman from the mountains. What a compliment indeed it was for a hardworking traveling toastmaster like me, of versatility, flexibility, and agility! We took the subway from Hakata station to Fukuoka Airport, had a cup of coffee at the airport cafe’ and chitchatted for one hour before I rushed to catch my flight back to Taipei.
Toastmaster Azuma’s mother and I shared many interests and hobbies together. We could talk day and night exchanging crazy ideas about singing, dancing, and toastmastering with a sudden spark in our minds. It's a pity that the bilingual Toastmasters club in Fukuoka is in recess and there is no Japanese speaking toastmasters club in Fukuoka. Just imagine how skillful and enthusiastic Azuma's mother is by looking at her Toastmaster son. There is a Chinese saying, "A tiger father does not have a puppy for a son". In another word, like mother, like son! It was raining when the shuttle bus arrived at Taipei Train Station at one o'clock. I walked across the street in the rain to get to the metro station and arrived home before two o'clock.
I couldn't express more thanks to my fellow Toastmasters friends and their relatives in Japan for their friendship and camaraderie on the Thanksgiving Day in 2010. I won't be able to see, to experience, to enjoy, so much with a tight budget of fifteen thousand Japanese yens.
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