Bashamichi Toastmasters Club (#1012628) holds bi-weekly meetings from 14:00-16:20 on Sunday afternoons on the 4th floor of Yokohama Community Center. The venue is bright and free of charge.
Toastmaster Yada Toshio waited for me at JR Sakuragijo Station at 13:30. He spoke fluent Mandarin when I saw him. I couldn't believe my ears. Within two years, Toastmaster Yada could speak Mandarin from none to perfect 4 tones. He told me that he studied Mandarin for 20 minutes everyday with a teacher in Dalien, China.
When I saw Toastmaster Joken Ikuko from Meridian Toastmasters Club, Oh my God, she spoke Mandarin like a native Chinese. Ikuko learned Mandarin in Shanghai as an exchange student and she worked in Hong Kong for a couple of years. She looked more like a Chinese than a Japanese. Language indeed affected people's mannerisms.
Upon the invitation of Bashamichi Toastmasters Club, I rehearsed my workshop on “Language Acquisition in Toastmasters” for 30 minutes. After receiving valuable feedback from DTMs Omachi, Kawauchi, Hanada, Yada, Kawakami, and Toastmaster Imamura Miwa, I felt fully charged to break my leg at District 76 Fall Conference 2014.I was extremely happy to see Toastmaster Pierre Chen and his youngest son at the meeting. Pierre joined Bashamichi as a member as soon as he arrived in Japan as the diplomat from Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Taiwan. I believe Bashamichi will become a stronger club with a senior foreign diplomat in the club.
In the evening, we enjoyed a fancy dinner at an Italian restaurant Issa, Colette Mare, on the 7F of Minato-Mirai Department Store. After dinner, Ikuko and I took the same train to Tokyo. She and I shared many secrets about life, including how to charter a new Toastmasters Club.
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