This Wednesday, we had a luncheon prepared for Alex and I on the third floor of Yu-Ai-Kai. Many of the people who sat around the table had spent a large part of their last 8 weeks mentoring and working with Alex and I through our internship. I was so grateful for how much everyone had become such a large part of my life over the past weeks.
On Thursday, we departed for the closing retreat in SF. Through the day, we worked to prepare for the closing luncheon the following day. At night, we had a dinner with many of the NCI alumni, and it was great to get to interact with the past classes of NCI. We stayed at the Kabuki Hotel in SF Jtown. The following day, we woke up early to set up the gym at the JCCCNC for the luncheon. Roy, Reiko, Tamon, and Jerry were all able to make it out, which made the luncheon much more meaningful with people from San Jose Japantown attending. The luncheon was filled with speeches (one of them by Alex and I), gifts, and a Soran Bushi dance by the NCI interns. All in all, it was a very emotional way to end the NCI program, with a profound knowledge of JA culture and community, and many supportive and compassionate friends.
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