2nd meeting with Miki-san

Miyuki reports: Our second meeting took place on my youngest daughter's second birthday, so it was very meaningful to meet my new mentor, Kimi-san to hear her life story. She had Miro, her grandson (around 11 yrs old) with her since she helps home schooling him this semester. Miki-san and I had about one hour and half sitting together, listening all her colourful memories of her upbringing and early childhood. As a retired teacher, she was so well organized for assignment I requested her previous week and she made a 30 pages of notes and full of memorable stories how she was raised and how she became a teacher.

Miki-san was born in Vancouver in 1939, she is a Nisei. Her parents migrated from Japan to Canada in 1933. There were five children. When she was little, she was often very frustrated, her mother was stressed by raising babies alone while her father was away often for building a highway with other Japanese workers. Her memory of early childhood and kindergarten, and schooling are so sharp and detail-oriented. She was a very sensitive and articulate child.

There were many stories of prejudice acts and war era related racism which she described "they tried to make me feel small", but all this never hold her back to be invisible person. After her family was forced to relocate in many camps and towns during a war, they eventually settled in Geraldton, Ontario, where she spent her next 20 years and became a school teacher. This place changed her life dramatically. Unlike the strict discipline she experienced in her early days in Japanese school and the unkind experiences in BC schools, teachers in Geraldton were very warm and the school was a kind environment to students including herself. "I loved a school so much, I made many good friends and teachers are so nice to me, I earned many prizes which I hardly ever had a chance before my life. It was rewarding and comfortable place for me. I think this is why I wanted to become a school teacher." Geraldton was a small tight community of multi-cultural background, with few Japanese families. She recalled her parents and many other families communicated in English as their second language. Her parents always kept strong connection to the Nikkei community in the area, they took all traditional and ritual ceremony events in Nikkei seriously; meanwhile, Miki-san became much more wide integrated woman as her passion of team winter sports progressed and her education advanced in Geraldton.