Elizabeth Hughes Wins Japan Center Award
Huntington High School junior Elizabeth Hughes put her creativity and writing acumen on display in this year’s Stony Brook University Japan Center essay contest. The teenager captured a Merit Award by penning a captivating essay about an imaginary dream visit to Tokyo.
Huntington freshmen Griffin Bluemer and Emely Lopez and sophomore Max Robins all reached the contest’s semi-final round after they each submitted sensational essays.
“The aim of the Japan Center essay competition is to promote awareness and understanding of Japan in the United States and to help young Americans broaden their international horizons,” according to the contest website.
Contest participants were encouraged to write about one or more aspects of Japan, including, but not limited to: Japanese art, culture, tradition, values, philosophy, history, society, politics, business and technology in relation to their personal views, experiences and future goals.
Winners were recognized during an award ceremony and reception held at the Charles B. Wang Center at Stony Brook University
“Lizzie is a unique student,” said Camille Tedeschi, a Huntington High School social studies teacher. “When she is in class she is always smiling and happy to participate. I taught Lizzie in Global History 10 Regents and Women’s Studies. She is so much fun to have in class. She makes relevant and insightful contributions to the topics we are studying and is always responsible with her work. I loved being her teacher and miss seeing her each day in class. I am so proud of her achievement in the Japan Center essay contest. It is nice for her to earn an award and receive recognition as a star student.”
Ms. Hughes found value in participating in the contest. “This experience taught me a lot about Japan’s culture and cultural values,” she said. The teenager is a strong student academically. Outside of school she enjoys horseback riding.
Sponsored by Canon USA, the Japan Center essay contest is supported by the Consulate General of Japan in New York; Professional Education Program at Stony Brook University; DoIT Training/Division of Information Technology and the Pre-College Japanese program at Stony Brook University.
My Dream in Tokyo
by Elizabeth Hughes
It was a chilly winter day in Huntington, New York, my hometown. Being a Friday night, my friends and I were eager for our dinner at Kashi, a Japanese restaurant in the village. We indulged in sushi for hours and soaked in all the culture around us.
That night I stayed up reading all about japan online. When I finally fell asleep hours later I had suddenly landed in Tokyo! Confused, but however excited, I jumped out of my bed in Tokyo. I looked around in search of some clue as to what was going on but all I found were my parents. I asked my mother why are we here? And she shushed me and told me I must get to school before I was late. “Go on now, your father will drive you!” she exclaimed. I walked out of our apartment building’s door and found myself in a frenzy. Honking cabs, the sound of many voices, smells of sushi and such. My dad’s Prius pulled up and he dropped me off at my all-girls school. It was much different than schools in America.
Upon entering, I was greeted by my friends. They were studying intensely for our math test. Soon the bell rang for homeroom to begin. We traded in our street shoes for our school slippers, and made our way to class. I was then informed of a school trip our class was taking later that day. We were headed to the Tokyo Disneyland! I was so excited, because not only would I be experiencing great Japanese culture, but I would be going to Disney! My friends and I tidied ourselves up and we took the train to Disneyland. We got on the train and we were off!
The train ride would be about an hour long we were informed. So I decided to dose off with my friends. About an hour later, my friend Kim and I woke up and much to a fright, we couldn’t locate a single classmate of ours or our teacher! Kim and I asked the conductor when the stop for Disney would be. He told us it was about three stops ago! We panicked and got off the train as soon as possible. We were in the middle of Tokyo! I had no idea where I was, but Kim assured me we’d find our way. A boy around our age asked us if we needed assistance since we looked lost. His name was Akio. We told him what had happened to us and he said instead of going to Disney, he’d be our tour guide around the city and show us the real culture of Japan.
Kim, Akio and I headed off. First we visited the Meiji shrine. I remembered learning all about the Meiji Restoration in Global class. I loved it! It was so beautiful. Every single detail was perfect. After admiring this beautiful structure, we headed off to lunch. Akio took us to the best sushi place in town. We indulged for about an hour then we headed off to Odaiba and the Rainbow Bridge.
I had never heard of this before, but he told us it was an artificial island built in the middle of Tokyo bay. We learned tons about the history of this little island, how it was built for defense, but was now a public park. We spent tons of time there soaking up the culture. By then it was dinner time. We were having so much fun we did not realize that our classmates were probably searching for us. We thought about heading back, but we resisted. We went to dinner, and then we proceeded to the Tokyo Skytree. Akio told us so much about this tower. Not only was it a broadcast station for many popular networks, but it was also the tallest building in Tokyo. I couldn’t believe how beautiful it was. The tower was lit up purple. After spending some time here, we realized how late it was. We thanked Akio for his help and for a great day and headed back to school.
Then suddenly I awoke. I was so upset to find that it was only just a dream. After this I was so intrigued by Japanese culture and all the wonders of it. For a while, I begged my parents to visit Tokyo. They weren’t fans of planes so they said no. After this I studied as much about Japan as I possibly could.