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August 2006
Home
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August 2006
 Roseburg
Sister Cities, Inc.
P.O. Box 1643 Roseburg, Oregon 97470 Email: info@roseburg-sister-cities.org Website: www.roseburg-sister-cities.org Roseburg Sister Cities, Inc. – Friendship & Understanding since 1993 – Roseburg, Oregon & Shobu, Japan  President’s Message by H.D. Honscheid Greeting a delegation, from Shobu, to our town is always one of the
most pleasurable duties of the president of the Roseburg Sister Cities
Association. This year, we welcomed 14 guests from Japan, and hosted
them for a longer stay in Roseburg, and Oregon.
This time the delegation flew into Portland and we picked them up in the Roseburg Indians booster bus. On the way back from the airport to Roseburg, we stopped at the “Evergreen Aviation Museum” in McMinnville to have lunch, and view the “Spruce Goose” and other airplanes on exhibit. On Friday night, we had a lovely ‘Welcome Dinner Celebration’ for our guests. We enjoyed a cherry-blossom-dance performed by the Japanese guests, and we received two very large Koi (Carp) banners as a welcome gift from the delegation. Our gift to Shobu this year was two nicely framed prints of Salmon by, local artist, Carol Young. The first two days of the visit, Friday and Saturday, were days the delegation spent with their host families. There was a lot to do in town! On Saturday, a number of delegates visited the downtown rodeo parade, or spent the evening at the Umpqua Valley Round-up Rodeo itself. Others visited local wineries, or just went shopping. Of course, Crater Lake was a popular sightseeing destination too. Una and I hosted the Sato Family again at our house. As is customary, some presents were exchanged. One of the gifts from Mrs. Toshiko Sato to us was a little unusual. It was a small bag of Japanese Udon noodles. Well, not just that, she also produced a bottle of special soy sauce, and a package of Nori (seaweed), and exclaimed that she would cook lunch for us! We were pleasantly surprised and delighted. A quick trip to Sherm's Market, which had a nice greeting to the Shobu delegation on their reader board, and we also had the makings for some tempura. Soon, Una and Toshiko were busy in our kitchen putting together a delicious Udon soup with a tempura topping. What a treat! And Una took copious notes to be able to duplicate the recipe in the future. On Sunday, the delegates and some host family members boarded a bus for a three day trip to the Oregon coast and the California Redwoods. The weather had turned wonderfully sunny, and we had a grand time. Stops were the Dean Creek Elk viewing area, the Umpqua Discovery Center in Reedsport, a splendid little museum, then on for a lunch at “Mo's” in Florence, and an exiting dune buggy ride in the afternoon. Later, we stopped in Gold Beach for the night. The hotel was right on the ocean, and the dinner in a nearby restaurant included a spectacular sunset. Next morning, we crossed into California and visited the mighty Redwoods in the Redwoods National and State Park. Our visitors were truly awed by the size and beauty of these trees. After lunch, we took a gondola ride through the tree tops at a place called "Trees of Mystery". Again, we had super weather and a fine view from the top of the hill to the ocean. We concluded the day by driving, partially again through tall Redwoods to Grants Pass, where we stayed at the “Lodge at Riverside”, a really first class hotel. After breakfast at the hotel, the bus took us to Medford to the “Harry and David” pear packing plant. Since Shobu is also a pear growing region, this informative tour was a very appropriate stop. Afterwards, a drive through side roads lined with pear orchards took us to historic Jacksonville for a delicious luncheon at the “Old Inn”. After lunch, we made our way back to Grants Pass were the jet boat to ‘Hellgate Canyon’ was waiting for us. This excursion is always a highlight, especially when one enjoys wonderful weather as we did. Besides the thrill of the fast ride, it is also a good opportunity to see some of the Oregon wild life. We spotted a few bald eagles, several Ospreys, as well as Egrets and other water fowl. Then the bus took us back home to Roseburg, and unfortunately it was already time for the delegates to pack their suitcase for their departure the next day. Wednesday, we had a pleasant farewell BBQ, nicely prepared for us by the Girl Scouts, at the “Rod and Gun Club” near Winchester. After lunch, the delegates had the opportunity to do some target shooting, and also to visit the fish ladder. By the middle of the afternoon, the bus took us back to Portland. In the state of Washington, we had a lovely dinner overlooking the mighty Columbia River, and then it was time to check into a hotel at the airport for departure the next day. It was a wonderful visitation from Shobu, and many fond memories will stay with us for a very long time. I also want to take this opportunity to thank all of the folks that made this visit such a great success! Much work and thought went into the preparation and execution of this visit, and, from the feedback I received from Japan; I can report that our efforts were much appreciated. Our guests had a grand time! ~ H.D. Honscheid  Journeys, 2004 Shobu Delegation Part 3 Today, we are heading for the Nagano Mountains. I can’t remember
ever being on a bus on such narrow, steep and winding road before! It
was raining very hard. I am trying not to look out the window, but
Thelma made me sit on the window side, and keeps asking me about the
view. We got off the bus and got our rain gear, umbrellas and the
warmest coats we had with us. It was very cold and wet.
XX is one of the oldest villages in Japan. It was very beautiful. The buildings are quaint and open to the narrow road that wind thru the village. The villagers are out and ready for us to look at their goods and crafts. Thelma and I were in the midst of bargaining on some beautiful scarves when we felt the ground begin to shake. Before we can even speak, the elderly Japanese lady, who was helping us, had begun to run and crouched down in the middle of her house holding onto a large beam. We were still in slow motion…wondering what is happening! Then the ground and the building really started to rock. Thelma and I squatted down against the building. There really wasn’t anyplace to run. We were wondering if the small temple on top of the knoll was going to slide right down the road in front of us; but it didn’t. A few minutes later, the little old lady came back and started helping us again, as if nothing had happened. I ended up buying four scarves to take home to my girls. Later, we found out that we had just experienced a 4+ magnitude earthquake! Soon it was time to go back to the bus. We were all so busy sharing how the earthquake felt that we forgot all about the steep, winding road back down the mountain. Oh, and when we got home and I gave the scarves to my girls, we found tags on them. They were made it India! We all had a big laugh… ~Bernis Wagner, 2004 Roseburg Delegation  Dates to Remember!
Source: www.japan-guide.com
 Obon Festival The
13th through 16th of August is called Obon in Japan. Obon is a
Buddhist event and one of the most important traditions for
Japanese people. It is the period of praying for the repose of the
souls of
one's ancestors. People believe that their ancestors' spirits come back
to their homes to be reunited with their family during Obon.
People clean their houses and offer a variety of food such as vegetables and fruits to the spirits of ancestors in front of Abutsudan (Buddhists families’ altar). The Butsudan is decorated with flowers and chouchin (paper lanterns). On the 13th, chouchins are lit inside houses, and people go to their family's o-haka (graves) to call their ancestors' spirits back home. In some regions, fires called mukaebi are lit at the entrances to homes to guide the ancestor's spirits. On the 16th, people bring the ancestor's spirits back to O-haka, hanging chouchins painted with the family crest to guide the ancestors' spirits. In some regions, fires called okuribi are lit at entrances of homes to send the ancestors' spirits. The air in houses and cemeteries are full of smoke and the smell of incense called senko at this time. Source: www.gojapan.about.com  |
