We had a wonderful breakfast full of dialog between the volunteer ladies of the Turkish American Society of Chicago and 4 Japanese and one Turkish lady who came from Japan. A lot of people participated the event and enjoyed the rich food at the table. Our Japanese friends, who came to Chicago as a guest of Suleyman and Akiko Turhanogullari, looked very happy during the breakfast. They said they liked Chiago but it was too cold. They were relieved by the warm atmosphere among our community and added that they wanted to come back again.

After the breakfast we moved to the guest room. We all introduced ourselves and talked about life in both countries. They answered our questions with great patience. Next was the Kimono show. They asked for 3 volunteers to wear Kimono. They brought these kimonos all the way from Japan just to show us. Each kimono had 12 different parts and was brought in a special bag. It took at least 30 minutes to wear a kimono properly. After we put on the kimonos, we learned interesting things about Japan and the kimonos. When we had more than 3 volunteers to wear the kimonos, everyone wore the simplest form of the kimono. Then we took photos.

Even after the event finished, no one wanted to leave. Everyone was exchanging e-mails and phone numbers and this showed us what a valuable friendship was established although we were located so far away.