I went up to northern Vermont to see a friend who used to live in Nagoya. Vermont shares a border with Quebec, which is part of Canada, and my friend’s hometown is on a lake between the two countries. There are police boats on the lake that check people who cross between Canada and the U.S., but most people travel on the highway. They stop at the checkpoint on the border and show their passports. However, many Americans and Canadians live side by side in small towns. My friend took me to a town east of the lake, and we stopped at a library on the border. There was a small sign on the ground outside that said, “United States and Canada,” and another sign that said, “Do not enter,” but there was no wall, and the Canadian side looked just like the American side. (145 words)

When we think of lobster in the U.S., we think of something with two large claws. This kind of lobster only comes from the northeastern Atlantic Ocean. Lobsters live at the bottom of the sea, so fisherman put out lobster pots. These are net traps with a hole that lobsters can get into but cannot get out of. The lobsters in Portsmouth come straight from the fishing boats, so they are fresh and delicious! They are also cheaper here than in other places. I always have lobster when I come to Portsmouth, and this time, I had a medium-sized lobster. Almost everyone likes lobster except my sister’s grandsons. They would rather have hot dogs.    (114 words)

It‘s election day in the U.S., and we will know who the next president is soon. People in Portsmouth go to schools to vote. I went to vote at the local elementary school with my sister this morning. It was the first time I voted in person since 1984! When I am in Japan, I can vote in American elections, but I have to vote by mail. My sister and I waited in line for about 30 minutes, but the time passed quickly. Many families came with their children, and everyone was talking. The school was closed because of the election, but the parents were having a bake sale to make for the school. We bought some delicious-looking cookies and muffins. After we finished voting, we got stickers saying “I voted!” (133 words)

I’m visiting my sister in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Halloween is October 31, but some houses still had their Halloween decorations up when I arrived on November 1. She took me past the best-decorated house in town. It had big dragons and jack-o-lanterns in the yard. Other houses had human skeletons sitting on the porch and ghosts on the grass. My sister’s two grandsons went treat-or-treating dressed up as Darth Vader and a Power Ranger. They were a little scared by the decorations, but they were very happy because they got lots of candy! There was a Halloween parade in the downtown area on October 31. Everyone dressed up as brides and grooms, and when Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” started playing, they danced like zombies. (123 words)