I never imagined that my younger daughter would live in the countryside, but she does now. She lives in an old farmhouse that belongs to a friend. When she left Japan to go to high school, she was a real city girl. She didn’t like being outside in nature. Whenever she saw a fly or a bee, she got upset and started crying. She preferred to stay at home or go shopping. She has been living in the U.S. for 20 years now, and she has changed a lot. There are a lot of insects around her house, but they don’t bother her now. She likes living in the countryside, and she likes to go hiking and camping with her friends. (121 words)

In northeastern America and Canada, the native people started making a sweet syrup from trees a long time ago. It comes from a special maple tree, so it is called maple syrup. Vermont makes a lot of maple syrup, and my friend showed me some sugar maple trees. In the early spring, when it starts to get warm, the sap, the blood of the tree, goes up the tree. Farmers make a small hole in each tree, and the sap comes out. People used to put a bucket under each tree to catch the sap, but now farmers use hoses that go from one tree to another. The sap goes through the hose and into a large metal container. When they get a lot of sap, they boil it until it becomes thick and very sweet. It’s not easy to make maple syrup, so it is expensive, but it is really delicious! (152

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)