Mr. Dana Michael Aumend
　

              MY INTRODUCTION

  My name is Dana Michael Aumend.  My hometown is Oakland, California, USA, but I spent most of my youth in Olympia, Washington. As I have spent half my life in Hitachi, I now think of Hitachi as my hometown, for it is in Hitachi that I have spent most of my adult life and have learned about life.
  I admire people who can speak a foreign language. I never studied a foreign language in school, even at university, for I believed I would become a high school teacher in Washington State, get fat, get old, and never travel. Well, I have learned a lot about life since my youth. I have learned that one's life journey is not always straight; there are twists and turns, and the journey is not always smooth, but the journey takes you where you are meant to be.
  When I graduated from Western Washington University with a major in American literature and a minor in creative writing, I could not find a teaching position. So I worked part time at the Olympia YMCA and at the local newspaper.
  Then, as fate would have it, I went to Liberia, West Africa as a Peace Corps Volunteer. I spent two years teaching English at E. J. Yancy High School in Totota, Bong County. Towards the end of my tour there, I met an Englishman who had arrived to manage a nearby rubber tree plantation. He was married to a Malaysian, and had spent a number of years in Asia. On an occasional Sunday, we would drink Club Beer, talk about life, and watch the sun set. During one of our last Sundays together, this older Englishman who befriended me, advised me to go to Japan, saying that Japan would match my spirit.

  I worked for the Mito English Center for four years. Then I started the American Language School which is still a major part of my life. I taught part time at Fukushima College of Technology, then transferred to Ibaraki College of Technology where I am now a part time English instructor. I also teach English at Ibaraki University. I am very fortunate to continue to have the opportunities to help Japanese of all age groups to acquire English.

I am grateful to those Japanese who have made the effort and have taken the time to learn English to better communicate with native English speakers. I believe studying should be enjoyable. Touch English every day in fun ways - surf the Internet, read newspaper articles of interest, read a good book, listen to music and follow the lyrics, sing English songs at karaoke, keep a diary in English, have an English only speaking time with friends who are also studying English, but more importantly, speak to native English speakers. While learning English, you are also learning about other cultures. If you go to a conversation school, pick one that will match your needs and desires. Find a teacher who cares about you and who enjoys teaching. Always be positive and be willing to use your English, which is always better than you think it is!

I want to thank the Hyotan staff (who are all good English speakers!) for giving space to the foreign community to share life with the Japanese community. You will discover what I have come to learn, that though we have different cultures and different backgrounds, we also have many similarities - we live, we laugh, we cry, we worry, we want the best for our families, and we die. During all that our lives entail, we also want the best for our shared community - Hitachi!

I look forward speaking English to all who say, "Hello"...