<Begin Segment 15>

AI: Well, before the break we were just finishing our talk about Crystal City camp and I wanted to have you show a couple of these other photos and tell us a little bit more about what was happening at that time.

AS: Well, this is a photo of our, the Peruvian kids and this is, this is a Japanese American who volunteered to teach us English, because by then the war had ended and a lotta Japanese Americans went out of camp. So we, so all the schoolteachers were gone so then we decided to learn English because actually we had nothing else to do. So, so she was teaching, she volunteered to teach us English.

AI: And are you in that picture?

AS: This, here I am.

AI: Well, I wanted to ask you a little bit more about the relationship between the Japanese Peruvians and the Japanese Americans in the camp at Crystal City. It, did you mix very much or did --

AS: Not too much because, well, we, we... because we were one of the, the last ones to go into camp because we went in in '44 so it was late. So they, and then we were all put into a... they had to build a new barracks for us to live in so we were all put, put into one side of camp all together. So then, we, so then we had to, because the, especially the softball league was already established so we made our own team and then so that way we were intermingled with the Japanese Americans; and then in judo, too, so we, because we had to take judo the same place, so we kind of got mixed with them there. But it was hard to communicate because they didn't speak Japanese and we didn't speak English, so, so it was hard.

AI: What was the feeling? I mean, with, of course it's hard to communicate, but was it generally friendly or was there some --

AS: Yeah, they were friendly, yeah.

AI: -- friction or some conflict?

AS: No, we didn't have any friction. That way we, we, there was no, no friction there because the only thing was that we couldn't communicate very well. So it was mostly by sign language, by sign, I mean, by expression and that way. Or, or they would, we'd talk to them in Japanese and they would answer in English. [Laughs] Because a lot of 'em understood but they couldn't speak.

AI: The Japanese Americans?

AS: Yeah.

AI: Well, so the, did you call the Japanese Americans "Nisei"?

AS: Yeah, we were, we were all Niseis, so...

AI: Well, you were Nisei also but you were --

AS: Yeah, right.

AI: -- Japanese Peruvian Nisei. So did they, did the Japanese Americans have some other name for you, or --

AS: No.

AI: -- just called you the Peruvians?

AS: No. Well, they called us Peruvians, yeah. But they call us by name, so --

AI: Well, you mentioned the softball league and I wanted you to show this picture and explain about that.

AS: Well, after, after the war ended, most of the Japanese Americans went out of camp. And then, some of the people that were still left in camp had no, people that had no place to go, they came to our camp 'cause we were the last one to close. And a lot of Kibei came from Tule Lake and so they made their own softball team, mostly single guys. So then they were practicing and then we decided, hey, let's make our own team and play them. So that's how this team got together. But there's one Japanese American here that was left. In fact, his sister was one of the teachers, English teacher for teaching us how to speak English.

AI: And where are you in this picture?

AS: In this, here. That's me, right next to him.

AI: So this would have been in 1946 then, that...

AS: '40... yeah, end of '45 or end of '46.

AI: So you were about fifteen years old in this picture?

AS: Right.

<End Segment 15> - Copyright © 2003 Densho. All Rights Reserved.