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Title: Kazuko Uno Bill Interview I
Narrator: Kazuko Uno Bill
Interviewer: Megan Asaka
Location: Seattle, Washington
Date: May 7, 2008
Densho ID: denshovh-bkazuko-01-0008

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MA: So moving on to high school, you actually went to high school in Seattle, right, at Cleveland?

KB: Could I just say a word about my grade school?

MA: Oh, sure.

KB: Okay. I think we came from a Japanese family with Japanese customs, and when I, like I said, when I started kindergarten, I didn't know any English. So we learned a lot about the American customs through our schools. And I went to South Park school, I think kindergarten through third grade, and then we were transferred to Concord school, which was also in the area. And there we went from the fourth grade to the sixth grade. And that school was much larger, and it had a cafeteria. And since we were not used to all the American food, I mean, we were just fascinated by the food in that cafeteria. [Laughs] And one of the things that I just remember so well is that they had these delicious hot just-baked biscuits with butter, and butter is something that the Japanese didn't use very much, and these biscuits would be dripping with butter and we'd go home and tell our parents, "Oh, we had these delicious biscuits at school. Why can't we have them at home?" [Laughs] And, of course, they didn't really know exactly what we're talking about, but it was kind of interesting to learn American ways, American food, American habits through our schools. And the teachers were, I think, exceptionally patient with us because not only were there Japanese, but there were also the Italian kids who were children of immigrants. And they had their likes, (and I) learned about garlic from the Italians. And so not only did we learn to read and write, but I think we learned more about the American (and other) culture through our schools.

MA: It seems like at home you had a strong sense of Japanese culture and heritage and food.

KB: Yes, uh-huh.

MA: Were your parents, how did they feel about you, I guess, going to school and learning all this stuff about American food and culture? Were they, was there a conflict ever about that?

KB: No, I think like my mother also took cooking classes to learn how to cook American food, how to cook Chinese food. I think they were very open to this type of thing. They liked to try different variety of foods.

MA: So was Concord school then located outside of South Park? Where was it geographically?

KB: No, it's in South Park.

MA: In South Park?

KB: It's still, I think it's still in existence, uh-huh, as far as I know, it's still there and still open to students.

MA: It was just a larger school than your previous elementary school.

KB: Right, uh-huh. There's Concord Avenue, and it's on Concord Avenue, and I don't know, I haven't been back there to see, but as far as I know, it's still in existence.

MA: What are some of your strongest memories from that time?

KB: Let me see. From my elementary school days? Well, learning about food, learning about the American customs, there was a, actually, a classmate who invited us to her home, and I think it was not too far from Concord school. And we found out that their floor was waxed, and there were maybe four or five of us Japanese kids who were invited there, and we were having so much fun just sliding around on this waxed floor. [Laughs] And I think back about that, they must have been appalled how we were behaving. But they were very nice, they knew that we were learning. So they were very patient with us.

MA: Was that common, to sort of, for the Caucasian students and the Japanese students to socialize together at that point, or was it sort of a...

KB: Not, not that much, I don't think. Not so much in grade school. That was just one incidence that I recall, we were invited into their home.

<End Segment 8> - Copyright © 2008 Densho. All Rights Reserved.