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BY: So you, did you ever have any, or witness or experience any kind of discrimination? Because...

SN: Oh, yes.

BY: Can you tell us about that?

SN: First time I arrived Lehigh, which is in Pennsylvania, I went to get my hair cut. As soon as I went to the barbershop, of course, couple of white people there. And the barber said, told me, "I'm sorry, I get only my customers, so please find another place." So I went to the barber at the campus, so I could get my hair cut. So that's my surprise, you know, first discrimination.

BY: What other things were difficult for you to adjust to? For example, language or food? Were there other things that were difficult for you?

SN: Well, language, fortunately, I had lived at the Hawaii dormitory, and because of the reverend there, my conversation was okay. But the first year is a tough one, Lehigh. There was only hundred dollars scholarship, I must pay the room, and then I must still buy food and clothing. So next year, I went to University of Chicago and was okay.

BY: What did you think of American food? And you said you didn't have very much money, so what would you eat?

SN: [Laughs] I tried to get rice as much as I could.

BY: Could you find good rice?

SN: Oh, yes, I can order lunch, yeah. Without rice, hard to live.

TI: Yeah, I'm interested in how you came to, like, know Americans. And so thinking about when you were back in Japan during the war, what did you think Americans were going to be like?

SN: Well, we had a long education, "Americans are terrible," and all sorts of bad things. But I was surprised, they are very kind.

TI: And that's because you met with John Young, right? You got to know him. So your first real, kind of, I guess, connection with Americans was Mr. Young, John Young? And then you found another side. You saw him to be very kind.

SN: Yeah. I told you when I first came to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, Lehigh University, I went to the barber shop and the barber said, "Oh, I take only customers. Please find other place." That was the first discrimination.

TI: So you're getting, like, different experiences with Americans.

SN: Oh, yes.

TI: So how would you describe Americans? When you were a young student in Lehigh and University of Chicago, if someone from Japan said, "Susumu, what are Americans like?" How would you describe that?

SN: Well, my first experience at the barber shop is exception. Generally, Americans are very kind and very nice. So I didn't have any complaints. Let's see...

TI: Well, here's another question. Do you have any examples or stories of an American doing something kind for you? Especially when you were starting at Lehigh or University of Chicago, was there a story of someone helping you?

SN: Yeah. Well, as I told you, I came to Lehigh, and only one hundred dollar scholarship. And I must pay the room and not much money left for meals. And Reverend Broadhead of the Methodist Church there, invited me many, many times for actually feeding me. [Laughs] And all the church people are very kind. So I had a wonderful experience.

BY: So it sounds like you were fortunate to meet two ministers. So there was Reverend Young in Japan and then Reverend Broadhead and his wife, yeah. And so what did you think about that? Did you think, oh, all Americans are like this? Or you think, oh, these are Christian people?

SN: I think all Christian people in the U.S. are very, very kind and helpful.

<End Segment 9> - Copyright © 2022 Densho. All Rights Reserved.