<Begin Segment 19>

SY: And so, in some ways, was there a lot of freedom for you, in ways you'd not felt before?

MN: Well, not too much, 'cause I never felt any pressure from the Isseis, from my mother or brother. But I know some of them, my friends, felt that their parents were always watching to see how many shoes were outside the door, so they'd know if somebody had come to visit and things like that.

SY: This was a time you said there were lots of socializing, lots of dancing and things. Did you meet any interesting people that you continued friendships with afterwards?

MN: (...) On Saturday, we got to push the dining room tables back and use the floor to dance. So we had dances. And there was one boy who had a system where we could play records so we did that and then other blocks also had dances. So that was about the biggest social thing.

SY: Before camp, had you done any of those kinds of socializing activities?

MN: No, I didn't 'cause, well, all through high school, we -- I didn't go to any dances or anything like that. And in college, too, there weren't very many occasions for the Japanese to get together to dance.

SY: So, in some ways, was this like the first time you were able to meet men and date?

MN: Yeah. And it was, it was not exactly date, it was just everybody, a free for all, everybody. And then kids would come from other blocks, too, so it wasn't just our block.

SY: So during this time in camp, and socializing and being with Japanese Americans and Japanese, more so than you had in your whole life, did you get some sort of Japanese identity within yourself that you hadn't had before?

MN: No, I just felt the same. And I think all the kids that I met, they were just like me 'cause they had lived and gone to school, so they were very Americanized. They didn't seem to be Japanesey, so to speak.

<End Segment 19> - Copyright © 1998 Densho. All Rights Reserved.