Message from gtyau

[Anonymous]

Yukichi Fukuzawa's description of his introduction to America was vivid and an easy read. I was struck by how hospitable and accommodating the American hosts were in trying not to force their guests to be a certain way or adapt too quickly to American customs, including food. There was a thoughtfulness described that I feel our culture sometimes lacks today. However, there was also an assumption made, I believe, by the Americans that Yukichi (and presumably his Samurai peers) were simpletons and uneducated. The "fish out of water" analogy so clearly applies; it would be easy to segue this into a lesson for middle or high school students to try to think of a time when they felt similar to Yukichi I would assume. Primary sources are great!