LYNNWOOD – The bowling alley is bustling with people of all kinds. Tall, short, big, blond, bold, brunet, children, adults, white, black, whatnot.
They spread over 40 lanes and throw balls of different weights, in red, orange, green, black, blue, gold, whatnot.
At Lane 24, Shiho Muranaka and Akiko Ono and the Opsal family of Everett are in the game.
The high school students met Scott and Cheryl Opsal and their children, Aaron and Kyla, four days ago.
They are visiting their first foreign country from Iwakuni, an Everett sister city in Japan.
They eat pizza and drink water and Diet Coke.
They bowl, smile, sigh, clap, utter “Oh!” for good throws and show peace signs after a spare or a strike.
Balls roll down the lanes, some hitting pins, others landing in gutters.
Shiho and Akiko have visited a reptile zoo, managed to buy a phone card and called their folks.
They say everything seems bigger here: people, the sky and ice cream sold in a big bucket.
“For how many days?” Akiko wondered, imagining ice cream forever.
There is more to come: shopping at a mall, sightseeing in Seattle, watching “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest.”
Earlier this day, Akiko, 17, and Shiho, 16, made cookies in class and brought some home.
“Cookies?” Cheryl asked, while waiting her turn to bowl.
Akiko stammered, winced and turned to Shiho.
“Cookie, in a bag, for you,” Shiho said with gestures.
“Oh, thank you,” Cheryl said.
In several days, the girls will leave for Japan. Parting will be hard and tearful, they say.
For now, they are partying.
Cheryl gets a spare. She turns around and beams. She walks back, hugs Shiho and gives a high 10 to Akiko.
They connect with each other beyond their differences.
Balls keep rolling. Red, orange, green, blue, gold, whatnot.
Every summer, students from Iwakuni and Ishinomaki, Japan, spend two weeks living with families in Snohomish County.
This summer, 13 local families are hosting students. The students will leave for Japan on Saturday.
For more information, call 425-388-9195
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