Amy & Mie's Story
This story begins at Grasshopper Green Nursery School in a small town in Connecticut. That’s where Amy and Mie met and became friends when they were three years old.
The hero of this story is. . . WRITING!
Mie & Amy, age 8
In elementary school, they were best friends. In the middle of their 3rd grade year, their world was rocked when Mie’s parents announced that her family would be moving to Japan, the homeland of Mie’s mother. On a cold January day, the two friends hugged goodbye, wondering if they would ever see each other again.
But guess what? They both loved writing! So they wrote letters to each other.
For years.
And years.
And years.
The year they turned 15, Mie spent the summer with Amy in New England. All their letter writing paid off - they picked right up where they left off at age eight.
a photo Mie sent Amy from Japan
The year they turned 17, Amy spent the summer in Japan with Mie. Among other adventures, they climbed to the top of Mt. Fuji!
Inspired by Mie's bilingualism, Amy resolved to study Japanese in college. She did, and went on to live in Japan for four years. Meanwhile, Mie lived in various places, including Portland, Oregon, a city she introduced to Amy.
Mie & Amy
age 20-something
When Amy returned from Japan, she went to live in Oregon and taught elementary school in Portland Public Schools' Japanese Immersion Program for 19 years.
Meanwhile, Mie settled in San Francisco. She often wished that her children could have Amy as a teacher, but since they lived in different cities, it was not to be. . . or so they thought.
In the middle of Mie's daughter Aila's 3rd grade year, a global pandemic rocked the world, and schools closed their doors. Mie was looking for ways to supplement Aila's online education. . .and learned that Amy was teaching writing workshops by videoconference!
And guess what? Aila loves writing, too! So Aila and her friends signed up for Amy's workshops, and they wrote stories with Amy all through Aila's 4th grade year. You may even have read Mie's words on the parent testimonial page, or seen some of Aila's drawings on the home page of this website.
Mie & Amy
age 40-something
Isn't it amazing where one friendship - and a love of writing - can lead?
Though Amy and Mie have not lived in the same city since they were eight years old, they are still friends, and still enjoy writing to each other, though these days it is most often by email.