<figure id="attachment_405095" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-405095" style="width: 2500px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="9e4ebae2"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/12/89efe72101aad68272b2bbe12f83359e.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-405095" class="wp-caption-text">Illustration by Kanda-san</figcaption></figure>
<h2> &#8220;Pre&#8211;s, Shake Hands &#8230;&#8230;&#8221;</h2>
<p> The other day, I boarded a flight from Haneda Airport to Naha. In the seat diagonally in front of me were two foreign men. I thought they might be Americans, judging from the atmosphere. I started to have my own delusion. As I was observing the one who was putting his luggage in the upper rack, he suddenly turned around and smiled at me. I smiled back and looked away. Suddenly, I began to think, (Maybe I&#8217;ve seen him before?). I began to think. The corners of her gentle eyes and her pouty cheeks. The more I thought about it, the more I was convinced that I had seen her before. The more I thought about it, the more I was convinced that I had seen her before.</p>
<p> There was still time before takeoff, and I could still use my phone. I hurried to search. The Americans I knew were either Hollywood stars or baseball players. Aurally, he is not a Hollywood star. They are not active players in terms of age. I narrowed down my search to retired players or managers.</p>
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<p> The first person that came to mind was &#8220;Sammy Sosa. His face was totally different. Next, a &#8220;foreign manager. I found former Japanese baseball managers Hillman and Ramirez. No way. No way, ″Dodgers Manager Roberts″ &#8230;&#8230; (They look alike!). . When I searched for ″Roberts profile″, the features matched the profile of the person I could see now! My heart skipped a beat (why is he now in Japan on the Naha flight?!?). ) I searched further and found that the person&#8217;s profile matched the one I was looking at now. I searched further and found that he was &#8220;coming to Japan for the first time in about 20 years. He is staying in Naha, his birthplace, with his son starting today. (Bingo!). (Bingo!).</p>
<p> (Bingo!) No one around us seemed to notice. After takeoff, I connected my smartphone to the in-flight Wi-Fi and sent a text message to my mother, who loves baseball. Then she said, &#8220;Have your picture taken! Foreigners are friendly, don&#8217;t worry!&#8221; She replied. I can&#8217;t do it because I don&#8217;t have the courage!&#8221; I replied. Still, I asked myself, &#8220;What if I were in the director&#8217;s shoes? Wouldn&#8217;t you be happy if you were asked to take pictures in a foreign country? He replied, &#8220;Yes, that&#8217;s right. Yes, that is true. But the person I was talking to was a super big guy. (Is that the same feeling as mine?!?). I was so worried. I kept worrying, and after 2 hours and 50 minutes of flight, I landed without getting sleepy even for a second.</p>
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<p> As soon as the plane doors opened, he got off. (Not a chance! And if I talk to him, other people will notice and bother him!) ) ) Telling myself that I was by no means lacking in courage, I got off too. Then I saw the director standing right in front of me. The distance between me and him was 30cm! ) &#8220;Pre&#8211;s, shake hands!</p>
<p> (Now!) &#8220;Pre&#8211;s, shake hands &#8230;&#8230;.&#8221; I said in a small, fearful voice. The director looked me straight in the eye and said, &#8220;Oh~!　Nice to meet you! Then he strongly shook my right hand with both hands, as if he was wrapping his arms around me. I was moved. His hands were big and thick. Unlike my hands, which were sticky with tension, his palms were a little dry. I was overwhelmed by the ruggedness of his hands (blisters from a baseball game!?). I was overwhelmed.</p>
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" My mother&#39;s reaction was..."></div>
<h2>My mother&#8217;s stern pep talk</h2>
<p> But (I have to say something!) but no words came out at all. (I have to reply in correct English! (I heard that Americans don&#8217;t use &#8220;nice to meet you&#8221; because it&#8217;s a stiff expression, but I told you!) ) My mind raced with unnecessary thoughts such as these, but my mouth was just puckered up like a goldfish waiting to be fed. I shook hands with him and remained silent, and I couldn&#8217;t stand it anymore, so I waved ″bye-bye″ to him myself with my other hand and walked away without even saying &#8220;thank you&#8221; (my stupidity!!!).</p>
<p> (My idiot!!! How rude to the director!!!) . For what reason have I made dozens of trips to the US? What kind of mouth professes to love New York? Even if I had replied in Japanese, it would have been better than saying nothing at all!</p>
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<p> I was about to cry in frustration. But I thought my mother would praise me just for shaking her hand, so I called her to report. Then,</p>
<p> How long are you going to be such a miserable person? It&#8217;s as if you&#8217;ve thrown away all the money you&#8217;ve spent so far on your trip to the U.S. What can you do to gain confidence?　What do I have to do to gain confidence? That&#8217;s why you can&#8217;t expand your circle of friends! Take some time to regret it, and get depressed until you swear you will never do it again! He told me to fold up.</p>
<p> I was naive. My mother had always scolded me for my inability to take action when the time came, with words that would bring me down to the depths of despair. Just as she said, I am a woman in her mid-forties who still lacks courage and confidence. I really hate myself like this. I want to be a courageous person who can speak to anyone, no matter who they are! To do so, I need to study English, which I hate! I strongly, strongly vow that the Aika Kanda of 2025 will start studying again from This is a pen!</p>
<figure id="attachment_405096" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-405096" style="width: 3004px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-405096 size-full" src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/12/695002d97b11ca3cd791054813aeec37-1.jpg" alt="" width="3004" height="3734"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-405096" class="wp-caption-text"> © Kazuki Shimomura</figcaption></figure>
<p> Aika Kanda was born in 1980 in Kanagawa Prefecture. After graduating from Gakushuin University, Faculty of Science, Department of Mathematics, she joined NHK as an announcer in 2003, and left NHK in 2012 to become a freelance announcer. Since then, she has been active mainly in variety shows, and currently appears regularly as the main MC of the daytime TV program &#8220;Poka Poka&#8221; (Fuji Television Network).</p>
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<p> Her first book, &#8221; <a href="https://amzn.to/4dbWKKN">Where are you going on the road called Royal Road?</a> is now on sale by popular demand!</p>
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<p> From &#8220;FRIDAY&#8221; January 3, 10, and 17, 2025, combined issue.</p>
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 Aika Kanda

 In the plane, Aika Kanda noticed Dodgers manager Roberts sitting diagonally in front of her. Gathering up her courage, she called out, "Pre--s, shake hands ......," and was only able to get a few words out before shaking his hand. When she contacted her baseball-loving mother, she received a stern...

Free Announcer Aika Kanda: “In 2025, Dodgers Manager Roberts Will Change Me!

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