Universal Language - Grandmas in Backyards

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TRANSCRIBED INTERVIEW with RICHARD YOSHIDA:

"I noticed that there's a lot of diversity in the area. I used to walk to school, only five blocks (not like you), but everybody was so friendly, as you go back. I heard when we moved in that this is kind of a rough neighborhood. Well, I didn't see any roughness at all!

Everybody was very friendly, waved, and helped you when you needed to. One thing that really sticks out in my mind. My grandma used to live with me. There's a lot of Japanese around. There's black families. There's Spanish. Well, she was in the backyard and what's going on? She's yacking away in Japanese.

The next door neighbor is a lady about her age speaking in Spanish. They were conversing across the fence, and they were understanding each other! I just couldn't figure it out! It’s amazing how they converse. The diversity shows there; that a lot of different people there were able to get together, live together. [Background: So one was speaking Japanese and one was speaking Spanish?] Yeah! I don't know how they did it, but they understood each other. It's amazing."