Language -- it is constantly changing. In fact, the English language is said to be shrinking in terms of vocabulary. With that being said, language can be one of the most important doorways into others lives. This week, I had the pleasure of working as a mentor for a camp called Adventure Zone at Doane University. The camp is for ninth grade students from Shensu Matsudo Junior High School in Japan. They have been studying English for two years and came to America to continue working on their conversational English. Now, for me, after studying the English language for 12 years, I can't say I'm any good at it, but these guys rock it! Bridging the gap between cultures takes time and patience; after seeing some great ambassador's among the students I have found some talking points worth sharing. Here are a couple things they taught me:

1. What are s'mores?

Seriously. These kids have no idea what kind of heaven they are missing out on! I'm actually very surprised that Japan doesn't have s'mores on a regular basis. I mean, they have managed to get green tea Kit Kat bars. Note for next year: I'm packing camping supplies.

2. Bugs are the devil and should be feared at all times.

I don't know how many times someone would scream or panic at the sight of a creepy crawly. Don't get me wrong, I hate bugs just as much as the next guy, but flys are a part of life. For the next couple of weeks, anytime I see something flying I'm going to duck and cover my ears due to flash backs.

3. If you sing or dance really well you will be nicknamed Janese.

Part of my job was mentoring to a small group of six kids. Halfway through the week, my students kept calling one of my boys Janese. I asked what Janese meant and I was told that the student was very good at dancing and "Janese" was "Japanese Idol." Even though the kid denied his dancing skills, I got him to dance a little bit and I guarantee I'll be watching "Japanese Idol" for him! Click Here for footage from the 2013 show!

4. American food is VERY BIG.

Food portions in America are huge compared to what these teens can stomach. After eating out at Lazlo's in the Lincoln Haymarket, students will leave plates of food that they just couldn't manage to eat. Even a combo meal at McDonald's could be two meals for them. So instead of starting a juice cleanse I recommend turning to the Japanese for advice on portion sizes! In fact, speaking of size...

5. Tokyo is very small (go figure).

Ask anyone in America and it would probably be 99% guaranteed that they think Tokyo is the biggest city in Japan. While the population sets at 13.5 million as of December 2015, Tokyo is actually very small compared to the kids' school's town, Chiba. While Tokyo is 845 squared miles, Chiba is a whopping 1,991 square miles with only 6 million people. Tokyo may be the hot spot for tourists but if being cramped isn't your style, I'd recommend heading over to Chiba for your next vacation.

6. Humor is an ambassador.

After about the second day with the kiddos, conversations can get more personal. For instance, my friend Erin Nielsen was talking to her group about dating. One girl in particular was very excited to say they take long walks together everyday! Some others even teased her about her boyfriend. When Erin asked to see a picture, the girl pulled out a picture of her dog. Wit and humor can sometimes be the best ambassador between groups.

7. A favorite dish is boiled fish.

I asked a girl what her favorite kind of food was and what she told me threw my imagination and taste buds for a loop. Boiled fish is now on my list of things to try before I die. I wondered what it looked like, so here is what I found. It actually looks really good. Don't knock it before you try it, I guess!

8. Dating is a matter of patience.

I had the pleasure of getting to know this sweet girl while on a bus ride to our next destination. I asked her about her boyfriend. We talked about him for awhile, he sounded like a very nice boy! However, ladies, I do have confirmation that it is possible to not be with your boyfriend 24/7, because this girl has only seen her boyfriend twice in two months. So ladies, relax, if you don't see your boyfriend in the next three hours, he is most likely still alive and thinking about you.

9. The Statue of Liberty

This. Kid. Seriously though, he was American all the way at the farewell ceremony on Friday. If this picture doesn't show the kid's enthusiasm for America then I don't know what does.

10. They lie too!

So, it's obvious that teenagers lie, but when language is a barrier, it's hard to know when truth becomes lies and when humor becomes hurtful. In my group there was a lot of teasing going on between a couple of them. They were both laughing so I let them tease each other for a while. When I started noticing it was getting serious I started to engage in the conversation. Then another boy told me to "Never mind, they are arguing about differing Japanese music artists". At that point I asked him, "Atsushi, are you lying to me," to which he said, "yes." I guess it should be no surprise that teenagers lie no matter where they come from, but after all that happened this week it struck me funny that they had the nerve to lie to me.

11. They love others.

At the end of the week, it is easy to say that these kids are like family to us mentors. The relationships formed along the way create many memories for all of us involved. What surprises me every year is the amount of generosity and compassion these kids bring to America. In a time of great turmoil here in the United States, the Japanese students always find a way to remind me that life can be better. Their ability to connect with us and engage in our lives is a true blessing that could be considered therapy.

With all these things in mind, it's easy to see that even though in some ways we are different, the bridge between culture's can be easy to build. I look forward to this camp every year because of the experience gained by working with these kids; every year I learn something new. Yes, the language barrier was hard to navigate around sometimes, but with some crazy hand gestures and a little bit of patience a lot of memories were made.