Settling In

Bart and Sakura had two separate marriage ceremonies, one in Japan, and one right upon arrival in America. When Sakura first arrived here, Hanson explains how "It was a very strange experience [for Sakura], very difficult. She had never been out of the country. She had never lived somewhere else because the Japanese don't do that". It was challenging to transition, as with no internet at the time, there was no great way to communicate with relatives back in Japan.

Learning English was also a major challenge for Sakura. She had taken some English lessons in her childhood, but she was never a big fan of the subject, and didn't have much interest in it. Unfortunately, Sakura never foresaw moving to America when studying English, and her fluency struggled because of it. Luckily, she received a lot of help from her mother-in-law (Bart's mother), as Hanson describes his grandmother as his mother's "English mentor". With Bart always working, Sakura's mother-in-law was the one helping her get settled.

Still, while Sakura's English has improved, she continues to struggle with with communication due to a heavy accent. Hanson discusses how whenever he's had checkups, ever since being a little kid, he's been doing most of the talking to the doctor himself.