The First Meeting
Being first on the list due to my last name, I was the lucky person who got to meet her host family first. I was scared crapless, trying to remember polite phrases, and hoping that they wouldn’t disown me when it became apparent that my Japanese was horrific.
Luckily, I got the best damn family in the bunch. My host family consists of my Dad, Mom, and little sister (who’s 11) Tomona. They call me Oneechan (big sister), and are seriously the most awesome host family ever. They’re nice to me, nice to each other, and have a love for sweets that rivals my own.
For my first dinner we went to the super market and bought a bunch of fish, and made hand-rolled sushi with all sorts of things. My Okaasan’s parents came over (so my ‘grandparents) and ate with us. They all marveled at the fact that I willingly ate octopus, praised my skill with chopsticks, and cracked up every time I tried to use polite language. I was allowed to go first in the shower/bath, and so after a long soak and an “Oyasumi Nasai!” , I crawled into my warm bed and passed out.
The next day I went with Okaasan, Otousan and Tomona-chan to Osaka Castle for a Hanami. In Japan, Sakura flowers bloom at a particular point in time in the spring, and are basically the fricking center of everything. Hanami is where people come together for a sort of picnic-like deal, and eat and drink under the pretty trees. Of course, since the flowers bloom for like, 2 weeks only, every citizen of Japan and even citizens from other countries are out and about under these trees. We met up with some of Otousan’s coworkers outside the giant moat that surrounds the castle, who proceeded to speak at about 80 km/hr, leaving me to chat in English with my little sister (who is currently studying English and is my translator whenever her parents say something particularly difficult). After the Hanami, we actually went inside Osaka Castle. They had some amazing artifacts, and the view from the top was amazing.
Unfortunately, the Sakura flowers also have deadly (in a matter of speaking) pollen that is the bane of all those who have allergies, and which makes people who’ve never had allergies in their life before (me) develop them. So the next day I woke up runny nosed, light headed, and feeling like crap. Luckily I was able to get some allergy medicine (with the help of my Okaasan), so I’m doing better now. Just a note, those masks you always see Asian people wearing on tv are not for SARS, they’re to keep pollen away from your mouth and nose so you don’t die of allergies.
School
Moving on, school hasn’t been particularly eventful yet. Japanese class is the same as usual (hard), Postwar Japanese Society is interesting, and Religion and Japanese Culture is both interesting and covers things I’ve learned nearly three times over. Luckily though, the last two classes go on tons of field trips, and so for Postwar Japanese Society we went on a trip to Ritsumeikan Peace Museum. It talked a lot about the war, had a bunch of horrific but educational photos, was really depressing, and so afterwards everyone went to Kinkakujin (which is a building literally covered in gold) to see pretty things and cheer themselves up again.
One of the bad things about the school is that everyone and their mom tries to get on the internet at the same lunch break, so the wireless is pretty janky. If you’re lucky you can connect for a while, but it’s likely to drop at any minute so you have to be wary. Luckily, I discovered wireless at my house, so I’m currently not pulling my hair out. Another bad thing is the commute. It’s about 40 minutes one way, which actually isn’t too bad, it’s just the standing the entire way thing that pisses me off. Luckily though, I’m starting to perfect the salary man’s art of sleeping while standing up, so it’s been getting better.
Another thing that’s made my life infinitely more awesome is my new cell phone. Most everyone in the SCTI program has acquired one, so now we can actually all contact one another instead of feeling frightened and scared and alone in the middle of Japan. It also makes contacting my host family easier, and my little sister will cheer me up by sending random cute emails (texts) from time to time.
Out and About
So Friday after Kinkakujin, a bunch of us ate and went out to Karaoke, which was quite an experience. After watching a room full of almost 8 guys screaming their lungs out to Avril Lavigne, my life will never be the same. Saturday we went to Kiyomizudera with the DESA kids (Doshisha Exchange Students Association, translation: Japanese College Students) , which is this temple in the hills, and after that we went to a Tabe-Nomi-Houdai, which is basically an all you can eat all you can drink deal. Kiyomizudera was pretty, but when you have allergies, high heels, and are hiking up a giant hill in weather that’s fit for summer time, you get tired pretty easily. The tabe-nomi-houdai was refreshing, but it was also ridiculously amusing. The place we went to was a “Mexican Food Restaurant” but apparently Japanese people never eat Mexican food, which would explain why one of the dishes involved spaghetti, and another involved an egg salad. Nevertheless, it was loads of fun hanging out with the Japanese students, and afterwards we all ended up talking even more at this bar called Pig and Whistle.
The next day I woke up and went to an Easter party with my Okaasan and Tomona-chan. Tomona-chan and I decorated eggs and went on an egg hunt. I felt like I was 10 again, (which was actually an awesome feeling). After that the whole family went bowling, and even though I bowled the worst game of my life, it was loads of fun. I even did the requisite purikura with Tomona at the game center.
We’ll see what the next week brings, but before I head out, it’s time for random one liners:
Mom and Mike, I know you’re reading this, so I <3>
(My host mom's grandpa, me, Tomona, my mom's grandma, and my host mom. Otousan [dad] is taking the picture)
Being first on the list due to my last name, I was the lucky person who got to meet her host family first. I was scared crapless, trying to remember polite phrases, and hoping that they wouldn’t disown me when it became apparent that my Japanese was horrific.
Luckily, I got the best damn family in the bunch. My host family consists of my Dad, Mom, and little sister (who’s 11) Tomona. They call me Oneechan (big sister), and are seriously the most awesome host family ever. They’re nice to me, nice to each other, and have a love for sweets that rivals my own.
For my first dinner we went to the super market and bought a bunch of fish, and made hand-rolled sushi with all sorts of things. My Okaasan’s parents came over (so my ‘grandparents) and ate with us. They all marveled at the fact that I willingly ate octopus, praised my skill with chopsticks, and cracked up every time I tried to use polite language. I was allowed to go first in the shower/bath, and so after a long soak and an “Oyasumi Nasai!” , I crawled into my warm bed and passed out.
The next day I went with Okaasan, Otousan and Tomona-chan to Osaka Castle for a Hanami. In Japan, Sakura flowers bloom at a particular point in time in the spring, and are basically the fricking center of everything. Hanami is where people come together for a sort of picnic-like deal, and eat and drink under the pretty trees. Of course, since the flowers bloom for like, 2 weeks only, every citizen of Japan and even citizens from other countries are out and about under these trees. We met up with some of Otousan’s coworkers outside the giant moat that surrounds the castle, who proceeded to speak at about 80 km/hr, leaving me to chat in English with my little sister (who is currently studying English and is my translator whenever her parents say something particularly difficult). After the Hanami, we actually went inside Osaka Castle. They had some amazing artifacts, and the view from the top was amazing.
Unfortunately, the Sakura flowers also have deadly (in a matter of speaking) pollen that is the bane of all those who have allergies, and which makes people who’ve never had allergies in their life before (me) develop them. So the next day I woke up runny nosed, light headed, and feeling like crap. Luckily I was able to get some allergy medicine (with the help of my Okaasan), so I’m doing better now. Just a note, those masks you always see Asian people wearing on tv are not for SARS, they’re to keep pollen away from your mouth and nose so you don’t die of allergies.
School
Moving on, school hasn’t been particularly eventful yet. Japanese class is the same as usual (hard), Postwar Japanese Society is interesting, and Religion and Japanese Culture is both interesting and covers things I’ve learned nearly three times over. Luckily though, the last two classes go on tons of field trips, and so for Postwar Japanese Society we went on a trip to Ritsumeikan Peace Museum. It talked a lot about the war, had a bunch of horrific but educational photos, was really depressing, and so afterwards everyone went to Kinkakujin (which is a building literally covered in gold) to see pretty things and cheer themselves up again.
One of the bad things about the school is that everyone and their mom tries to get on the internet at the same lunch break, so the wireless is pretty janky. If you’re lucky you can connect for a while, but it’s likely to drop at any minute so you have to be wary. Luckily, I discovered wireless at my house, so I’m currently not pulling my hair out. Another bad thing is the commute. It’s about 40 minutes one way, which actually isn’t too bad, it’s just the standing the entire way thing that pisses me off. Luckily though, I’m starting to perfect the salary man’s art of sleeping while standing up, so it’s been getting better.
Another thing that’s made my life infinitely more awesome is my new cell phone. Most everyone in the SCTI program has acquired one, so now we can actually all contact one another instead of feeling frightened and scared and alone in the middle of Japan. It also makes contacting my host family easier, and my little sister will cheer me up by sending random cute emails (texts) from time to time.
Out and About
So Friday after Kinkakujin, a bunch of us ate and went out to Karaoke, which was quite an experience. After watching a room full of almost 8 guys screaming their lungs out to Avril Lavigne, my life will never be the same. Saturday we went to Kiyomizudera with the DESA kids (Doshisha Exchange Students Association, translation: Japanese College Students) , which is this temple in the hills, and after that we went to a Tabe-Nomi-Houdai, which is basically an all you can eat all you can drink deal. Kiyomizudera was pretty, but when you have allergies, high heels, and are hiking up a giant hill in weather that’s fit for summer time, you get tired pretty easily. The tabe-nomi-houdai was refreshing, but it was also ridiculously amusing. The place we went to was a “Mexican Food Restaurant” but apparently Japanese people never eat Mexican food, which would explain why one of the dishes involved spaghetti, and another involved an egg salad. Nevertheless, it was loads of fun hanging out with the Japanese students, and afterwards we all ended up talking even more at this bar called Pig and Whistle.
The next day I woke up and went to an Easter party with my Okaasan and Tomona-chan. Tomona-chan and I decorated eggs and went on an egg hunt. I felt like I was 10 again, (which was actually an awesome feeling). After that the whole family went bowling, and even though I bowled the worst game of my life, it was loads of fun. I even did the requisite purikura with Tomona at the game center.
We’ll see what the next week brings, but before I head out, it’s time for random one liners:
- Japanese Television programs are ridiculous.
- Japanese baths are awesome.
- I was almost hit in the head by a bat….the animal kind (it was flying all over the street at night time)
- I think my host family may be trying to fatten me with the amounts of ridiculously delicious food they feed me
- Dentists exist in Japan (I’ve seen an office), but I seriously don’t know what the hell they are doing
- You need to take your shoes off in dressing rooms
- College in Japan is basically considered a 4-year vacation
Mom and Mike, I know you’re reading this, so I <3>
(My host mom's grandpa, me, Tomona, my mom's grandma, and my host mom. Otousan [dad] is taking the picture)
(Hanami at Osaka Castle)
(Tomona-chan, me, and Otousan)
(Osaka Castle)
(The view of Osaka from the top of the castle)
(Tomona and I standing next to an old canon)
(Me eating matcha [green tea] ice cream at Kinkakujin)
(Kinkakujin)
(Timi and Alan singing at Karaoke)
(Me and some of the DESA kids on the Kiyomizudera trip)
(Kiyomizudera)
(The egg I decorated for Easter)
(My lil sis and the egg she decorated for Easter)
