Sat, Sept 11th
I met my host family this morning. I was so nervous I genuinely thought i might throw up. My host mothers name is Kumi and she has 2 boys Dai and Ren who are in elementary school. They came in with tons of energy and it didnt die down until i went to bed. We left with all 4 of my bags and all the crap ive accumulated thus far, which isnt really crap. lol Kumis husband is a truck driver and is gone most of the time because of his job. We arrived at their house in about 20 minutes or so. Kumi is really sweet and funny. Once there, the 2 boys gave me a tour of the house. My room is pretty plain but comfortable nevertheless. Kumi can speak a little english and is trying to learn more, but i try to speak as much Japanese as i can. Our conversations would be funny to watch between the 2 of us using our dictionaries to continue speaking. I was surprised to find out she is SGI, but she told me that she only hosts SUA students, even if they are not SGI.
They took me to a matsuri (festival) later that night and we walked around all of the various food and game stalls. One booth had deep fried spaghetti that was dusted with flavored powders, such as chicken noodle soup. It was very omoshiroi (interesting). I was so tired already from speaking so much Japanese and the near panic attack i had this morning, but I didnt want to be rude by going to sleep early, so i tried to stick it out. I talked to Kumi about the different countries I had been to and she taught me how to make onigiri (rice balls). Dinner was delicious, and she bought me umeshuu sawa, even though I told her that water was fine. She insisted that it was my welcome party and thus an occasion to celebrate. After dinner, I attempted to explain to Kumi and her best friend, also named Kumi, about my family and why they left Cuba. Note to self: study more political tango (vocab). I also, with the help of my trusty dictionary, told them about what my mom, brother, and dad all do. The boys wanted me to play with them upstairs so i went up and somehow ended up plaing the game of life in Japanese (jin sei ge-mu). I barely understood anything but Dai and Ren tried to explain as well as they could what was happening. I was so entirely exhausted and im pretty sure its from trying to think in japanese. I really want to visit Soka Kindergarten while im here and taking in this homestay experience as another way to make sure i want to be a teacher. As of now, my feelings about homestay have completely changed and I really dont think i could have asked for a better family.
Sun., Sept 12th
I woke up still extremely tired from yesterdays events. Dai and Ren had a school trip to the marine park, so i spent the day with Kumi. After dropping them off at the park to meet the rest of the students, we walked back home and Kumi took me to the Sapporo Kaikan and we watched a video that was completely in Japanese. Very difficult to stay awake as a result. From there we went to the supermarket and I asked her what everything was. As im writing this i can feel my English worsening.
Kumi is extremely patient with me when I dont know how to ask a question in Japanese or on how to do something. We went back home and Kumi made a quick lunch of ramen for us, which smelled oishii (delicious). After lunch i took a long nap and Dai and Ren came home to tell me about everything they saw and touched. For dinner we made takoyaki , but i had a hard time eating it because of the not-so-cooked center. Im still having difficulty with the japanese mayo obsession..
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