Overnight Home stay in Japan

I arrived at the ship in Kobe just in time to unpack and repack my things for my overnight home stay.  As soon as I got off the ship, I saw a bunch of Japanese families eagerly waiting with signs and about 15 other students anxiously waiting to be matched up with a family.  As soon as I saw my host parents I knew that I was going to love them.  Despite what we had been told about Japanese people not liking to show affection, both the father and mother greeted me with huge hugs.  They introduced themselves in very good English.  The mother’s name is Yuko and the father’s name is Tatsuro.  They told me they had two daughters, Atsuko (14) and Keiko (8) who were still at school but were looking forward to meeting me.

Before we left with our families, we were each called up one by one to take a picture together.  We also had a little orientation with a few icebreakers to get to know each other.  I noticed that not only was my host father one of the only men there, but he was also the one leading the introductions and games.  Seeing how friendly and outgoing he was immediately made me feel so comfortable.  His sense of humor and easygoing attitude reminded me of my dad.  I could also tell right away what a genuine and kind person my host mother was by the way she talked to me about her family and explained to me some of the things we would be doing over the two days I would be there.  It was obvious that she put a lot of time and planning into my visit, which made me feel so special and welcomed into their family.  This thoughtfulness and generosity reminded me of my mom… Already I felt at home.

After we left the other families, we drove about 45 minutes to their town, Nishinomiya, and went out to lunch at my host dad’s favorite restaurant.  I should also mention that the father took off from work that day in order to be there for my visit.  The more I spoke with him and his wife, the more I realized what great people they are.  They explained to me that all of the families who were hosting SAS students are all in the “hippo club.”  The hippo club is basically a group that gets together to learn about other cultures and practice other languages, which is why they like to host foreign students and also have their own children do foreign exchange programs.  Apparently this club exists all over Japan, but the groups are divided up by neighborhoods.  They told me that they lead the meetings on Fridays, and since it just so happened to be a Friday, I would be able to join them that evening.

When we finished lunch, Tatsuro dropped off Yuko and me at the local elementary school where we met up with two other SAS students and their host families.  The assistant principle gave us a tour of the school and we were able to visit a 4^th grade classroom.  The kids were adorable and they had prepared questions to ask us in English.   Even though it was not the school that Keiko attends, I was so glad that I had the opportunity to visit an elementary school and see the similarities and differences between an elementary school in Japan versus one in the United States.

We then left the elementary school and walked about 10 or 15 minutes to their apartment building.  Their apartment is small and cozy.  Right away I noticed the clothes hanging outside to dry, which I had seen at most of the houses and apartments in their area.  Despite the fact that they don’t use automatic clothes dryers, I found that their toilet had about 5 different buttons on it, including a seat-warmer.  (I’ve realized that the Japanese put a lot of emphasis on making the bathroom experience very pleasant.)  In their living room, they don’t have any couches.  Instead, they have a table that is low to the ground, which rests on an electrically heated blanket and has an attached blanket that extends out on all sides and is used to pull over your legs.  In their dining room/kitchen they have a traditionally sized table where we ate dinner.  However, they said that they eat many of their meals at the lower table.

That afternoon, while we waited for Keiko to get home from school, I showed them the photo album that my cousin Caragh gave me for Christmas.  Not only were they fascinated by the actual design of the book, which she made on Shutterfly, and by how clear the digital pictures were printed, but they were also genuinely interested in every single photo and spent several minutes on each page.  It made me realize how much I take for granted all the pictures I see every day on Facebook or in digital albums and how I never bother to really know or understand the story behind each one.  We spent over an hour looking through the photo album and it meant so much to me to be able to share my family’s traditions and memories with them.  (Thanks Caragh!)

At about 3:30pm Keiko came home from school.  (Both daughters walk to and from school every day.)  Keiko hardly knows any English.  However, that did not stop us from having a great afternoon together and using creative ways to communicate.  For example, we drew pictures of our favorite foods and things that we liked to do.  We also drew pictures of and about each other, which I now have hanging in my cabin.  Of course she drew me really tall with really light hair.  She made little bubbles coming out of my head which were supposed to be my thoughts and inside the bubbles were pictures of pizza, sushi, and ice cream—all of my favorite foods.  If nothing else, she was able to comprehend my love of food.

Apparently the entire family realized how much I like to eat because from that point on, they would not stop feeding me.  I also made the mistake of telling them in the beginning that I noticed how much smaller the Japanese portions sizes are in comparison to those in the United States.  I meant this in a good and healthy way.  However, they interpreted this as me needing to have 3 servings of everything at every meal until I was completely stuffed.  Luckily everything was delicious!

Late in the afternoon I walked with Yuko and Keiko to the market down the street to buy groceries and food for dinner.  Again, there was a little communication confusion.  When I would ask Keiko which kind of ice cream or snack she liked out of curiosity she interpreted it as me wanting it.  If I pointed to something, she would grab it off the shelf, run it over to her mom’s cart, and (I can only assume since it was in Japanese) say, “Kelly wants this.”  When I tried to take it out of the cart, Yuko wouldn’t let me.  So that was that.  Who’s going to argue with more ice cream?  I certainly didn’t have an objection.

When we arrived home from the market, I helped Yuko prepare the homemade sushi while she made the rice.  Tatsuro let me try some of the vegetables that he grows in the garden down the street.  Then, the four of us sat down and ate a lovely dinner.  At about 6:30pm, when we were almost done eating, Atsuko finally came home.  Yuko and Tatsuro explained to me that Atsuko has paddle tennis for several hours every day after school and doesn’t get home until around 6 or 7.  (Just a side note- I asked Yuko if Atsuko ever has play dates and she said maybe once a month, but that most junior high students are too busy for play dates.)  Atsuko joined us for the last part of the meal and we were able to talk a little bit since she knew some English.

After dinner, we headed to the hippo meeting where I met several other families in the neighborhood and was reunited with the other two SAS students.  The meeting started off with us going around in a circle and introducing ourselves in English.  However, it was not just the three of us SAS students who spoke in English.  Instead, every person there, including young children, introduced his or herself in English.  I was so impressed.  I was even more impressed when they each spoke a few sentences in Italian, Chinese, and Spanish.  In addition to being intelligent and knowledgeable about the world, they were also some of the kindest people I’ve ever met in my life.  Every person in the hippo club has a nickname, which Tatsuro explained is because they want everyone to feel like they are on the same level.

As soon as it was my turn to speak, I was amazed at how attentive and genuinely interested everyone was.  When my host parents told them I did yoga, they begged me to lead them through a few poses.  They all took it seriously and tried so hard.  When I showed them my photo book, they each took turns looking through all the pictures and asking me questions about each one.  They all tried so hard to speak to me in English and made a huge effort to understand everything I said back to them.  At the end of the night my father gave the nickname, “Ya Yo I” (spelled phonetically in English) which means March.  He said it was a beautiful month since I am such a beautiful person.  It is also the month with Princess Day (March 3^rd), which is funny because my dad always calls me his Princess.

That night when we got home, my host parents took out all the snacks we bought that day and what seemed like everything they had in their cabinets, and we sat around the table on the ground and watched Japanese television.  Tatsuro let me try some of his homemade beer (even though it is illegal to brew your own beer in Japan).  He also poured me a few cups of Sake and explained how important Sake is in the Japanese culture.  Meanwhile, Keiko continued to draw pictures of me surrounded by ice cream and pizza.  I remember stopping and thinking to myself—here I am watching a Japanese drama I don’t understand a word of (but eventually got really into), eating small-portioned, crunchy, snacks that are flavored like vegetables and shrimp, and bonding with a Japanese family I just met today… and yet, I am loving every minute of it.

After a really fun night, I took a bath/shower in their interesting bathtub/shower that I’m sure I did not fully understand (since, again, there were several buttons) and slept on a surprisingly comfortable mat on the floor.  When I woke up the next morning, I ate breakfast with Keiko and Yuko.  And the three of us went to the mall.  I had asked Yuko if there were any shops in the area where I could buy something from Japan and I guess she interpreted that as a shopping mall (where the first store I saw was the Gap).  I ended up finding a jewelry store where I bought a chain, which I’ll use to hold different coins and charms I get in each country.

Keiko and I also did this really cool photo booth in the mall.  It is apparently a huge phenomenon among young Japanese girls because Keiko had an entire book filled with the sticker pictures she had done with friends and family in the past.   After we went into the booth to take pictures, we ran around to the other side to decorate them.  There were so many options of colors and pictures—Keiko went crazy while I stood there barely knowing what I was doing.  When the pictures printed out, we split them up so we each had some.  Obviously, I will treasure mine forever.  Who knows the next time I’ll be able to do one of these Japanese photo booths again?

We left the mall and went straight to another hippo club meeting which was being led by another family in a different location.  The meeting was similar to the night before with a lot of the same people and a few new faces.  One of the little girls I only met the night before had drawn me a picture and her mom wrote me a note saying that they hope to talk to me again someday and gave me their Skype name and email address.  Saying goodbye to my family was hard enough, but I felt like I had just made 25 new friends who I never wanted to leave.

When I finally left my home stay, my family gave me a summer kimono, a fan, a jar of Sake, several drawings that Keiko made me and a paper with my new nickname written on it in Japanese.  But the most important things they gave to me are amazing memories and a wonderful impression of Japan.  Even as I write this, I cannot help but smile.  I am so blessed to have had this experience.