Friday After a long, fun day at Senri High School, I headed out with my host student, Rika, and her mom. Both could speak English fairly well, though they seemed slightly anxious about doing so in front of me. We traveled about an hour to the Yamamoto residence—a small, 2-story house in the suburbs of Hiroshima. Once inside, we removed our shoes (something that was becoming natural) and Rika showed me around. Downstairs there was a large family room furnished only with tatami mats, a small dining area, and an extremely narrow kitchen. Also on the bottom story was the bathroom and a separate bathing room. Upstairs Rika showed me her and her parent’s bedrooms, along with her brother’s, which was to be mine for my stay. One characteristic I must mention about all these rooms is that in not one was there an air conditioner running despite boiling temperatures outside (around 95 degrees). Needless to say, I was overjoyed to learn that my room was equipped with an individual air conditioning unit, which could be run when the room was occupied. Once I grew accustomed to the initial heat shock, I even began to respect this economical and eco-friendly habit.
After the grand tour, we headed back downstairs to exchange presents. Rika and her mother meticulously unwrapped each of their gifts and graciously thanked me over and over. Then, they presented me with my present (Hello Kitty PJs) and gifts for my sister and parents. Following this exchange, I thankfully accepted their insistence on giving me a chance to shower. Refreshed, Rika and I looked over each other’s fashion magazines till dinner. The meal that night consisted of fresh vegetables and delicious tempura made at the table. After serving us, Mrs. Yamamoto went to pick up Rika’s brother and father at the train station. Apparently, Mr. Yamamoto worked in Tokyo during the week and Mickey (the brother) attended a special school for university preparation. When they returned, I was pleased to see that both spoke extremely good English. Throughout the rest of the meal, they questioned me while simultaneously watching baseball on the nearby flatscreen TV. After dinner, we watched the 5th Harry Potter movie, which the family kindly set to English with Japanese subtitles. Though I enjoyed the movie, I was aching quite a bit by the end from sitting with no back support (a feat which the family handled with ease). After a busy day, it was only pure exhaustion which powered me upstairs, where I quickly fell asleep to the hum of the air conditioner.
SaturdayThe next morning I slept in till 9:30, relishing the lack of an early hour hotel wake-up call. After finally getting up, I was greeted downstairs by a great breakfast of homemade bread, scrambled eggs, ham, cucumber salad, and most blessedly of all—pineapple fresh from Okinawa. During the meal, we watched American MTV (probably a painful sacrifice by the family for my comfort). Rika, her mother, and I then got dressed and headed out to the train station. Three train connections later, we arrived at our first destination—the Osaka Aquarium. There, we saw everything from dolphins and penguins (Rika’s favorite) to a whale shark and giant sea crabs. It was a good activity for us, because it gave Rika (who was shy about speaking) something to talk to me about. After the aquarium, we ate lunch at a restaurant called Hokkyokusei, where I experienced my first (surprisingly good) ketchup-covered rice omelet.
We then walked over to the nearby giant ferris wheel. On our 30 minute ride, we were treated to amazing views of the city and ocean. Once returning to ground, we took the train to the Osaka Entertainment Center (the fancy name for a shopping mall). Rika and I explored over 15 super-trendy stores there, ogling of the cute high-waisted floral skirts and overalls. We both ended up getting some clothes; baggy jeans for Rika and overalls for me (I figured why not? When in Japan where what the Japanese do). Exhausted (as only shopping can make you feel), we traveled back to the Yamamoto house.
When we got back, we showered and listened to some of my music (a mix of everything from Lady Gaga to Bob Dylan). While Rika liked the pop, she was not a fan of country, and the rock just weirded her out. Next was dinner (a spread of sashimi, shabu-shabu pork, and fresh vegetables) and a movie (Mama Mia). Everything was delicious—dare I say even better than anything I had had at the restaurants. After the meal, we all sat around and talked about travel and the future. It was amazing to see how similar Rika’s father was to mine, encouraging me to travel more and telling me that I would go far. He also gave me a pair of headphones by the company he worked for—Maxell. Rika then broke out the Wii and we had a blast playing sports (She was undoubtedly the best). It really was fun—Wii is something that just overcomes all language barriers. After our less-than-intense workout, we were treated to delicious chocolate cakes with chocolate ice cream inside. Happy and full, I went to sleep into my wonderfully air conditioned room.
SundayToday started out much like yesterday—I slept in and ate a delicious breakfast. Today’s spread included tuna salad, homemade maple bread, ham, and scrambled eggs. After finishing up, the whole family and I headed out by car around the suburb. Our first stop was Uniqlo, a clothing store that was a funky mix between Target and American Apparel. Unfortunately, my purse was too drained from the previous day to actually buy any of the neon apparel. Seeing my distress, the family then took me to the 100 yen store. There, I was able to stock up on origami supplies and a map (which had Japan, not the US in the middle). Our final stop of the morning was a crowded 7-story mall. When I asked if many people went to church on Sundays, Rika told me no, but most went shopping. Inside, we looked at more at expensive clothes and at the book store (75% of which was manga). Hungry, we headed up to the food court, where I had really good curry udon and tempura. After eating, we headed home for me to pack.
Around 3:30, we took the hour-long drive back into Osaka, all the while listening to Mr. Yamamoto sing to 80s American pop songs. In the city, Rika and her brother showed me all over downtown to see all the landmarks. We then had sweet red bean cakes for snacks, and headed back to the hotel for me to change. All cleaned up, we walked over to the meet up with the rest of the travelers for our final banquet. It was great to be reunited with my friends and introduce them to Rika. The Italian buffet and Japanese appetizers were delicious, and it was interesting to hear about the other’s weekends. After closing speeches, it was time to say a sad goodbye to my adoptive family. My stay with the Yamamoto family was definitely the most enlightening part of time in Japan. I will remember it and this whole amazing trip forever.
My home stay was better than I thought it could be. My family couldn't have been sweeter and they made me feel right at home. I left Senri High School with Mayuko Abo, 15 years old, and met her mother, Yumi, at the car. We went to their beautiful home where I met Mayuko's grandparents and her little sister (13) Nanoko. That night we had a wonderful dinner of sashimi, and rice topped with egg, salmon flakes, salmon eggs and seaweed. After dinner we watched Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (they're bigs fans like I am) and played uno (with Harry Potter uno cards!).
The next morning we drove back to Kyoto to go hiking in Mino. We walked up a paved pathway to a beautiful waterfall at the top of the mountain. There we ate rice balls before hiking back down. Then we drove up another mountain and saw monkeys just sitting by the road. There were about five and two babies! So kawai (cute)! We stopped at a sweet shop, (they definitely kept me fed at my homestay) and then we drove back home. After getting ready we headed out for the farewell party, a delicious meal of Japanese-style Italian food. Saying goodbye to my host family was the hardest part of the trip (harder than eating the sashimi!). I love my host family like my own family, even after only two days! I couldn't have asked for a kinder, more accomodating family, and I promised them if I return to Japan I will stay with them again.
