Japan Updates
I finally found all my updates that I sent home while I was in Japan so they are ALL here now. I'm going to try to eventually to create jump links (whatever they are called you know what I mean) for the dates of the journals. I put various Japanese characters throughout the journals but the computers dont seem to like that (as most computers cant read it) so I will try to work on taking that out. The apostrophes also seem to be messed up (most likely because I couldn't find the English apostrophe on the Japanese keyboard). I will work on fixing that too. For now please put up with the gobble-d-gook.
I'll put the links to get out of here up top as well just in case you want to escape easily
Japan Pictures
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March 8th, 2004
Sorry this is a bit late. Today is the first day I have been able to get on the computer while not doing a report! I have a feeling that this may be my last day on the computer before I come home too. Ill be at school tomorrow but not to use the computer. We have a goodbye party for our Tea Ceremony class. As there is only around 2 weeks left before I come home I am trying to figure out how to jam in all the last miunte things I want to do. There is still a couple places I want to go see and lots more souveniers to buy. Im trying to figure out how to get everything home. My host family is trying to convince me to send one suitcase home but I think that will cost much more than to bring it with me. Right now my biggest problem is trying to figure out how to get to the airport as my hostfamily wont drive me since the restaurant will be open that day. I also have a deadline to be out of the house before 10am though dont have to be at the airport till 12. Its a little difficult and I was a little upset that they didnt want to say goodbye but they are very busy with the restaurant. It still feels like I am in a hotel though. And I help so often in the restaurant. Had a little trouble with Nami again a little while ago too. I got a very evil email from her while I was on my school trip because I had put my butter in the fridge. I dont know if it was from the whole family or not but I have since removed it and she has rarely talked to me since :( Ive had a lot of fun while here and met a lot of really nice people but I have not lucked out in the homestay family situation. The Nomura house seemed like a really nice place at first and they are really nice people but it just doesnt work as a host family. I just didnt realize it until too late. That is something I definitley encourage for next years students. Make sure they are happy in they families and dont wait too late to change. I had a feeling at the beginning that something wasnt right and Geoff didnt think it was good but I tried it, just for too long. I think I didnt want to have to move again or bother Kurasawa-sensei.
Anyway besides that I have had a wonderful time here. We had our 4 day school trip last week (or was it two weeks ago time is flying so fast now). We went to Kyoto, Nara, Osaka, and Kobe. Was lots of fun. We lucked out in Nara and found a free English tour guide for the day. She helped us so much and helped us practice our Japanese too. In Kyoto and Nara we saw lots of temples and shrines. I really liked seeing the old parts of Japan, though it rained alot of the time. In Osaka and Kobe we wandered the newer city areas and people watched. We did get to go to the Human Rights Museum (displays and infomation on dicrimated against people) and the old foreign houses. The old foreign houses werent that interesting and had too much hunting trophies but was amazing to see the furnature and supplies they brought over from America and Enlgand. Of the four cities we went to, my favorite was Nara. We were able to see so much there and having the tour guide really helped understand what we were looking at. I definitley think that next years students should look into it if they go to Nara next year. Not the paid tours but the free tour guides from the Tourist Information Center.
There wasnt much else interesting that happened in February just the end of school. We had two reports due two days after we returned but we got them all finished. Dont know marks yet though. This weekend we have gradutation and the have selected me as the one to go up on stage to receive the certificate from the president. I was worried about what I would wear as my host family couldnt help me find one but SekiYama-san helped me find one today. She as well as some of the other teachers possibly, are helping me pay for it and she wouldnt let me pay much at all! She is so kind! All the teachers are so kind here! I didnt want them to pay any money. I was enormously greatful that she was helping the the first place!!
As for the Aichi3 their presentations were excellent. It looked like they had a fun time. Eriko even did the whole thing in English! She is so good! We are going out with Eriko and maybe the other two tomorrow. Havent seen them much other wise.
Well that is about it. I am so happy that I got to experience this amazing life changing opportunity. It has really helped me grow and learn about myself. There is much I want to continue doing or start doing when I get back. I cant wait to see you all again and I will definitley come by and show you some of my pictures.
See you all soon!
Feburary 4th, 2004
Part 1
How are you doing? It has been real trouble for me to finally get this update written. Classes ended at the end of January and only occasionally are computers at school available for use, that is when I have the time to come in and use them. I�ve been really busy helping in the Nomura�s restaurant so often don�t have a chance to come in to school. I used to be able to use the computer at the Nomura�s when the restaurant was closed but I am not allowed to use it anymore. There was a little bit of a problem back near the beginning of January in which Nami had some problems with things that I was doing so she wrote a list and gave it to Kurasawa sensei to talk to me about. All the facts were very minor things that I think she could have talked to me about in person but she says the language barrier was too much of a problem. Anyway both Kurasawa and I think that they were all Nami�s thoughts only and not my host parents, especially since I asked my host father if I had done anything wrong and he said no. It was a bit tense for a while with Nami and I and I was often upset but it seems to have calmed down now and we are talking again. In case you are curious some of the things she had problems with were: too many boots in the boot rack (though I had the amount she asked me too), not appearing thankful enough to Nami�s friends when they do things for me (cultural differences, I�ve started saying thank you an insane number of times), the computer is old and slow so would be best if I don�t use it (though everyone else does), my host mother is always very tired so I should do my own dishes (which I already was doing). Well you can see they were mostly minor things, and things that I had already been doing or trying to do. I told Nami that I am still often confused by the culture and to tell me if I do anything wrong so I can correct it next time. She hasn�t yet but maybe I�ve not broken any cultural rules recently. Things do seem to be going well now so that is a good sign.
On to my recent activities. At the beginning of the month I got to participate in the �seijinshiki� which is the coming of age ceremony for people turning 20. It was a lot of fun and amazing to see so many kimonos. We had to get up really early (5am) as our hair appointment was at 6. The actual ceremony started at 10. Each Jr high school has its own ceremony so it is a little like a jr. high reunion. Everyone goes around taking pictures with friends they haven�t seen in 5 years and exchanging phone numbers with those who still live in the area. It was really interesting. After we went to Nami�s work, Toyota Castle Hotel, where she got professionally photographs done; just like we do in Canada at high school graduation. I was contemplating getting some taken too but it was around $200, a little out of my range. The photographer was nice though and took one picture of Nami and I, of which he gave me a copy of after. Nami and her brother have been going to the same photographer since kindergarten so he has watched them grow. Later the school had a full school assembly at which the principal gave a congratulatory speech to the newly turned (or soon to be) 20 year olds. Each department then had a small party where everyone got 3 donuts each (yes three!!!!) and a really nice pen. We felt so fat afterwards (^o^). Parker and Geoff were also allowed to come to the little party but Parker was busy teaching the cooking class how to make pie. That afternoon we had our cooking class exam (of which we didn�t know about till the class was half was over), where we had to make a dish on the spot with no recipe or preparation. It was really hard and mine didn�t turn out to well but definitely a learning experience, I learned that I need to take more cooking lessons, preferable in English :P.
The rest of January was pretty eventless. We had the last week of classes. In Japanese class we actually finished the chapter, 2 classes early too! Apparently we were the first class ever since the exchange started (or at least since Aoyama sensei and Yumi sensei have been teaching this book) to finish the textbook. They were very happy. The exam is another matter though. We will be having our exam on the 12th of this month. They decided that we are at a higher level than last year�s students so we will be taking the 3-kyuu test (3rd level, the 2nd easiest). Last year they took the 4th level. The practice tests have been really hard since they are actually really long (for me) and have tons of new vocabulary and honorific words. We happened to skip the honorific section so that doesn�t help much. Luckily we have permission to take the 4th level test if we do not pass the 3rd level since the passing grade is 70%.
Sorry I have to cut this off here they are closing the class room. I will write the rest after. Sorry.
Feburary 4th, 2004
Part 2
Sorry got kicked out of the computer room so had to write this in two parts.
Here goes the rest:
Yesterday the three of us went to a very interesting festival, in english it is often called the naked festival as guys run around in loin cloths. there are different versions all over japan! there was so many people taking part from 3 to what looked like 80 years old! though i was told it was only for 41 years old. interesting to watch they were all in groups running around the street. each group had a color and a long pole/ branch thing which they lifted up in the intersection areas or wherever there werent powerlines. lots of police present to keep the street clear and the drunk participants and watchers from getting into fights (there were a few). It was freezing so they were drinking lots. Interesting culture where public nudity and drunkness is allowed, though only on certian days lol. Anyway I took lots of pictures. One guy asked if i was Australian and then guessed American. He asked in English too. When I corrected him and then tried to get away Parker offered to take a picture with them. Quite embarrasing, they were saying "wow she's Canadian picture picture." I was not my camera though so I will have to wait a year to see it. Parker isnt coming home in March and will probably be here till August. Then I will be able to see his picutres. Pictures here are insanely expensive to develop. Regularly around 13 bucks for canada size doubles or 12 for singles. Geoff goes the extra distance and gets matte and borders so its close to $20. We've started saving our film to develop back home but mine are all disposible as my camera brooke at the start of the trip.
Tomorrow night we are heading to Nagoya where we will be spending a nite with a Nagoya homestay family. The next morning we will be going to a elementary school and spending the whole day. We are teaching them about canada (in Japanese) and then doing math and PE class. It should be interesting. The kids will have to take a quiz about us at the end of the day.
On the 22nd we are heading on our trip. Osaka, Kobe, Nara and Kyoto; one day each place. we were going to use hostels as they are cheaper but the school would rather we use hotels, hey we cant argue ;) though it gives us less spending money that way. We also have 2 reports due just before and just after the trip so its really jammed packed this month, and I thought it was going to be empty lol. March will hopefully be empty which is good as there is so much more to see.
neway thats its for now. hopefully at the end of Febuary I will get another up. we will see. send me more emails please or guest book entries. They have been so empty! though i cant promise responses.
January 5th, 2004!
Akemashite omedeto gozaimasu (Happy New Year)
Sorry this took so long to get up, I havent had a chance to be on the internet since before Christmas!
This here is what I have been up since Christmas only! Shortly Ill get another update up with what I have been up to the rest of December but I figure this will be too much to read as it is :D
Ive had a horrible cold since I got back from Disney Sea (about 2 weeks ago) but it seems to be finally be going away, only an occasionaly cough now. I bought medicine for it earlier (24 pills for $15 which I took 3 times a day) and finished them all without the cold clearing up but time has finally done its work YATTA! (Yeah!)The weather here has been really nice. Its been sunny and warm during the day with occasional clouds and really cold at night. During the days I have sometimes only needed a sweater! I hear its freezing there :P neway on the update
On the morning of the 26th I went and visited Ochia-okasan (my old host mother). I try to visit occasionaly as she is usually alone and likes the company. She also likes to check up on my Japanese :p It just so happens that on the 26th her husband was on a three day work trip so it was the perfect time to visit since she was all alone. In the afternoon my host family took me and Parker to Nagoya Zoo (Geoff couldn¡¯t go). The zoo was really fun and had so many animals. There were all kinds of wild cats that I have never seen or heard of before. There were lots of different bears and a couple of dancing polar bears. There were also giraffes (with babies), sea lions, penguins, seals, hyenas, parrots, a room full of nocturnal animals, reptiles, and amphibians. It was really cool. I took a lot of pictures but I don¡¯t know if they will all turn out since it was a cloudy day and the animals were moving so much. The zoo also had a tower (I think it was 100 meters high or 100 something) where we could have a good view of Nagoya. It was really neat.
The 27th I just rested and cleaned. I cleaned the bathroom since it really needed to be done and my host mother doesn¡¯t have the time. She had to write the addresses on 200 New Years cards by hand! New Years is really big here and everyone sends cards (postcards with a message or picture on the front) there are still cards arriving, my family got so many. I made one that I am going to send to Ochia-san.
On the 28th I went to a small party at my friend Yuichi's house with my friends Miwa and Mayumi. They are the three friends that I went to Disneyland with. We went to dinner, watched the Disney and Tokyo videos we took, looked at and exchanged photographs from the trip, and set off firecrackers then we all slept over at Yuichi's house. In the morning, we went for breakfast then went and watched the new movie The Last Samurai with Tom Cruise. Have you heard of it? It was really good and the perfect movie to see in Japan. Half the movie is in Japanese and half in English so when one language was spoken the other was in subtitles. It was perfect becasue everyone could understand the entire movie. Yuichi even bought me the movie book to remember it by (and to practice Japanese with since its written in Japanese). Yuichi and Mayumi really spoil Miwa and me. They tend to pay for much more than we do and refuse money that we give them. They are so sweet. Miwa and I bought them both a gift at Disneyland but they bought us one too!!! I¡¯m going to get them all a really nice goodbye gift in March. After the movie we went for lunch at this really neat restaurant where we cooked the food at the table (there seem to be a lot of those here actually) on what seems like a really large frying pan built into the table. I had Yaki-tori, usually made from left-overs after a BBQ, which had noodles, meat and veggis that I fried together. It was lots of fun and we are all going to get together soon again with Parker and Geoff as Yuichi and Mayumi want to take the boys out too.
On the 30th Parker and I were invited to go to a friend from school¡¯s house to take part in traditional rice cake pounding, which is really special as not many families do it anymore. Geoff was also invited but his family was also doing it so he stayed home. To make rice cakes (mochi) they soak the rice, steam it, and then put it in a stone bowl where they bash it with a wooden hammer until it turns into a sticky, pasty dough like thing. After they take small bits and dip/roll it in things (like this sweet powder or dykon) or make it into balls with azuki (sweet red beans) inside. Sometimes they mix things in while they pound it (like peanuts and sugar) and others they leave it plain. I brought some home and my host family fried it and we also ate some in soup (which I find really hard to eat as its so thick and chewy). It was lots of fun as we didn¡¯t just hammer away all day but ate and played with her cousins too (bingo and video games). It was great fun.
My host brother came home on the 30th so I finally got to meet him. He is 21 and goes to school in Hokkaido where he is studying Biology and English. I happen to be staying in his room so he is staying in Nami's. He has been practicing his English with me and of course I¡¯ve been practicing my Japanese. He's leaving tomorrow afternoon, and has had a good trip home. We did lots of family outings.
The 31st was New Years and we had the whole family over for dinner, that being my host family and my host mothers younger sister Waka-chan, and her husband and kids, Yoshi (8) and Yasu (12). We spend a lot of time with them often going to their house for dinner and the boys have been spending most of the evenings during the holidays here. My host mother¡¯s older sister also came with her daughter and her daughter's fiance. They are getting married on March 20th and have invited me to the wedding. Nami's friend Koichi also came over. ¡¡At midnight Waka-chan, the boys and my host family went to the local Jinja (Shinto shrine) and Otera (Buddhist temple) down the street. We prayed, rang the new years bell (which is supposed to be rung over a hundred times during the evening there is a specific number but I forgot it), ate sweet rice soup and sat buy the huge bon fire. There were lots of people. After Okasan (my host mother) went home and the rest of us went to other temples and Jinjas in Okazaki by car. The biggest place we went was Okazaki castle where we watched a taiko drumming dance and ate nice hot rabbit soup, as well as praying and ringing more bells. There was a huge lineup here and the castle was lit up a spooky green. At 2am we were finished (mostly because the temples were all closing) and most of our group went home but Nami, Yasu, Koichi and I drove to the ocean (which was like 3 or so hours away) to watch the first sun rise of the new year. It was freezing and we were exhausted (I luckily got to sleep i the car) but it was beautiful. It rose at 7:03am but we waited on the beach since 6. There were so many people there that we had trouble parking and many of the streets were blocked off. After we drove home. We arrived home round 10am¡¡and ate a special new years breakfast then lazed the day away. At new years they exchange gifts of money to children but Nami, my host brother and I got some too. Waka-chan¡¯s husband gave us each 1000\ (about $10) and I was surprised about getting that but then my host parents gave me a present of 10000\ (around $100!!!) as a thank you for helping in the restaurant this last couple months! I was so surprised! I am so glad I gave them all Christmas gifts! (my family sent gifts for my host family and my host family was so surprised to receive those since they only give Christmas presents to children here)
The 2nd and third I spent playing softball, well catch or baseball with two/three people and a little broom in the street or parking lot outside our house, with Yoshi and sometimes Yasu and my host brother. When we weren¡¯t playing that we were on the computer playing computer games. I spent basically the full two days with Yoshi! On the 3rd the restaurant was open so I was basically keeping him occupied as he bores easily but it was loads of fun!
Yesterday I developed my pictures and helped in the restaurant and met Nami¡¯s old English teacher. She wants me to come to one of her English classes sometime soon. In the evening we went to see a movie. My host father and brother saw Last Samurai while the rest of us saw Finding Nemo. It was in Japanese so was a little difficult to understand but I¡¯ve been wanting to see it since the summer and it was a great movie (I understood the basic story and actually surpisingly quite a bit of the dialogue).
Today was a holiday for the restaurant and we had a whole day planned out. I was told to be ready at 9am so I made sure I was ready at 8:45 (since I¡¯ve had the bad habit of sleeping in lately) but everyone else wasn¡¯t ready till 9:30! Ah well. We drove to Nagoya (I never realized it was such a long drive as it takes a hour by train but the traffic was nuts) and went to a big famous Jinja where there were TONS of people (looked like the streets of downtown Vancouver after the fireworks with just slightly more walking space). Everyone was there today as it was the first work day of the New Year and they were all praying for good business during the year. There were so many people that you couldn¡¯t get to the front on the Jinja where you throw money in a box so they had a big blanket set out instead and people just chucked the money through the air. Really scary flying coins everywhere! And as anywhere there are lots of people the walkway to the Jinjas were packed with booths selling New Years charms and food. It was really interesting to see. After we went grocery shopping since the 1500yen (round $15) parking fee is waived if you spend 2000yen at the local mall. It¡¯s like that at any parking lot near a mall.
After we headed to Nagoya Castle hotel restaurant where my host father used to work. It¡¯s a really fancy restaurant and our table had a perfect view of Nagoya Castle. Unfortunately it was a holiday at the castle so we couldn¡¯t go see it up close. The meal at the restaurant was DELICIOUS (best sashimi I have ever eaten). There were so many courses. We had 4 forks and 4 knives! One for each course plus soup, bread, dessert, and an ice cream break in the middle of the meal. For dessert they had 6 different cakes and I was wondering which one to choose when they gave us a small piece of each! I was so full that my stomach hurt after but the cakes were delicious. Throughout the meal many of the chefs came to say hi to my host father (including the head chef) and two stayed to talk to him almost the entire meal! The dinner was a congratulation present for Nami and I for turning 20 apparently. In the car ride home we all slept since we were so full. Now I am finally able to have some time on the computer so I am writing this.
Anyway that is it for now. I figure this will keep you occupied for a bit :D Ill try to get the rest of the update out to you soon.
December 15th, 2003
This last weekend i went to Toyko Disneyland and it was ¤¹¤´¤¯³ڤ·¤«¤ä¿(lots of fun)! i went to disney land with 3 of my japanese friends. we got there at 6am on sat morning and there was already a huge lineup. the weather was awsome, clear blue sky, which made the morning and eve cold but the day really warm. we didnt get to go on many rides cuz the lines were so long but we got to see all the special xmas shows. oh and some of the attractions were different which was great, only one of the different attractions i didnt get to see cuz my friend said it was boring. i took so many pictures (over 2 cameras worth). when they are developed ill scan them and maybe send some home. we also took videos and ill try to get copies. we left at 10pm and then went to an onsen resort to spend the night (hot spring). on sunday we had a whole tour schedule planned out but didnt even make it though 2 stops! we went to an old part of tokyo where we saw a huge temple and walked along the really long shopping street that led to the temple, definitely a tourist spot. after we were heading to a zoo that had live pandas but got stuck o market street on the way that was so interesting we spent all our time there! i ended up buying some new boots finally that were only ¡¦2900 (about 30 dollars!) really cheap. ive spent so much money this month on xmas gifts and my trips that i have to get some out of my bank account! i still have to send off the presents too!
classes are over on the 22nd but this week is make up classes only. this week we have 2 xmas parties and a field trip and then im off to disney sea, which is a seperate part of the disney park i think special to tokyo, with the boys and one of my friends from school :P i have to try not to spend any more money there!
neway thats it. we are maybe heading to kyoto before the new year if we can get reservations on the tour. the friends i went to disney with are also going to be taking me and the guys strawberry picking as its is supposedly the best time of year for it here!
there are no speical xmas celebrations at my home that i know of (news years only as thats really big here) but there is an xmas special at the restaurant so ill be helping in my spare time. i also have lots of studying to do as exams are at the end of janurary and 2 projects due in feb! AH! cant believe the time is going so fast! before you know it ill be home!
November 14th, 2003
Wow time sure flies I cant believe that it is the middle of November already! Im having so much FUN!! Things right now are going great but earlier in October things were a little rocky. As you may have heard I had to change host families. I am now living with the Nomura family. Its great but I will first start at the beginning of the month.
Actually I can¡¯t really remember much what happened at the beginning of the month so lets start with the festival as that was the was the only real exciting thing that we did this month besides my move.
The school festival was awesome. It was so fun and it¡¯s something that we should definitely have in Canada. During the weeks before the festival everyone was getting ready as most people have some role in it. As the three of us usually stay after class to play ping-pong or catch we started helping out making the banner. The banner was quite big and was constructed of a net with pieces of paper stapled on every other square. There were lots of people who worked on it too. When the three of us worked on it we worked quite fast but the other students who were in charge of it worked so much slower; I guess we didn¡¯t care about the quality as much. In the end it turned out great. I have pictures which will be up here soon. It was during one of these days while we were helping that we were asked to be models for the hair cutting show. We said sure then thought, ¡°What are we getting ourselves into¡±, actually only I worried about that since the guys were told outright that they wouldn¡¯t being getting their hair cut just styled. I thought I was going to end up with some crazy hair-do. Anyway we went to a meeting (which we weren¡¯t told about but luckily bumped into the organizer right when it was starting) and I was told I would also just be getting my hair styled. We also found out that it was not just the single school festival show but 2 other shows as well plus rehearsal, lots of untold information. We¡¯ve found that happens a lot information will be discussed and decide that may involve us and we are never told till the last minute when we find out by accident. Luckily the other two shows were cancelled afterwards.
The festival is a really big event at the school. No one has classes on the Friday as everyone is setting up. Then there are two days of festival and Monday is also a holiday so that the janitors can clean up the school (since they cant do it on the weekend like normal). We came on the Friday and helped set up lots of the tents. Everyone was worried bout me carrying the big poles but they actually weren¡¯t that heavy. We did what we could to help, which was mostly just jumping in when it looked like they needed help since no one really would ask us. Geoff and I mostly helped set up the Sado ¤µ¤ɡ¡tent, as we are both involved in that.
On Saturday Geoff and I helped at the Sado tent. We set everything up and then got to put on kimonos¡¡¤¤⤁E I wore our Sado teachers and Geoff wore his host father¡¯s. I had 2 people helping me put it on. It takes quite a lot of work. Throughout the day we served tea in the sado manner to people who paid for a cup of ocha ¤ª¤dEJapanese green tea) and a piece of manjo ¤ޤ礦(a piece of cake usually made of sweet red bean). My host mother from the Ochiai ¤ª¤d¢¤¤¤µ¤ily (as I was still living with them then) came by to visit with my host sister. When it was slow Geoff and I got to go around and check out the other booths. They were mostly food but some were products for sale too. We saw lots of our friends who took pictures of us. They kept asking if my obi ¤ª¤ӡ¡was too tight but it actually it was fine, it was quite hot wearing the kimono though as it was sunny out; and it was really hard to bend over, whenever I dropped something I got Parker to pick it up :P. The day went by fast and was really fun. They asked if we would come help the next day too but we had the cut show so couldn¡¯t.
On Sunday we had to go at 9am to get ready for the show, which started at 12:30. At the rehearsal they had picked out a black lace dress and black pants for me to wear and were going to put my hair up in curls; when I arrived, however, they had a different outfit for me. It was a black skirt and mustard colored sweater. They ended up leaving my hair down just enhancing my curls and adding a rope round my forehead. I ended up being a hippy (I have pictures). Parker had his hair slicked back like a greaser from the 60¡¯s and Geoff had his slightly spiked, as it was much shorter. They looked like a gangster and someone from the matrix. The show itself went by quite fast and wasn¡¯t as scary as I thought it would be, it was actually quite fun. Afterward we went back to my house so they could both wash all the gel out of their hair, there was so much!
That evening there was an after party. The action club was still cleaning so we helped out. When it looked like there was nothing else to do we joined the party. We noticed after a while that the action club never came (as most of our friends were in it) and it turns out there were 2 separate parties going on, one for the action club only and one for everyone else. It was lots of fun though and I got to talk to many new people.
During the week after I had some problems with my host father and because of them had to change families. After a week they found a student at the school that I could live with who I just happened to know, her name was Nami¤ʤߤµ¤E Her family, the Nomura ¤Τऩ¡¡family, runs a restaurant from the 1st floor of their house. The food is really good, its kinda French/Japanese food (My host father used to be head chef at the French restaurant of a hotel). Whenever there's leftovers from the restaurant like cake or wine we get to eat/drink it. My first nite i was offered white wine before bed! We also tend to eat a lot of cows cheek which I found strange at first but is actually quite good. I really like my new family and I get along great with all of them, even my host father. There are a couple major changes that I had to get used to but its all ok¡£The main changes being that I now live in Toyota (total travel time to school half hour by car or about an hour by combination of train and walking); the house is really small (downstairs is the restaurant and upstairs is the bedrooms so when the restaurant is open and Im not helping filling the dishwasher , yes I m a dish washer and not paid either :p or clearing tables I stay in my room); and that we eat dinner around 10pm (since the restaurant closes at 9:30). At first I was really worried about these things but they aren¡¯t a big problem at all. The only trouble is if I want to stay out late in Okazaki ¤ª¤«¤¶¤¡¡as I have to take the train home and then get picked up from the station but I don¡¯t usually do that so so far it works ok.
Anyway that¡¯s bout it for now as I¡¯m only going to write what happened in October here. I will write more describing my new family in the next update; this one took long enough to write already. Sorry it¡¯s so long (^-^)v
October 8th, 2003
Things here are going great so far. My family is perfect for me we get along
great. I felt all bad for cancelling out on the other family and then thinking
that oh no that first was matched for me and this one would not be matched to
what I asked but its perfect! My family consists of a mother, father and a dog
(a cute little Chihuahua). They have two married daughters who both have
daughters of their own. They occasionaly stop by to visit and both know English
so they helped me get settled in the family at first. The younger daughter,
Naoko, studied in the States and the older daughter, Emiko or Amy, taught
Japanese in Australia. Although they both know English they try to talk to me
in Japanese and only if I really dont understand do they use English, I have to
really try not to use English with them because I know they can understand. But
its working well. Naoko often comes over and brings her 2 year old daughter,
Hina. She is so cute and they are teaching her Japanese and English at the same
time so they want me to talk to her in English. I usually try t o say it in
English and then in Japanese as often she wont understand at first and I want to
practice. Amy`s daughter is 9, Momo is her name, and I have met her once. She
is really shy but has started sending me emails to my phone. We even exchange
business cards :)
Amy`s English is very good and she has been really helpful to us. She took
Geoff, Parker and I to get our cell phones and it took so long but it worked.
We had tried to go without a translator and it was impossible it helped so much
having her there.
My host mother is a stay at home mom. She knows a little English but again wants
me to practice my Japanese. Every morning when I come down to breakfast she will
come sit with me and we will talk a bit in Japanese. After school I usually come
and tell her what I did during the day and she will sometimes teach me new
vocabulary. Ive started doing my homework down in the Kitchen with her so when I
have trouble she can help me but usually she just watchs and says "Hai, Hai".
If I ask her how to say a word she has already taught me she will not tell me
till I really try to remember. If I stil cant then she will tell me again. It
really helps me remember as I am sometimes lazy and ask for words that I have
learned but just cant recall right now. Just before dinner my host father
usually comes home. He comes to dinner and sometimes we all try to talk together
but not much. He has an electronic dictionary (which everyone has here) and we
use that if they dont know how to translate a word that I dont know. He eats
his dinner really fast then goes and watches TV. I found I eat really slowly and
am sitting there eating long past everyone else is done but my hostmother stays
and talks to me, which makes it take longer but is fun.
The dog is so cute, I have really bonded with him. His name is Daisuke or
Dai-chan. I play with him alot and he has started following me up to my room.
Whenever I leave the house or he thinks I am going to leave he goes nuts barking
and whining.
My house is nice. Its a two minute walk from school which is great. Its slightly
traditional and slightly modern. I have a western style room with a bed, desk,
and TV. Its a pretty decent size room and is brightly lite which is good. Every
bedroom I have ever had has been dimly lit so its nice to have light. There are
2 tatami mat rooms in the house, or maybe three I havent seen their bedroom.
One is used as a storage room, spare bedroom, and playroom for Hina; the other
is set up to be used for tea ceremonies. I havent gone in that one yet as it is
hooked to their bedroom but I have seen it. we also have a TV room with a HUGE
TV. I dont watch it often though cept for cartoons with Hina. Im happy that I
can have a shower as I dont really like baths. Every evening they have their
bath and I have my shower in the morning, they were confused at first but have
figured it out.
Schools going well. The classes are great. We found the textbook for Japanese
too easy at first as it was all romaji but its getting better. We looked at
other possibel textbooks to use but this one seems the best. We have changed how
we go about the lessons to make it work better. Today we are going to start
June. (we started on March). Each Chapter is a month and there are 12. If we
keep doing 2 chapters a week we will be done in November! Yumi sensei and Aoyama
sensei have said that we are going to aim for the higher level Japanese test at
the end of the year. We have told them to use no romaji and to give us the
kanji for most words as well. Its working well. We only go over what we have
problems with and dont spend time on things we learned at Cap. The rest of the
classes are going good too. Im not much of a history person so its hard
sometimes to focus but the reading we did last night was intersting. Society is
interesting right now as we are learning about population. The three of us are
also taking a cooking class and I am also taking an art class. Right now I am
working on painting a tshirt with the Canadian and Japanese flags on it. I will
email you pictures when I am done. Geoff and I are also joining the sado club
(maybe we will see tonight). Parker and I wanted to join judo or bujitsu but
havent found anything yet. Geoff is doing kendo but I am sure you know that. The
boys are also going to other sports clubs but so far none have interested me.
We are also helping in 2 different English classes. One is second years, but
they are not that enthusiastic about learning English. And the other is first
years. We are making friends in both classes but the second years seem to be
more immature which I found strange. In yesterdays class (first years) we had a
spelling bee which was lots of fun. We tested them on spelling and grammar and
gave prizes to everyone (canadian souveniers). Most had not done their homework
and we used that as so of the questions and some realized they did not know the
basics which Yumi sensei said really helped. After the contest we taught them
the hokey-pokey and they got a kick out of seeing us dance and sing (since they
mostly just stood there and watched at first). It was lots of fun. Apparently
the are starting to like english class now which is great!
We have started to make lots of friends, even it its just to say hi right now it
helps to know people. Im having a little trouble with the names but getting
their pic and number in my cell helps :P We sit at lunch with people we know if
we can and have gone to the mall once with 2 of them. Parker and Geoff also went
with some of the students from the first year english class to karoke last week
but I had art class so couldnt go. On Monday we went to a school action club
BBQ that we were invited to but Parker and Geoff had to leave early. I was
nervous at first being their with no one to talk to (cuz of the two girls I knew
one had dissapeared and the other hadnt arrived) but one girl started to talk to
me and introduced me to lots of others. I ended up having lots of fun and
staying to the very end! I got to practice my Japanese and some of them
practiced their English. I am glad I stayed.
Parker and I also went to a BBQ on Sunday with his host sister and her friends.
That was lots of fun too. I was worried how I would get home (as the bus to my
place is the school bus and only really runs on weekday school hours) but we
ended up having the bbq at a park right near my house! The BBQ's here are kinda
differnt from home but lots of good food (little helpings but lots) and fun. At
the sunday bbq we basically ate for 4 or 5 hours straight!
neway i best be going. I have to finish my reading for history class.
September 27th, 2003
Hey all. Don`t worry the earth quake wasn`t where I am staying. Ive gotten a couple emails checking :) thanks but no worries.
I arrived in Nagoya two days ago but stayed in a hotel the first night (its 11am on the27th right now here subtract 16 hours to get the time in Vancouver). We ended up missing our connection though so Kurasawa sensei had to wait for us for three hours in the airport in Nagoya. Yesterday I went to the school and got a tour and met my host family. Its a little shakey communicating as my host mother doesnt know alot of English and Im not that good at Japanese. She seems to be better at English than I am at Japanese though :p Her youngest daughter has a 2 year old (her name is Hina) and they want me to talk to her in English so thats alot of fun plus when she doesnt understand my English I can use simple Japanese. My host mother and sister joke that Hina and I can learn the language together since she doesnt know much Japanese either. They came over shortly after I arrived yesterday and stayed till bed time. The daughter studied in the States a couple years ago so knows a little English. The house is really nice. Some traditional parts and some modern. There are a couple rooms with tatami mats but most are wood floors. I dont`t have to worry bout the washrooms though as they have western toilets and a shower! Yea! They have a little dog whose name is Daitsu. He`s a little white Chihuahua with long fur. Really cute but sometimes he starts barking for no reason, especially when i go upstairs. when he barks he wont let u go near him he just keeps back up. really strange. but he love to be petted so it always coming up to me. when we all go upstairs he follows us but then cant get down the stairs (they are too steeo and he is too little) so we have to carry him down. yesterday he was forgotten upstairs so when i went up he was just sitting there waiting :(
Tomorrow Im going with the older host daughter to either buy a new cell phone (with a camera) or get a chip for the one Menolly gave me. Dont know which will work best yet but once i get it i will send u the number
neway I have lots of emails to check just wanted to give u an update. Luckily the keyboard is working today it`s really confusing as Japanese and English characters are on the same keyboard and some of the english characters have been moved. I tried to download msn messenger but it doesnt want to work right now so when I figure it out I`ll let you know. Ill probably be on again on Monday as I live 2 minutes from school and my class starts at 10:55 :)
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