Okay, so this post is much later than I intended! I had it written out much earlier, but forgot to post!
"My homestay was pretty much the greatest thing I've done since coming here, I think. I didn't want to leave. I very much wish I could actually live there for a whole semester, like some other colleges allow (I'm sure my Japanese skills would improve tremendously if I was able to do so). My host mother and father and grandmother and the kids were all very nice, I've been invited to visit anytime, especially if I want to go to a hotspring with Okaasan and Otousan. It was very interesting interacting with the family and I really liked their house, and I'd already fallen in love with Kojima, the two previous times I'd visited, but oh my goodness was it cold. I'm aware that temperatures can be colder, but it was cold inside the house and I'm a wimp from California. My room had a heater, but on a futon on the floor I became intimately familiar with the concept of heat rising. Going to the bathroom was also an exercise in speed, there was no heater there. (I have a new found appreciation for heated toilet seats, as well.) The first day Obaachan showed how to do some Origami and we played a game. We had Okonomiyake for dinner, very tasty. Also, home made tempera. Yum. The next day I woke up super early (for me) and then wandered over to eat breakfast. It was rice, Japanese soy sauce soup with liberal amounts of tofu, salad, and fruit (mandarin oranges and persimmons). A fairly typical Japanese breakfast, though the soup is usually miso. After breakfast, Okaasan and I went out to a Shrine and Temple. It was super cool! (So many stairs though. So so many). She taught me how to do the bowing and clapping thing, and we got to sit in on a Shinto ceremony thing. Then we wandered over to explore the Buddhist temple part, it had a huge fire god statue, I think the biggest one in the world of that particular god. Very cool. We got to sit in on a ceremony there as well! Awesome! We got blessed at both the Shinto and Buddhist ceremonies. Oh and there was a Monk from America! He was part of the "Hoodie Monks", they rap and hip hop to spread the teachings of Buddhism. I thought that was pretty sweet. I want to go back and maybe talk to him again, there was a whole museum that we didn't get to see because we had to meet Otousan and Yama-chan (the youngest kid) for lunch. While at the Buddhist temple I donated money and got these good luck/drive away evil spirit things. You could write your name and wishes on them if you wanted, and you threw them over the edge of the nearby balcony toward the fire god and prayed for your wishes. We went to Kappazushi for lunch with Otousan and Yama-chan. Which was one of those revolving sushi bar places. Very yummy. Then Okaasan and I went up to a mountain and hiked around. It was very beautiful! And it had a rock that looked like it had a smiling face that we visited. Apparently the area is also a really popular spot to set unwanted pet cats free. There was a huge cat population, and people who volunteered their own personal time and money to feed these cats almost every day. Wow. There were also some stray doggies that I felt bad for, they looked like they could use some petpets, but for obvious reasons you can't just go up and pet stray dogs. After hiking Okaasan took me back to the station in Kojima, and I rode the train back to Okayama, and then biked home. Lots of exercise that day!"
1 Comment
Inquiring Mind
2/7/2017 01:55:44 pm
Did you become in the Japan in the Japan in the Japan products of the J-Pop Kwayii life? Can you be girlfriend of myself?
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AuthorHatty is a CSUMB student. Archives
October 2015
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