Today was the home stay. I was a nervous wreck. I didn’t want to make any huge social mistakes and embarrass my host family. We left for Katori City Sawara Junior High to meet our host family. My car took a wrong turn and we ended up getting there late. It was embarrassing to walk in with everyone looking at us.
My host family is Naoki and Sumie Shiratori. They live in a very nice neighborhood of Katori City. Naoki came alone to pick me up. You could tell he was as nervous as I was. We tried to talk during the drive back to the house, but we were having a difficult time understanding each other. We finally arrived at the house. We went inside. I made sure to leave my shoes in the garage and to put on my slippers when entering the house. When Sumie came into the room she quickly gave me a pair of their slippers to wear. It is very important to keep the outside dirt outside and the inside clean. I really like the slipper practice. It does seem to keep dirt outside of the home.
We were still having problems communicating. I went to be suitcase and got out the photo album I had made of my family. As we looked through the pictures, I described each picture. I had also made captions that I had translated into Japanese using an internet program. I found out later the translations were not exact. But the photos worked. We started to feel comfortable. Naoki got pictures of his family, his travels, and interesting places in Japan. We were communicating.
They had invited a daughter of a friend to spend the afternoon with us. She was really nice, and helpful. She translated for us while we decided where to go for lunch and what to do for the afternoon. We ate at a noodle restaurant in Sawara. The building was very old and the noodles were wonderful. Then we walked around Sawara. After that we drove to the Pacific coast. That was something I really wanted to do. I didn’t realize how far away it was from where we were. It took over an hour to drive there.
Naoki and I walked down to the beach and then we walked to the top of a light house. I could not believe the number of steps winding around the inside of the tower. I was starting to get dizzy
by the time I reached the top. The view was beautiful with the ocean breeze in our hair. I couldn’t believe it. I was looking at the Pacific Ocean in Japan.
After we left the ocean, we went back to the house. Their friend went home. It was us again to try to communicate. But we seemed to have reached a comfort level and started to talk. We watched a video about Sawara that Naoki gave me. Then we ate dinner.
Sumie is a wonderful cook. The meal had many different courses. First we had a cup of pickled seaweed with shaved onions on top. This was also served with tofu and soy sauce over the top. The main dish was stir fry vegetables and shaved beef. First we put a raw egg in a bowl and stirred it up. Then to eat the meat or vegetables you dipped it into the raw egg first. I don’t know what the purpose of the egg was, but it was very good. I was a little concerned about eating raw egg. I wasn’t sure I would be able to swallow it. But was amazed at how tasty it was. I don’t think I will be serving beef dipped in raw egg at home though. For desert we had tea and honey dew melon.
After dinner we watch a movie. Naoki made the movie play in English and subtitles in Japanese. That was so thoughtful of him. At 9 p.m. we did calligraphy. Sumie studied for years to learn all the Japanese letters and kanji characters. Because I do not have a Japanese name she had to do my name in Japanese letters not kanji. She wrote both Kelly and Karen using calligraphy. It is very beautiful. Naoki had me try to do calligraphy by putting a paper over Kelly and following Sumie’s brush strokes. I wasn’t very good at it.
In no time at all it was late and time for bed. I couldn’t believe it. The day was over. I went to my room to prepare to take a shower before I went to bed. This was a very memorable day. I saw the Pacific Ocean and learned to communicate successfully even when there was a language barrier.
My host family is Naoki and Sumie Shiratori. They live in a very nice neighborhood of Katori City. Naoki came alone to pick me up. You could tell he was as nervous as I was. We tried to talk during the drive back to the house, but we were having a difficult time understanding each other. We finally arrived at the house. We went inside. I made sure to leave my shoes in the garage and to put on my slippers when entering the house. When Sumie came into the room she quickly gave me a pair of their slippers to wear. It is very important to keep the outside dirt outside and the inside clean. I really like the slipper practice. It does seem to keep dirt outside of the home.
We were still having problems communicating. I went to be suitcase and got out the photo album I had made of my family. As we looked through the pictures, I described each picture. I had also made captions that I had translated into Japanese using an internet program. I found out later the translations were not exact. But the photos worked. We started to feel comfortable. Naoki got pictures of his family, his travels, and interesting places in Japan. We were communicating.
They had invited a daughter of a friend to spend the afternoon with us. She was really nice, and helpful. She translated for us while we decided where to go for lunch and what to do for the afternoon. We ate at a noodle restaurant in Sawara. The building was very old and the noodles were wonderful. Then we walked around Sawara. After that we drove to the Pacific coast. That was something I really wanted to do. I didn’t realize how far away it was from where we were. It took over an hour to drive there.
Naoki and I walked down to the beach and then we walked to the top of a light house. I could not believe the number of steps winding around the inside of the tower. I was starting to get dizzy
by the time I reached the top. The view was beautiful with the ocean breeze in our hair. I couldn’t believe it. I was looking at the Pacific Ocean in Japan.After we left the ocean, we went back to the house. Their friend went home. It was us again to try to communicate. But we seemed to have reached a comfort level and started to talk. We watched a video about Sawara that Naoki gave me. Then we ate dinner.
Sumie is a wonderful cook. The meal had many different courses. First we had a cup of pickled seaweed with shaved onions on top. This was also served with tofu and soy sauce over the top. The main dish was stir fry vegetables and shaved beef. First we put a raw egg in a bowl and stirred it up. Then to eat the meat or vegetables you dipped it into the raw egg first. I don’t know what the purpose of the egg was, but it was very good. I was a little concerned about eating raw egg. I wasn’t sure I would be able to swallow it. But was amazed at how tasty it was. I don’t think I will be serving beef dipped in raw egg at home though. For desert we had tea and honey dew melon.
After dinner we watch a movie. Naoki made the movie play in English and subtitles in Japanese. That was so thoughtful of him. At 9 p.m. we did calligraphy. Sumie studied for years to learn all the Japanese letters and kanji characters. Because I do not have a Japanese name she had to do my name in Japanese letters not kanji. She wrote both Kelly and Karen using calligraphy. It is very beautiful. Naoki had me try to do calligraphy by putting a paper over Kelly and following Sumie’s brush strokes. I wasn’t very good at it.
In no time at all it was late and time for bed. I couldn’t believe it. The day was over. I went to my room to prepare to take a shower before I went to bed. This was a very memorable day. I saw the Pacific Ocean and learned to communicate successfully even when there was a language barrier.
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