This is way overdue, but I think I’ll be able to back up a few weeks and relive Japan through writing this. We ported in Kobe, Japan on November 13th, and this was by far the most difficult immigration process yet. They did face to face passport inspection with everyone on the ship, which takes a considerable amount of time. I was signed up to do a one night home stay in Kobe, which started at 11am. We were the first group of students allowed off of the ship, and all of our host families were in the ship terminal eager to meet us. There were 60 students, and each student stayed with one family, which was different from India where we were either paired or tripled up for each family. So that meant 60 people holding up signs with all of our names, and we had to find our name among the whole crowd! After a few minutes I saw Arianne Templeton from across the room. I met my house mother, Haoko and she spoke good basic English. She had a picture of her family – her, her husband Hukoyoshi, and her son Shuishu. We talked for a few minutes about the trip so far and where I had been traveling, and she shared with a little about her family and about the Hippo organization, which is what the home stay what set up through. It is an international language association based in 8 different countries, and the main thing that they do is arrange home stays so people can go abroad and have places to stay all over the world. Once everyone was paired with their families, the head of the organization welcomed us and we were taught a welcome song in Japanese and also played some ice breaker games including a variation of Japanese rock, paper, scissor. We were all told to enjoy our time with our families and to meet back at the terminal at 5pm the next day! Hao said we would be carpooling with her friend, so then I met her friend, Rata, and the student the was hosting, Karina. We had about a 30 minute drive to their neighborhood, so Karina and I got to know each other and just chatted and enjoyed the scenery of Kobe, which was beautiful! It was autumn there, so the leaves were pretty colors and the temperature was just perfect. I thought I was going to miss fall completely this year, but luckily I got a little taste of it in Japan!! Rata dropped Hao and I off at her apartment complex, which looked really nice. Her apartment was on the third level, and had a beautiful view over a park and tennis courts. Their apartment was cute, and it was interesting when I realized there was hardly any furniture! They did have a kitchen table that they ate at, but the TV sat on the ground, and they just sat on a carpet in front of the TV to watch. There were no beds, just mats that they lay down for sleeping, and no dressers, just closets. Quickly I just placed my pack down because Hao had English class for an hour and a half that afternoon, and we were going to go have lunch at her friends house, where I would stay while she went to class. Hao’s family doesn’t have a car- they all ride bikes everywhere. So she got her bike and she walked it (since I was with her) to her friend’s apartment. Her friend Mum, also had her daughter, granddaughter, and another friend there for lunch. She had made vegetable soup, small snack sandwiches (tomato & cheese and also egg salad) and french fries! Basically an American lunch, which was funny because I wanted to eat Japanese food! But it was really good and they had some good pastries for dessert, so I couldn’t complain! The other woman that came over spoke really good English and had been to the states several times, and traveled rather extensively through Europe. She had photo albums with her when she was younger and stayed in California for 2 months, so she was fun to talk to. Mum was working on her English, and I think we made progress throughout the afternoon. Mum’s daughter also only spoke basic English, but she was really nice and sweet, and her daughter, Aio, was the cutest baby. It was her first birthday, so we had a little birthday cake and they taught me how to sing Happy Birthday in Japanese- it was fun. So I got to play with Aio for a little while, and around 330pm Hao came back from class. Mum let me borrow an extra bike that she had for the rest of the day, which was really nice of her. So we rode back home, which was beautiful. I hadn’t been on a bicycle since this past summer and riding through the park with the changing leaves was just beautiful- I couldn’t get the smile off of my face! Back at the apartment, Hao showed me some books that she had about Japanese culture and food. They were interesting to read through and as she prepared dinner I read the books and asked her some questions, it was very interesting. I read a lot about mannerisms and etiquette- things are done much differently in Japan than they are in the United States, especially with things like bathing. I read about how to properly take a Japanese bath, and I was almost hoping I wouldn’t have to because it seemed so confusing! I’ll explain more about that later…Oh and the toilet that they have in their home has a heated seat and all of these different functions and settings, it was pretty bizarre. I was also given a pair of slippers to wear through the house for the next two days. Wearing shoes in the house is considered very rude and never done. Even in some restaurants and public buildings, slippers are worn and not shoes. A little while later her son, Shui, came home from school and I got to meet him! He speaks a little bit of English, and he showed me a book that he has that talks about his family, what classes he takes in school, what his hobbies are and what other things he enjoys, and where he has traveled. He did a home stay in Australia last year and had lots of pictures from that trip that he enjoyed showing me. By using the pictures we were able to communicate OK for the most part and he taught me some Japanese words while I taught him some English words! He was 12 years old and plays basketball and piano. His favorite class in school is English and he wants to go to America on his next home stay. He was so cute and really fun to hang out with. The three of us sat down for dinner, which was absolutely delicious. It was a form of sushi, but not the type of sushi that we are used to in the States. It was basically all of the same ingredients, but not presented how I was expecting. It was a huge bowl of rice, seaweed, fish, eggs, and wasabi. So everything was just mixed together and it was so tasty! They were impressed with my chopstick skills, which led to me talking about my favorite sushi restaurant at home, Mr. Sushi. They got a kick out of it when I told them what was served and how it was served and all of the details. It was interesting to talk about what I thought I knew about Japan and what was true and what was just Americanized. After dinner Shui left for night school which is strictly English classes for 3 hours, that he attends every night. Keep in mind this was Friday night, and he was going to school, and he was excited about it—not something you would exactly find in the States.
Hao said we were going to go to a Hippo Family meeting, which is what she does every Friday night. We cleaned up the dishes after dinner and we started talking about piano. She said she has been taking lessons for a few years now and it was her favorite thing to do. I told her that I used to play for several years until I quit midway through high school. She encouraged me to play something, and I was really nervous since I haven’t even sat down at a piano since I quit almost 5 years ago. I pulled one of the books out and dug wayyyy back into my memory about how to play. After a few minutes it more or less came back to me (I was only playing one handed…I couldn’t exactly jump back into it that quickly) and she came over and sat on the bench and started playing the left hand bass clef. It was really, really neat and one of my favorite moments of the whole trip. It was really special to share those few minutes with her playing- something that completely breaks the language barrier and eventually we had to get up because we were going to be late for the meeting. It made me want to start playing again once I get home, so Mom & Dad- there might be some hope!
We rode our bikes about 10 minutes to the meeting, which was held in a nursery school. There were probably 20 people total, including children, teenagers, adults and senior citizens. We sang some songs first- in several languages- English, Japanese, Korean and Spanish. Then played some games, again in all of those languages. There were two other SAS girls there with their host families- Karina who I had met earlier, and Jackie, who I had never met before. Everyone sat in a circle and they had a microphone that would get passed around. In whichever language they preferred, everyone went around and introduced themselves and talked about their families, their hobbies, where they have traveled, etc. It is interesting because every Japanese person has a long name that they would say, and then would have nicknames that they preferred to go by or basically their “American names”. Once that was finished they actually broke us up in groups and each of us girls sat with 3 or 4 of the Hippo Family members and talked about where we had been so far on our journeys and they asked us questions about all kinds of things. The purpose of the meetings are really to improve their English and learn from each other. There was no leader at all, they would all just take turns talking and sharing stories and information. At the end they all talked about new phrases or words that they had learned from us- a lot of it being slang that they thought was funny. We taught them phrases like See ya later Alligator, Hit the Road, Just Google It, etc. It was funny to watch them understand it and then say it to each other. Overall it was probably an hour and a half long and it was really fun and the time flew by and all of the children there were so cute and fun to hang out and play with. Hao, Mum and I hopped on our bikes and road back home, which was again, really fun. I had my video camera out and was trying to film while riding which was fun. A lot of people ride bicycles in their area so I had a few close calls with people and railings, it was really fun. I dropped the bike back off at Mum’s and we said our goodbyes since we wouldn’t be seeing each other the next day. Walking back to Hao’s was a little chilly as the temperature had dropped, but it was not far away and we just enjoyed the walk. Back at home, her husband, Hukoyoshi, had come home from work so I had the pleasure of meeting him. While he ate dinner, Hao and I had some dessert. She had some different cake breads, some sweet rice crackers and some fruit, which was delicious. Huko didn’t speak much English at all, but he is a big tennis player, so we talked about tennis for a little while and then we were talking about what else I would be doing in Japan. I explained that the next evening we were going to go to Hiroshima for the day, then up to Tokyo for two days then down to Yokohomo, where we would be leaving from on the 18th. They couldn’t believe how much I was traveling and how short I was staying in each city. I explained that we only have limited time in each country, so we try to see and do as much as we can in the short time that we are able to. He was very helpful in printing out maps for me and explaining how to get to the train station for the ship terminal and where to get tickets. When Shui came back from night school, he was very excited to do a magic show for me. It was so cute and he kept going behind his bedroom door and preparing the tricks before coming out and performing them. It lasted for about an hour- some tricks were better than others but it was very entertaining and we all laughed a lot. After that they asked me to teach them some American card games. It took me a minute to decide which game would be easy enough to teach quickly and I decided on spoons, since it is easy and really fun. (Many of you may not know how to play, I learned it at camp..). It is a fast paced game and they picked up on it quickly and we played a few rounds which was really fun, they enjoyed that. Then they taught me a Japanese card game which was also simple and fun and I wound up losing- oh well! Beginners luck wasn’t on my side. By this time it was about midnight and we decided time to go to bed. (I forgot to mention that Hao had bought a box of clementines (or the equivalent of) during the day and Shui kept sneaking them and handing me pieces, all very secretively. It was hysterical, and you could tell he enjoyed having another “kid” around). So I laid out my sleeping mat, Hao gave me some sheets and blankets and I wrote in my journal for a few minutes before falling into a deep sleep and not waking up once!
I woke up at about 9am to a delicious smell coming from the kitchen. Hao offered me to take a bath, and I accepted because I read that it is rude to decline. I was nervous because I had no idea how this was going to go. Well I ventured into the bathing room which is a tub that is filled with scorching hot water, a tile floor with no drain and a bath mat, a showerhead above the tile floor, and several pales and buckets- some filled with water and others that were empty. Basically I had read that you soak in the bath, but you don’t bathe in the bath, which made no sense to me. So I kind of cleaned myself, trying not to get soap in the tub, but also trying not to get the floor of the room soaked. It was an adventure, and I wound up feeling somewhat clean so that was all that mattered. After dressing for the day I sat down for a delicious breakfast of rice, eggs, cabbage (I think) and fruit. For the first time I had persimmon (no idea how to spell it). I later found out that it is a native fruit of Japan which is imported to the west coast…something I had never had. It was really, really good. Hao said that we were going to go to a park with Karina and her host famiy, and they were going to pick us up in about 30 minutes. I assumed that Shui was going to come but he said he couldn’t because he had a test in 26 days- 26 DAYS! I couldn’t believe that is why he was going to stay home on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. Apparently he needed to pass a particular test to go to the high school that he wanted to go to and it was very competitive. He is so devoted to school it was so neat to see. I don’t think I have ever seen that in the States…
Huko had already left for work, he has off on Sundays and Tuesdays, so it would just be Hao and I joining Rata’s family, which would be nice. We all piled into their car and drove about 20 minutes through the outskirts of Kobe, which was just beautiful. The trees were all different colors and the sun was out…I was SO glad I was experiencing a little taste of autumn weather!
We got to the park and walked around for probably about an hour total. Rata’s six year old daughter, Keke, was adorable and she collects leaves so she was running in every which way and climbing trees to get particular leaves, it was precious. She didn’t speak any English, but Rata’s husband, Kamine, spoke pretty good English and was a funny guy so he was fun to talk to. They had a traditional tea ceremony in the garden which was quite the adventure. The women serving the tea were dressed in traditional kimonos and had their faces painted white. At first we had a small ball which was some sort of sweet. I did not like it at all, but ate it anyway (something I have gotten very accustomed to on this trip) and then they passed out small bowls of powdered green tea which was extremely bitter and also difficult to finish, but I did it all with a smile on my face! A woman was making the tea outside so we could which was very interesting. They said that this type of tea ceremony is very popular and very traditional in Japanese culture. After walking around a little more, on our way out there was a cart that was selling a particular type of sweet nut that you crack open and eat. Hao said it was her very favorite food, so she bought some and I tried it and it was delicious. I have no idea what exactly it was, but it was very good and unlike anything I have ever tried before. We piled back into the car and Kamine said we would go to lunch before going fishing! So we went to a nice Japanese restaurant where I told them to order what they wanted for me. So they ordered us udon noodles and also a soup. Both were extremely delicious. The soup had fried tofu in it which was delicious and some sort of fish, and the noodles had almost a sweet and sour sauce- it was a really good meal. Perhaps my favorite one in Japan. They taught us how to respectfully eat noodles, which is “with noise”. In other words, it is polite to slurp your noodles as you eat because it is a sign of approval, that you are enjoying the meal. Karina and I were trying our hardest to slurp while we ate which was very entertaining for everyone and quite the experience. After eating, there was a “hot spot” outside of the restaurant where you take your shoes and socks off and soak your feet in a bath of scorching hot water. It felt so nice and we stayed there for a few minutes just relaxing and digesting our wonderful meal.
We hopped back into the car and drove about 15 minutes to a Rainbow Trout fishing pond. In the first pond there were coi fish that we bought little pellets to feed them. Kamine said it was one of Keke’s favorite things to do and since it was such a nice day he decided it would be a good activity for us. After feeding them for a little while, we got 2 bamboo and string fishing poles and some bait and began fishing. Karina and Kamine started, and Kamine caught one right off of the bat. Almost immediately after dropping the bait into the water, the fish swarm around and within seconds you either catch a fish or lose the bait. It was fun to watch and we had a bucket that we would put the fish into when we caught them. I think we caught 6 total and I caught 3 of them! I never knew I was such a skilled fisherman, haha.
Well, Karina and I were both in for a surprise when we thought we would just put the fish back in the pond, but no- not at all. They carried the bucket of fish over to a register and paid per fish. Then they took the fish and Hao explained that they would fry them so we could eat them. Karina and I were shocked- we had no idea that we were going to be eating the fish that we had just caught! Literally 3 minutes later we had a plate of fried fish on our table that looked exactly like they did in the water, just dead. Head, tail, everything. Kamine explained that you eat the entire thing, just not the tail. I think Karina and I both threw up a little bit in our mouths when Kamine put the entire fish in his mouth except for the tail. Well, when else was I going to have the chance to do this? So I picked one up with my chopstick and bit the head off. I tried not to think about what I was eating, which was very difficult, but I got through it. Karina couldn’t do it, she had to politely decline. They didn’t understand why she wouldn’t try it and we explained to them that we had never seen anything like this. It is funny to look back on and laugh about but it was actually pretty disgusting to think about..
All in all it was a beautiful afternoon and the weather was absolutely perfect. We walked around the pond for a little while after eating our delicious meal, then we got back into the car to drive to the terminal. We got there around 4pm and showed them the ship and all took our time saying goodbye and giving them gifts thanking them for hosting us for two days. It was actually pretty emotional and we all exchanged emails and took photos together, promising to keep in touch. I wish I had more time to spend with Hao and her family, but not in this visit. They were so hospitable and welcoming and I really enjoyed spending time with them. I am glad that I decided to do another home stay in Japan. Similar to India, it is difficult to actually experience the culture any other way than spending time in a home, doing exactly what they would do for two days. I hope that I get to see them again at some point in my life- either in Japan or the United States, but I will never forgot their graciousness and hospitality during my short stay in Kobe. Now all I had to do was wait for Ben & Lacey to come back to the terminal so we could make our way down to Hiroshima for the night!
PART 2 COMING SOON!
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*fisherwoman
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