Today, we all got up early... well, not so
much earlier than usual, but about 7 a.m. to pack up and catch the train to
Toyohashi. We went by shinkansen (bullet train) for what must have been
a couple hours, though it felt like only one. The scenery was so calming, just
trees, mountains, and countryside. Again, I couldn't help but relate those
densely forested trees to the opening scenes of Jurassic Park.
Once we arrived in Toyohashi, we met with one of the city's delegates (?) and he took us to their building where we would later meet our host family. First, however, we were put on a bus with a group of highschool students and sent off on a field trip. There was no prior introductions, no ice breakers provided. At first, I sat next to this young girl, wondering what we could possibly have in common. I can't recall the first question I asked, but somehow anime came up and she said that she liked it. I guess anime can/does make the world go around :P We also talked briefly about music; I was still on my KAT-TUN kick at the time, so of course I had to bring them up. I think we hit it off well, and before we got off the bus we took a picture on her phone.
Our first stop was a shrine, one that's been around for several hundred years it seemed. The shrine area was covered in fox statues with red scarves, gifts from those whose wishes came true. Nana (my highschool partner) asked if it was interesting to me; I said it was because it is different from what I usually see. When I asked her the same question, she said 'not really'. I can't blame her though. At her age, I was a very strange child with little interest outside of my own daily life- I wouldn't have appreciated it either.
After the shrine, we stopped at a garden, walked around it a bit and took a group picture. Soon we would be meeting our host families. I was excited, and very nervous; I knew nothing about my family prior to meeting them. Once we returned to the meeting place, I could see people gathering. Some of the highschool students stayed, and some of the people I recognized from my university, but there were more that I did not know. Families. And one of them was mine.
We changed into our nicer clothes and waited in a side room. Our professor came in and told us the drill: walk in, he will do the introduction speech and then we will each introduce ourselves down the line. Introductions was something we covered in our first year class, so I knew what I had to say, what I was going to say. Hajimemashite, bow, name-univeristy-class-major, douzo yoroshiku, bow. I knew it and I ran it over and over in my head while awkwardly looking over the crowd before me. Dr. Hara gave the first student the microphone. I followed his words. Then the second student- I was third. I nodded when she completed her introduction successfully and reached out to take the mic.
I stepped up and lifted up the mic, surprised to hear my own voice in the extremely quiet room. I talked, and then all of a sudden, halfway through I stopped- I forgot to bow!!! O_O My eyes went to Dr. Hara, knowing that he caught it; maybe it wasn't necessary, but I hurriedly said I made a mistake [in Japanese- thank God I learned that word, though 'sorry' sumimasen would have worked just as well], started over and rushed through the rest of my intro. I couldn't do anything else except listen to everyone else's introductions. Still... I wondered who in that group was my family. After the introductions, we finally met.
The Yamamotos were going to host me. Their daughter Sakiko, who was about my age, and the father was there to greet me. Once we got past the reintroductions, they told me that they lived about 5 minutes away by foot. Coincidentally they also had two cats and a dog, just like my family- I immediately felt that this was the perfect fit. We walked to their mansion (apartment), and my hosting experience began. The first thing my host father offered me was a seat in his massage chair- oh, yes, it was fancy, and well deserved. I didn't sit too long though, since I didn't want to impose that much. The mother came home soon, and I took that opportunity to give them their host gift. [Thinking back on it, maybe a smaller or edible gift would have been better, but I hope that they enjoy/ed the dessert dishes].
We all got comfortable and watched some TV together as we talked. My host sister let me browse with the remote and I saw a Downtown program on, so I immediately went to it. Lo and behold, Tanaka Kouki was on the program that night! Talk about luck. It turned out to be an awesome day :)
Once we arrived in Toyohashi, we met with one of the city's delegates (?) and he took us to their building where we would later meet our host family. First, however, we were put on a bus with a group of highschool students and sent off on a field trip. There was no prior introductions, no ice breakers provided. At first, I sat next to this young girl, wondering what we could possibly have in common. I can't recall the first question I asked, but somehow anime came up and she said that she liked it. I guess anime can/does make the world go around :P We also talked briefly about music; I was still on my KAT-TUN kick at the time, so of course I had to bring them up. I think we hit it off well, and before we got off the bus we took a picture on her phone.
Our first stop was a shrine, one that's been around for several hundred years it seemed. The shrine area was covered in fox statues with red scarves, gifts from those whose wishes came true. Nana (my highschool partner) asked if it was interesting to me; I said it was because it is different from what I usually see. When I asked her the same question, she said 'not really'. I can't blame her though. At her age, I was a very strange child with little interest outside of my own daily life- I wouldn't have appreciated it either.
After the shrine, we stopped at a garden, walked around it a bit and took a group picture. Soon we would be meeting our host families. I was excited, and very nervous; I knew nothing about my family prior to meeting them. Once we returned to the meeting place, I could see people gathering. Some of the highschool students stayed, and some of the people I recognized from my university, but there were more that I did not know. Families. And one of them was mine.
We changed into our nicer clothes and waited in a side room. Our professor came in and told us the drill: walk in, he will do the introduction speech and then we will each introduce ourselves down the line. Introductions was something we covered in our first year class, so I knew what I had to say, what I was going to say. Hajimemashite, bow, name-univeristy-class-major, douzo yoroshiku, bow. I knew it and I ran it over and over in my head while awkwardly looking over the crowd before me. Dr. Hara gave the first student the microphone. I followed his words. Then the second student- I was third. I nodded when she completed her introduction successfully and reached out to take the mic.
I stepped up and lifted up the mic, surprised to hear my own voice in the extremely quiet room. I talked, and then all of a sudden, halfway through I stopped- I forgot to bow!!! O_O My eyes went to Dr. Hara, knowing that he caught it; maybe it wasn't necessary, but I hurriedly said I made a mistake [in Japanese- thank God I learned that word, though 'sorry' sumimasen would have worked just as well], started over and rushed through the rest of my intro. I couldn't do anything else except listen to everyone else's introductions. Still... I wondered who in that group was my family. After the introductions, we finally met.
The Yamamotos were going to host me. Their daughter Sakiko, who was about my age, and the father was there to greet me. Once we got past the reintroductions, they told me that they lived about 5 minutes away by foot. Coincidentally they also had two cats and a dog, just like my family- I immediately felt that this was the perfect fit. We walked to their mansion (apartment), and my hosting experience began. The first thing my host father offered me was a seat in his massage chair- oh, yes, it was fancy, and well deserved. I didn't sit too long though, since I didn't want to impose that much. The mother came home soon, and I took that opportunity to give them their host gift. [Thinking back on it, maybe a smaller or edible gift would have been better, but I hope that they enjoy/ed the dessert dishes].
We all got comfortable and watched some TV together as we talked. My host sister let me browse with the remote and I saw a Downtown program on, so I immediately went to it. Lo and behold, Tanaka Kouki was on the program that night! Talk about luck. It turned out to be an awesome day :)
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