Goodbye Fellow International Japan-lovers, and Meeting Host Family FOR THE FIRST TME (3/20)

SOME VIDEOS OF THE US STUDENTS BEFORE HEADING OFF TO OUR HOST FAMILIES---1---2---So in the morning, everyone had to wake up at like, 6 AM or so, get their luggage together, bring it to the area near the orange building which you can see in these pictures, exchange the luggage for a breakfast ticket, go eat breakfast, go back to the luggage outside the orange building, and wait for our buses. For the people having their foreign exchange outside of Tokyo or Kanagawa (Yokohama City), buses came to pick us up and bring us either to the Shinkansen station, or Haneda Airport. The students taking either ANA or JAL (I took JAL), took a pretty bus which came and picked us up toooooo bring us to Haneda Airport, Haneda Airport being a super busy and super large Domestic Airport in Ota, Tokyo. While waiting, everyone went super crazy with their cameras and took tons of pics with everyone as a final goodbye, which was pretty sad. Here on this post, I have several pics of people waving goodbye as I get on the bus to head off to HANEDA AIRPOORT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (In this pic you see me with the Canadian exchange student, student from Belgium, and three from the Netherlands, also the Finnish exchange students, next is Masato, Finnish speaking returnee on the left who I met before while talking with the Finnish exchange students, and super awesome Australian accent returnee on the right, also the Thai students waving good bye, )

Anyway, so I along with the other students traveling by plane drove off on a bus (picture of two Dutch students), to Haneda Airport, and on the way we saw a bunch of pretty awesome Tokyo sites (from the bus) like, Tokyo Tower, the sky scrapers of Shinjuku, Palet Town and other recreational areas of Odaiba, and we also went across the Rainbow Bridge which was pretty cool. If we had gone across at night, we could have seen the bridge lit up BUUTTTT it was day time so it was kind of like just a regular (but super long and awesome and Japanese) bridge. We eventually arrived at the airport, and the students taking ANA (blue luggage tag) got off the bus first and went to Terminal 2, which the JAL students got off afterwards at Terminal 1. As you can see, I took some pictures of the super pretty airport which was super flashy and glassy and had awesome stuff like the Mobile Ashtray Museum Cafe, RESTAURANT, JAL Smile Support (everyone took a picture of this), JAL NEWS, and an incredibly hostile looking animal poster. As you can see, there is a picture I took of the airport with security people in the foreground, and those security people all gave me incredibly hostile looks after taking the picture, because, my camera has an incredibly flashy, huge, and bright flash, and I think they may have thought that I was taking a picture of them, and thus, they gave me hostile looks, which made me feel bad. And then, like 5 minutes later, I intended to take a picture of RESTAURANT, and the security people showed up like the moment I took the picture (with my super strong flash), and they gave me semi-hostile looks again, which made me feel bad again. Bad timing.
So, I said good-bye to a bunch of people, which was super sad, and one of the American exchange students and I went up to the Chinese Exchange student and told her how much we loved her hair and overall perfect-ness, and I went through security, and didn't even have to take off my shoes which was super convenient, and then I sat down with some other exchange students, and watched Japanese commercials on the T.V. nearby, and peed (in the bathroom on a wonderful japanese potty), and eventually boarded the plane!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OOOOMG IT WAS MY FIRST TIME ON A JAPANESE PLANE!!! The plane was quite amazing, and even had a camera thing at the front of the aircraft displayed on the t.v. screen to give everyone a like, airplane-eyeball-view which was pretty nice, I fell asleep with a pocky on my sweatshirt, and since the plane was super hot, when I woke up, I had a mess of melted chocolate on the front of my sweatshirt WHICH IS STILL THERE SITTING IN MY JAPANESE BEDROOM IN THE CORNER BECAUSE I JUST REMEMBERED THAT I TOTALLY FORGOT THAT IT STILL HAS CHOCOLATE ALL OVER IT AUUUUUUUUGHHHHHHHHHHH crud. But yeah, when I woke up I basically peed at the sight of the melted/hardened chocolate which kind of looked like poo and was super obvious (the sweatshirt was my blue one from PA)...so I had to carry my sweatshirt and wear my YFU t-shirt instead, which was totally fine. BUT YEAH, anyway I slept throughout the entire flight and woke up to see Osaka below me/the plane. We eventually landed, and I was super sweaty because I was FINALLY going to see my host family in like 5 minutes (they sent me pictures in the mail but I never received the package) and I am actually sweating right now as I type because the whole thought was incredibly super frickin scary and I am pretty glad that my host mom fell asleep on the floor 5 feet away from me right now because if she saw how excited I am getting as I type this that would be pretty super awkward, and I actually don't know how to say "sweaty" in Japanese so I wouldn't be able to EXPLAAAIIIIIN MYSELLFFFFF! ANYWAY, I went straight to the bathroom when I landed, and ate like 7 tic tacs, and everyone else wanted tic tacs so I gave everyone else tic tacs, and I peed (again in one of those amazing japanese toilets), and washed my hands, and walked down the stairs to the baggage claim super quickly, and looked at the area outside of the baggage claim and saw a man and woman and boy with a sign that you can see in these pictures (personally, I love the fact that they taped a clothes hanger on the back of my welcome sign), it said like HELLO ORIBAA! and I was like OMGEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE and I ran to them super quickly and my host mom was all like ORIBAA!!! And she hugged me/I hugged her, and I shook hands with my host brother and host dad, and they took a picture with me immediately, and we were all like super happy. And then my area rep. introduced herself and she is super awesome (I had coffee with her today at McDonald's actually), aaaand I said g'bye to the rest of the exchange students who went with their host families...so yeah. We walked off, to their car in the parking lot, and it was super hot out (unlike in Tokyo, there was barely a breeze so it was sweaty hot weather, especially for me), and for the first time since I had landed in Japan, I wasn't incredibly crazily loud and instead, had a normal volume, and we made conversation, as we drove off to their house (I will provide a video tour of the house when the weather isn't so gray. Weather suddenly got super rainy today).

The first thing I noticed, was that, American music was eeeeverywhere, and that day alone, I heard Lady Gaga three times. 2 on the radio (Bad Romance and Just Dance), and then I heard Just Dance again when we went out for dinner, and they also played this song by Justin Timberlake on the radio, and Beyonce, ALL IN ONE DAY IN A DIFFERENT COUNTRY WOOOOOOOOOOOOOW. I was surprised. But yeah, we arrived at the house, which was a pretty awesome feeling, and you will soon see the house once I provide a video tour (video = far superior to pictures).

Hmm...so I spent a little while unpacking and checking out the house. My luggage arrived like an hour after I did which was super convenient. I unpacked, which took a while, and then I took a shower in their super awesome bathroom that has like, a really deep bath in comparison to Amurican bath tubs, (their shampoo is $50 WTFFFF. All of their lotions and stuff are SUPER expensive :O) I felt super bad using some of their expensive shampoo but my host mom told me to use it. I felt fortunate and still do c: Later that day, we went to this mall-like place, and ate dinner at a spaghetti/Italian style restaurant, and my host family bought a SHI* TON of food and yet we managed to eat it all, which was pretty great. I found out that my host brother is going to the U.S. in July for a year as an exchange student through YFU, along with...I think 130 other Japanese students going to the U.S. through the same program. He really wants to go to California, and I told him that he TRULY wants to go to Vermont ;) Except I didn't really say that, but I was thinking it. I remember my host mom said that she wanted an exchange student from the United States above any other country, which made me feel pretty amazing. She had her reasons which also made me feel wonderful about being American <3 onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcXzyGSR0AnfXYv5kEEaV6XYAr1JEqTfD-_yVXTtriqRn0tSp4M2oEys6AltOgNMSzQd5CmaFGRl1O7SjwAkcNcq8ajYisWZKVtHMsczmBLAo_v9O8owScWdLGFSy5PLs2O2KYjKYV7fA/s1600/2010_0321Japan0027.JPG">and they went CRAZY (the bottle is like half gone already. They put it on everything).

Oh, and sorry about the lack of pictures of my host family :( I will get more most def and post them on one of the upcoming posts. I had totally forgotten about taking pictures somehow. I DID however take a picture of host mom loving the maple syrup, and of the three doggies (fat one sleeping is Kota, black-ish one is Nana, and golden one peaking from the corner of the table is Suzu [Suzu means 'Bell'], Suzu and I have a connection ;D. Also, those dogs are freaking LOOOOUD. They never stop barking.)

BYE!!

First contact with Host Family

Hello everyone!!!

I just may be the happiest little boy in the WORLD! I just spoke with my host mom on the phone, and though my conversational Japanese absolutely SUCKS resulting in her probably thinking that my Japanese is nonexistent, IT WENT MARVELOUSLY!!! Here is what happened:

So I wrote down some notes in order to leave a well organized message, since I was not at all expecting someone to be home when it is 9 in the morning (somehow the fact that it is a Saturday in Japan slipped my mind). I did this for a good half hour or so, and then when I finally thought I was ready, with my heart beating SUPER fast and my body creating a perspiration storm of sweat in my clothing, I called them up. HOWEVER, instead of a Japanese answering machine, this very obviously American man voice answers the phone from ('u' intended. Just imagine the American accent) : "Amurica's best quality watches". Frick I'm not kidding, I almost pee'd myself. If this had not been such a serious time for me I would have fainted of laughter. Instead, after almost having a heart attack I tell the man I called the wrong number, and apprently it is because I didn't dial in the international calling code (it's 011 btw. Hopefully I am not the only one who didn't know that). SEE, going on foreign exchange is beneficial beyond belief! You could even learn the international calling code!! Anyway, I dialed the correct number, and after about 10 seconds of no sound because I am calling a phone that is over 6000 miles away, the ringing from the other end finally occured (except it sounded way different from American phone ringing). Then suddenly a lady picks up and utters the following, はい、松室家族で～す。

We spoke on the phone for a good 40 minutes or so, using a hybrid tongue of Japanese and English. She would speak in Japanese and English, and I must say her English is um, omgee crazy skilled. Not only does she know vocabulary and grammar and the like, but her pronunciation is just about perfect! LIKE WOW when she says my name (Oliver, it's sort of a butt for Japanese people to pronounce) she has no accent. I was mighty impressed and I find her a super woman indeed. Speaking a language with a very minimal accent is so difficult and she wins. She was extremely easy to talk to as well, as in, she was very open about everything and just totally chill (she called me Oliver Twist--I almost fainted. Apparently people in Japan will be making that connection too). She also mentioned that she was a YFU exchange student to Oregon when she was 17, which may be the reason behind as to why her English speech is good, and how seemingly understanding she is. She has an international perspective ;D She would crack a lot of jokes too, and was overall just a very jolly lady. Oh, and her name is Kumi, rofl I could have said that earlier.

So I asked her a hoard of questions regarding the family, and first found out that the reason as to why she was home alone was due to the host dad hiking, host brother at school (on a Saturday, ew), and host sister out 遊びに行っている'ing with friends <-- asobi ni itteiru means going out to play, basically. In Japan they use "play" for "hang out" which is so so much cooler in my honest opinion ;D. Anyway, I found out that the host sister attends Kobe Joshi University (literally means Kobe Women's University) in Kobe, which is the 6th largest city in Japan, capital of Hyogo prefecture where my high school is located, and one of the three main cities alongside Osaka and Kyoto that make up the Osaka metropolitan area, which is the 6th largest in the world at 17.3 million people.

The host brother's birthday is in August, so he is almost exactly one year younger than me as I turn 17 in September, while he is turning 16. If he went to a school in the U.S. he would be a current Sophomore like me, but the Japanese school year starts in the beginning of April, meaning he is going into 10th in two months while I "technically" should be an 11th grader once I arrive. They may place me with the 10th graders though, due to like, language barrier, way lower academic intelligence in math and science (rofl) etc. He also loves tennis, which is super awesome, but may prove to be super embarrassing for me because I literally SUCK at tennis. I never play it and it is actually perhaps my least skilled sport besides football, rugby and all the sports related. I really like tennis though and I think watching tennis is quite epic. He also does Judo, which is awesome because I have been doing a Korean martial art for 9 years, so we can relate. The host mom also told me that she wants me to do Judo with him, cause there is a dojo right near their house and I have always wanted to try a Japanese martial art anyways. Note: I just spent the last 20 minutes or so reading up on Judo, and I really appreciate the essence behind the art. The bearing of the art is very appealing and I like the method of using the opponent's force and balance against them. "Mutual prosperity" this makes me want to do Judo. However I hope I do not kill myself, since the art is based on like, throwing the partner down to the ground and stuff :/ It shall be an experience. Oh! Also forgot to mention, he loves skateboarding too. <-- I was not expecting that AT ALL. His name is Shota. 将太　しょうた

Host sister is ゆき. I do not know what her name kanji is, but it is not snow according to host-mom. Besides the above mentioned information regarding her college and the like, she apparently rigorously practices the piano, and when I responded to that with my cello playing, my host mother told me that Yuki apparently practices the cello too, and I was then asked if I am bringing my cello with me to Japan. Um, no. Like crud I hope they don't ask me to play it (which they totally will). I love the cello, I just do not practice. I'd rather spend my time on other activities. I do not really know much else about her, but she seems very musically inclined, she is 20, and she was playing with friends while I was on the phone with host-mom. She sounds awesome c:

The host parents, according to my host family information paper, own their own business, yet when I asked host-mom what their respective jobs are, she said hers was something along the lines of like, exchange or something, but I couldn't quite understand her. The father works at a bank and from the way she explained it, it seemed he owns the bank. I am not quite sure though. They do live in a very high end area though so I wouldn't be too surprised, and the school Shota and I will be attending is like crazy amazing. It's in Takarazuka!

So anyways, this is a lot of writing, and I apologize if it is too much. I am extremely thankful for how my exchange is turning out, and I could not have asked for anything better. OHHH! And I totally forgot, but I had planned on learning Osaka Kansai-ben (the regional dialect of the Osaka/Kyoto area), as the family lives in Osaka, and if I am able to speak in their dialect I may gain people's respect much easier. However apparently, according to host-mom their family and the surrounding area tends to speak in the Kyoto dialect, which is a much softer, refined, and often considered sophisticated sounding Japanese dialect. Kyoto was the capital of Japan for over 1000 years after all, so it makes sense. This actually makes my life much easier though, as the Osaka-ben is way more confusing and sounds like a completely different language from that of standard Japanese. Host-mom even said it sounds strange, which was funny. She also said that we will have to go to Kyoto on the weekends to go and practice Kyoto-ben! HOMG KYOTOOOOOOOO!!! GAWD they could not have placed me in a better location! I am right at Osaka which is an AWESOME city, I am in a super nice high-end sleeper community which is what I always wanted, and I am super close to Kobe and KYOTO!!!! WHOO. There is also a mix of Kansai Osaka and Kyoto-ben, which is awesome cause I love both dialects. I'M SO HAPPY! OH, AND MIDTERMS ARE OVER!!!

Thank you so much for reading! I hope all other fellow exchangers to Japan are fairing marvelously! You all may actually have the same questions, but I will need to ask my host family what I should do regarding the school uniform. I also need to deal with what class they will place me in at Hibarigaoka Gakuen. I asked the YFU admissions office these questions already, and they said that they are waiting for a response from YFU Japan. So we will see what happens :) I also want to know if my host family has "homed" an exchange student in the past, to see if they have actually dealt with this before.

BYE!

-Oliver