JAPAN HOMESTAY

NOV 14TH, SUN	The Hoka family is very nice. I'm glad they speak and understand a good amount of English., but that they want to help me learn Japanese. I think I learned ten words on the ride home from the airport. With some very appreciated empathy, the Hoka family gave me some custard, showed me the house, had me take a bath, then let me sleep.
NOV 15TH, MON	Today began very early, 6:30AM, after a long weekend of travel. School began at 8:15AM with a short speech from myself. After this I was introduced to the necessary people and began my classes. Music, social studies, and health all flew by before it was lunch time. After lunch, I was treated to a meeting with the superintendent of schools and a short driving tour of the town by Mr Hoka. Then I was back to school for volleyball club until about 5:30. Once I got home, I took one of the most satisfying baths of my life, and watched a little television. Before dinner I barely edged out, Mr Hoka at a game of Othello, and did some American homework. Dinner was delicious shrimp and cheese affair with rice, and was especially satisfying after a long first day at school.
NOV 16TH, TUE	I guess that it took all the students a day to warm to me. The second I came in this morning I started making friends. It was satisfying to be able to help teach my English class and it definitely provided some insight into just how difficult English is to learn. The rest of the day fairly flew by, marked by a noticeable change in my overall comprehension of Japanese. After school I toured many of the different clubs, speaking and making friends. After this was the ONSEN with Jimmy-san and Tomi-sensei. The ONSEN was incredible, as was the dinner afterwards at a Japanese bars named "Kids". While the American theme design was extremely garish the food was excellent.
NOV 17TH, WED	Today began with the infamous "Natto" a dish of fermented soybeans. To me rather unexceptional, the dish had been somewhat of a test to many of my classmates. After eating and preparing for my first day with the first years at the school, I found myself with a bit of extra time among hands. I was digging through my bag for a homework assignment when I found my calling card and, subsequently, remembered I hadn't been in contact with my family. After about a half an hour of trying to call, it was off to school. Straight off Jimmy-san conscripts me into helping teach and English class to the first years. As it turns out I ended up teaching three such classes throughout the day. With this exception school was mostly unexceptional: Playing volleyball during lunch was fun, cleaning urinals after lunch was not. Following my release from school I explored the town of Hashigaki on a bike borrowed from the Hoka family. Bout 5 minutes into my journey I discovered a car lot and spent the next hour making friends with a mechanic whose language I didn't speak and taking pictures of cars I had never seen before. As I write this I am waiting for Mr Hoka to return from work so we can eat. We're having TAKO-YAKI, it should be fun.
NOV 18TH, THU	Today went well. I continued to learn a lot, though the first years are warming to me as much as the third years did. Many seem skittish, which is understandable, I am as much as five years older than them. This equates to almost half again as old, with the whole of adolescence separating us. Science class was easily a high point in the day with an experiment in conductivity teaching me a lot about both Japanese and science. I evidently showed enough aptitude at basic graphing to warrant a temporary place at the blackboard. Lunch break finally saw the end of the first years bash fullness. An English tutoring session quickly reversed into a flurry of hiragana flash cards being waved in my face. I was immensely honored by their attention and their new desire to help me. After lunch, I did physical education with my former third year class. And after my discovery of how out of shape I was I attended math with the third years. That evening was also good fun, with a trip to the grocery store netting me a few Japanese magazines. At dinner, I discovered chicken sashimi, which was a little chewy but not too bad overall.
NOV 19TH, FRI	I realized this morning just how routine everything is becoming. Up at 7 eat a delicious breakfast, then off to school. This morning, though, I have to pack all my things in preparation for my stay with the Tanishita family. School is great, as usual, filled with hilarious misunderstandings and probably quite a few dirty words said by myself at the prodding of my peers. After a brisk 1000 meters is physical education and another stint as assistant teacher in English. It was time for the class that roughly translated to “ethics”. Tomi-sensei decided that since I was there “ethics” entailed cooking rice in a traditional fashion so that we could have rice balls with lunch. After school it was off to the Tanishita’s house hold. Mr. Tanishita is the leader of the Hishikari school’s Parent Teacher Association, and his daughter, Mika is a third year there. Following a brief tour of the neighborhood I brought out one of my gifts, a game called Mancala. It took a little while to teach, but definitely liked it. After dinner, a delicious dish of cabbage and eggs, and a few more games of Mancala I retired for the night.
NOV 20TH, SAT	After a rush of activity during breakfast Yohei, Mika and myself were left alone. A few more games of Mancala and a couple rounds of Mario Kart passed the time until several of Mika’s friends come over. We had a great time playing cards and eating Japanese junk food the entire afternoon. I learned that caramel corn is different in Japan and that its very hard to teach a group of teenage girls to play Gin Rummy when you don’t speak their language. My big accomplishment for the day was imdobibtedly making friends with the Tanishita dog, Miss Momo. It was a lengthy process, but utterly rewarding once Miss Momo’s alternating fear and hatred of me was dissipated. That night we had shabushabu for dinner. I had shabushabu once before, and can easily claim is has been my favorite food ever since. The shabushabu we ate on Saturday was no less wonderful.
NOV 21TH, SUN	Today we went to Mount Sakurajima, a famous volcano in Kyushu and all around great place. After watching a foot race relay around Hishikari ( in which my host brother performed excellently) we began the long drive to Mount Sakurajima. Mt. Sakurajima was a unique experience, one can take a car ferry across Kagoshima Bay to reach Sakurajima Island. Once there we had a delicious lunch at a local restaurant which served to educate me on the meal ticket vending machines. I had seen everywhere. The drive to the observatory on Mt. Sakurajima was one of beautiful flora and interesting rock formations, a result of the volcanic nature of the island. The view from the observatory was likewise gorgeous. One can see Sakurajima Bay and the cities skyline for a good ways. Once we had seen all the sites and visited the sabolenter, a sort of museum/ research facility dedicated to volcanic activity, we began the drive home. After a few stops for necessities such as gyoza and ice cream Mr. Tanishita informed me that there would be a party tonight in my honor. I was stemned, it was really embarrassing, I pretended not to understand in order to buy myself enough time to prepare an appropriate response. As it turns out the party was a rather small affair, but no less gratifying. I was literally the reason for the party, for three hours I talked, was talked about, and talked to. Everyone was so kind, I could not believe it, The food; sushi, chicken sashi, grilled beef and vegetables, wild boar, and shitake mushrooms was as delicious as it was endless. It was simultaneously immensely gratified by the attention heaped upon me and embarrassed at the fuss being made about the smallest detail of myself.
NOV 22ND, MON	Today was very sad, it was both my last day with the Tanishita family and my last day at Hishikari chu-gakko. AT the Monday morning meeting, I made a heartfelt speech expressing my regret at not being able to stay longer. Spending time with James Scott, an Australian Language Teacher, and the rest of the teaching staff have solidified my desire to teach English in Japan. My brief stints in Tomi-sensei's class, and the amount of affection given to James have convinced me that being an ALT might be one of the most rewarding jobs in the world. Besides this, my day was fairly nondescript. A physical education period began as volleyball but quickly degenerated into a very fun game of dodgeball. I also worked with James in preparation for our elementary school tour that will begin on Wednesday. After school Mika Taneshita's friend Miyuki Chijiiwa presented me with a gift, a soft-felt-tip pen (presumably to write Kanji with) and a lovely note. After this awesome surprise, it was back to the Tanishita's home for a few last games of Mancala and a final farewell. Upon my return home I was stunned to find Miyuki waiting for me with another present, a superb drawing of myself. I don't think that I could accurately express my feelings in words. I was so amazed at the thoughtfulness of Miyuki, I could hardly speak. I spent the rest of the night beaming over my portrait and thinking about how lucky I was. After dinner Mrs. Hoka also surprised me with a present, a Japanese children's book to help me learn hiragana. Again, I was amazed at the thoughtfulness of everyone around me and of my good luck in being, given an opportunity to travel to Kagoshima Prefecture.
NOV 23RD, TUE	This morning, I was allowed to sleep in until 7:45, and for this I am extremely grateful. After a leisurely breakfast of soup and rice, we set off for Kagoshima City, where I was to meet my good friend Ayumi Fukunaga. My family hosted Ayumi as an exchange student this past summer and we all miss her very much. Upon our arrival at the Fukunaga household we were greeted by Mr. Fukunaga and Ayumi's adorable 6-year old sister. Ayumi, Mr. Fukunaga, Mr. Hoka, and Mrs. Hoka talked for a while and I struggled to follow. The entire time that we talked we were being served by Ayumi's sister which was fun to watch. After lunch we were forced to leave entirely to quickly. I'm still not entirely sure why we had to leave so soon after our arrival, but I was very disappointed to leave Ayumi so soon. I spent this afternoon riding around town on the Hoka's purple bike taking pictures of some of the more beautiful areas of Hishikari. After my exploratory journey, we traveled to a cultural event to honor what I have gathered to be the Japanese Holiday that combines Thanksgiving, Labor Day, and a time to pray for a good harvest. The event was mainly traditional Japanese dancing, performed by members of the community. It was interesting to watch, and one could definitely tell that quite a bit of time had hone into practice. Besides being extremely deliberate they were very long and theatrical. After watching several dances, we went to a hereby restaurant for dinner. Yakitori is a type of chicken shish-kabob, and tako calpacho is a raw octopus dish. On the drive home we were surprised to see a fireworks display in the distant sky. We stopped and watched the display to its conclusion then returned home.
NOV 24TH, WED	My first day as a teacher was very interesting. After a formal meeting with the principal of the school and a relatively uncomfortable teachers meeting we began with the first year. The first-years class consisted of about ten, six year olds running ground taping things. Jimmy and I got to make smock-type articles crafted from various classroom materials taped to a plastic boy which we then draped over ourselves After the students tired of this we began origami paper folding. The children's fingers proved amazingly adept at turning square pieces of paper into windmills and the like. Next period was a sort of living history lesson with a group of the elderly in the community congregating to speak to the thirty ears. After their lecture they commenced to teach us all old-style Japanese games such as a marbles, juggling, and paper airplanes. Fourth period Jimmy and I though that we would be observing when we were hauled in front of the class to perform an impromptu presentation for an hour. Fifth and Sixth period also proved surprising, as our how-long presentation had to be condensed into a five-minutes am session. After school I biked about with Miyuki and Mika. I ended up at A Coop, a local grocery store, where I enjoyed a snack of ramen and teriyaki chicken. As I write this Mrs. Hoka is preparing our dinner of ed.
NOV 25TH, THU	I got a chance to start late in my lessons at the elementary school today. Since we had to leave at 9:00 from Hishikari I used my extra hour to email my family and read some mails from my friends. Although I enjoyed this opportunity it also made me more than a little sad and homesick. I was soon forced to forget all this as we jumped into our lessons at Hishikari Elementary School . I spent second period playing a matching game with English letters, barely winning against a number of keen Japanese students. Third and fourth period were spent at Hishikari School ’s soba and daikon garden. As I now know the students are raising the Sakurajima variety of daikon as an experiment to see whether it could thrive in the comparatively barren soil. From my experience it definitely can, some of the daikon plants were larger than my host family’s kitchen table. At lunch I gave riding a unicycle a try, held the school rabbit, and played dodgeball. After lunch was an assembly of the whole school held to exhibit Jimmy and myself. It was an entirely rare and rewarding experience: being the center of attention to over 300 Japanese Schoolchildren. After a few rounds of jan-kim-po (Japanese rock/paper/scissors) to loosen things up each grade asked a few questions and a number of pictures were taken. Afterwards the students formed a gate underneath Jimmy and I were expected to walk through. This involved crouching down to about two feet tall while shaking about fifteen hands simultaneously and supporting a few kids hanging onto your neck and back. Difficult, but utterly satisfying. Upon my return home I decided to try and ride my bike to the bookstore in Okuchi, the next town over. Alas, this was not to happen. I ended up near some Pachinko Parlors in an area of Okuchi I had never seen before. As soon as it began to get dark I made for home as soon as quickly as possible. Along the way, though, I did manage to get a little shopping for presents done, so the entire escapade did not go waste.
NOV 26TH, FRI	Since today was to be my last day that I would encounter the teachers of Hishikari Junior High I was called to speak to them. As it turns out my initial speech was considerably longer than what Hoka-sensei had in mind, so I had to pare it down on the spot. Then it was off to Tanaka Elementary school . First period was an hour-long presentation to the sixth years about America in which I was able to successfully avoid the, “Do you have a girlfriends?” question for the first time. The embarrassment was palpable in the room as the students whispered to each other, prodding their friends to ask their questions in proxy. Second period was with the second years, planting onions and flowers. Third period was a lesson on the multiplication tables with the third years. Awing them with my skills at multiplication and twirling my pencil was a wholly gratifying experience. After class one particularly forward boy asked me to sign a piece of paper for him. Seeing this every student in the class needed both Jimmy and my signatures. Fourth period was a lesson in Kanji with the sixth years (in which I painted the Kanji Kinen, which means commemeoration). Lunch was eaten with the fourth years and after getting over their initial wariness quickly turned into another signing session, this time escalating from paper to pencil cases and erasers. After lunch was an amazing taiko drum display by the fifth and sixth years. Afterwards Hayato Taneshita took it upon himself to teach me the basic points of playing one of the larger drums. That evening, following a trip to A Coop with Miyuki and Ryuchan, Jimmy picked me up for an evening out. Jimmy , his girlfriend, and I swung by the video store (a great experience in itself) on the way to a wonderful traditional Japanese restaurant. The evening flew by in grand fashion with Tomi showing up about halfway through. Afterwards I had to say a painful goodbye to two of my good friends I had made while in Kagoshima , though the solemnity of the occasion was somewhat dulled by the amount of alcohol consumed by Jimmy and Tomi.
NOV 27TH, SAT	I had to be up early this morning in order to catch an eight-thirty train to Kagoshima City . After a blissfully uneventful train ride, I arrived in Kagoshima city around ten o'clock where I was looking forward to being met by Ayumi Fukunaga , the student who stayed at my house this summer. After I didn’t see her where we were supposed to meet I thought, “Well, maybe I’m a little early.” I wandered around in Kagoshima-Chou station for a while when Ayumi suddenly appeared, about 20 minutes late. We wandered around Kagoshima-Chou ( Chou means center) station for a while, doing some shopping for my family. Then we took a local bus to a nearby shopping mall where we had lunch and did a little more shopping. Too soon it was time to catch my train back to Hishikari-town, but not before another surprise: Yoko would be riding the train back with me. This turned out to be a great chance; not only would I be able to get to know Yoko better, but my concerns about switching trains would be totally alleviated by her presence. As soon as I returned, we began preparations for my going away party. The Tansehita and Hoko families had gone all-out for me. Dinner consisted of a delicious chicken dish, crackers and dip, soup, and heaps of Sushi. For dessert we had homemade puddings and mikan, and there was all manners of good things to drink. After dinner and great conversation Hayato, Yohei, Mika, Yoko , and I snuck away to play Uno while the adults talked. Before to long, though, it was time to say goodbye. After the party had been cleaned up I stayed up late writing notes to everyone who had a major impact on my stay, thanking them for their generosity.