Two weeks ago, I went to my host family’s house. To get to their house, I had to take a 15 minute train ride from the city I live in the direction opposite of Tokyo. I left at 10:30am, and it was beautifully sunny out. On the way to Hino, the city they live in, I saw many fields, and I could actually see the mountains!

I arrived at the station, where my host mother was waiting for me. She took me to the car where her husband was waiting and went back into the station. While we waited for one other person to arrive (I was under the impression that it would be just me), my host father told me that he had studies in America for 6 months and spent a lot of time in Germany. The other person arrived, who turned out to be a 23 year old Chinese girl from Beijing. She spoke Japanese pretty well, so I was able to kind of take a back seat and listen mostly.

It took 10 minutes to drive to their house. On the way there, my host father said that my face looks very Irish. He asked me if I was Irish, and I had to explain that I was a mix of nationalities, the true American way. I don’t know how many American students they have hosted, but they seemed surprised or shocked. I guess they haven’t had much experience with mutts.

We got to their house, and from the outside it looks tiny. The height of the house is equivalent to three stories, but honestly I’m not sure if there are three stories to the house. I was only able to see one section of the house – the living area and the kitchen. I saw a staircase that led upstairs, which I assume is where their bedrooms are. Their house was very Japanese style. In Japan, there are houses that can be a mix of Japanese style and Western style, but I do believe their house was Japanese only. They had several rooms with tatami mats (straw-woven mats that are placed on the floor). Just like entering the house, to get into the rooms with the tatami mats, you have to step up. Of course, you take your shoes off at the front entryway before stepping up into the house.

My host family has a dog, which I think is some type of Labrador. It was cute, but shy. Unlike American dogs, it didn’t like the rough-housing playfulness I was trying to do. The most interesting thing about the dog was when my host father let it outside to do its business. Instead of letting it out into the small yard they have, he pulled out some sort of an absorbing mat. The dog peed onto the mat, and after it was done, the host father took a rag and wiped off its paws. The poor Japanese dogs don’t have the same kind of freedom that American dogs have. Though, it mostly has to do with the fact that there is limited space in Japan. Regardless, I still found it strange that they didn’t let the dog pee in the yard.

We all sat around in their living room and talked for a while. Mostly they spoke Japanese, but occasionally they would ask me things in English. We got into all sorts of different discussions, but I think my favorite was talking about language differences between Japanese, Chinese, and English. The Chinese girl, I believe her name was You, shows up the differences between Japanese kanji and Chinese kanji. I found it fascinating.

My host father asked me a couple of uncomfortable questions, such as my opinions on Obama and Mormonism. When we signed up to have a host family, one of the things they told us not to do was talk about religion and politics (which goes without saying). But my host father was really interested in knowing about my religious preferences and my thoughts on Obama. I do not believe my host father is Mormon; I think he just wanted to talk to me about someone he used to go to school with who was a very strict Mormon. He found it so strange the way a person would self-restrict himself from alcohol, caffeine, smoking, etc.

We ate lunch that was a very Japanese style salad. Sadly I can’t remember everything that was on the plate. It had noodles that tasted very eggy, seaweed, cucumbers, pieces of cold chicken, and some other stuff I can’t recall. It certainly wasn’t my favorite meal.

After we ate, my host mother, You, and I went on a walk over to a nearby river. It was a very hot and humid day, but there was cool breeze that made it very tolerable. The area by the river was absolutely gorgeous. I wish I lived nearer so that I could go there every day to write or study.

Afterward, we came back to the house and had some cool drinks. My host mother asked us if we would like to go see Kabuki, a style of Japanese theater. We said of course! She reserved the tickets, so in the first week of July we will be going to see Kabuki! I’m excited. It should be very entertaining, even if I won’t understand what will be said!

We also set up a time to go do some sightseeing in Kamakura, a place my host mother has described as “Mini Kyoto.” She told me that there are a lot of temples and shrines there. We will be going next weekend.

While my host mother made dinner, we watched some TV and talked some more. You and I actually got to help make sushi, but not the kind that most people think of when the word “sushi” is said. We had these little pockets of dough, and we had to shove rice into them. The outside dough tasted sweet, which was a bit unexpected. The table spread looked something like this:

My host mother made me Katsuton, breaded pork that is fried. It was soooooooooooooooooooo gooooood. They also made me try tofu, and it is very much not my cup of tea. The taste isn’t bad, but the texture is rather disgusting to me. There was tomato salad, asparagus, chopped uncooked cabbage, and miso soup that wasn’t horribly salty.

After our delicious dinner, we talked a little bit about Japanese/Chinese/American history. Pro tip: Know your history when you go abroad! It would have been a rather embarrassing conversation if I didn’t know anything. Another Pro Tip: Read classic novels. I’ve been asked several times whether I’ve read Jane Austin books, which I haven’t. I need to remedy this.

Overall, it was a fun time, even if I did have quite a bit of trouble communicating. At several points throughout the day, we all had our electronic dictionaries out to try to figure out how to say things to each other.

The next time I go to their house, I will ask for permission to take video/pictures of their house. It is quite fantastic. Especially their toilet. I’m not even kidding…

The toilet is magical. The toilet is in a closet of a room. When you walk in, there are slippers you can put on. Right front of the door was tiny little sink for hand washing. On the right, facing the toilet, is a tiny button panel. You walk up to the toilet, and the toilet lid automatically lifts. The moment you start to pee, water starts swirling around the toilet bowl. After you’re done, you push a button to flush. Or, if you forget to flush, the toilet will flush for you. There’s also a button to push to lift or lower the seat.

It seriously freaked me out when I saw it the first time. Haha.

I’ll try to write more often!! On Sunday is a dorm BBQ to celebrate the start of summer. Next weekend is the trip to Kamakura. And after that is the Kabuki excursion.

I also need to write about my awesome cruise around Odaiba bay. Stay tuned!!