First Full Day with the Host Family~

I'm going to start doing a Japanese something of the day, like word of the day, or phrase of the day or something. I think that would be interesting, ne?

Japanese phrase of the day: "ame ga futte imasu"(雨が降っています) — it is raining! 

This has been brought to you by today's weather!

Today was my first full day with the host family, and we spent time getting used to each other. I think that we'll get along fine, and I like them a lot. They're a fun family. The mother, Yoshiko-san, is very understanding, and has a lot of patience for my lack of understanding.  She's teaching me one word a day, and today's word is "jisa boke" (時差ぼけ), which means "jet-lag." This came up because I felt tired the moment I woke up, which usually doesn't happen to regular people. Though maybe we can also blame a little of my tiredness from church. Religion has never captivated me, to say the least.

Anyways, in the picture above, don't the jam and peanut butter containers look a lot like ice cream containers? And me, being the person that can't read Japanese so well, got really confused when we were having ice cream for breakfast.

I've realized that the Japanese have mayo on many things. The have mayo on any dish they can put it on, including eggs and bacon. I'm not used to how salty things are in this house, but I can't eat much of salty things (because the water I down along with it fills me up), so all is okay. I also had butter and toast, with strawberry jam. Yummm~

Isn't the butter container cool? It has a little space
just for the utensil to stick out and stay in the box.

So I went to church at 8:00 a.m., my first time at a Japanese church, and my second time at church at all. I don't mean to offend those that are religiously inclined, but the service bored me. The part I enjoyed was the singing part, but the sermon today was about John, chapter 6, which was all about the fact that if you take part in communion, you shall live forever. My skepticism aside, the Bible sure knows how to repeat itself. It's very emphatic and redundant, as a text. Thus, though the sermon was long (or so it seemed to me), there wasn't much in the way of content except for the fact that you shall live forever if you take part in communion. I got that the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth time, thanks. No need for twenty.

Nevertheless, the... reverend (I'm probably wrong in this title) was very eloquent, and I respected him for that. He definitely knows public speaking very well, and I enjoyed listening to how well he could put things, even if it was the same thing he was putting in words over and over again. Liturgical people sure know how to speak to people, and there's a lot to learn from them in that aspect, I think. That's what I'll be looking forward to every Sunday, rather than the religious content.

After church, the children went to Bible class for an hour, so I had free time to wander the city a little. Masahiro-san and Yoshiko-san were very nice, and took me in their car to see Shibuya and Harajuku (after they heard of my fondness for shopping (well, window shopping, since I don't spend freely either), especially for shoes). I got to walk around 109 Shibuya, which is a very famous shopping building. The Japanese definitely like their booties and heels, and I've been looking for a pair. Shoes/fashion items are very expensive in Japan, but they're a lot more comfortable and long lasting. I think it's worth it.

I didn't get to walk around Harajuku, but they drove me around and told me where I could find things such as stores and food. That way, if I wanted to go there myself, I would know where things were ahead of time.

109 Shibuya~ 

There are so many McDonald's everywhere!

So many shoes. The Japanese are SO into shoes.
I understand how that feels. 

Harajuku station looks vaguely Dutch/German, ne? 

After picking up the children from church, we came back to have lunch at the house, which consisted of nikuma (pork buns) and yakisoba! On the way back, I couldn't help but record Ayuka-chan, who is so cute when she speaks Japanese, it's irresistible!

Yoshiko-san is a great cook, but she says she only cooks things that are able to be cooked well and fast, since children are never patient enough to wait for things like quiche. However, she does like quiche, and so we made plans to go shopping for ingredients, and I'll make quiche lorraine sometime in the near future. I just wonder if they have gruyere cheese... It's not like cheese is a great part of the diet, you know?

I then partook in hirune, which is noon nap time (why doesn't America follow this practice? We would be so much more efficient). Afterwards, I woke up, found my old piano sheet music, and, for the first time in a while, I practiced some piano. They have a wonderful, perfectly tuned, piano. Both the children are learning piano, but they hate practicing. However, after hearing me play, they both spent some time practicing too, to be "just as good as me," which is very sweet. 

I helped out with dinner, and made some gyoza. I learned what to put inside and how to fold the top so that it looks right. By the end of it, I daresay I was folding like a pro. You couldn't tell the difference between me and Jiro (from Jiro Dreams of Sushi) if you wanted to — probably because Jiro doesn't make gyoza...

We also had rice, fresh grated daikon, daikon miso soup, and frozen bananas! I love frozen bananas very, very much. It was a very good dinner. Not to mention that Shannon was right when she said that my host family would try to overfeed me, all the time. That has been the case thus far, and I don't see an end to that any time soon (not that I'm complaining).

There's so much more work when it comes to recycling
milk containers here. 

Have I ever commented upon the lack of trash cans? Trash cans on the streets are a rare sight, so there have been days so far when I've had to carry my trash for half the day before I could toss it. People don't litter, so many really do just carry their trash around until they reach a building with a trash container. People are very conscientious about their trash too, so all trash is separated into paper, plastic,  etc., which means that sometimes you can encounter a trash can, and then have it not be the right trash can. Slightly annoying on some days. You learn to appreciate trash cans very quickly here.

I leave you with a video of Ryosuke reading to me a children's story. The roles are so reversed, now that I have a seven year old reading me a story and then stopping periodically to explain to me what a word means or how a kanji character is pronounced. It feels weird, to say the least. xD

With that, I bid you good night (or good morning, or good afternoon, wherever and whenever you are).  Tomorrow is a national holiday (Health and Sports Day), so there will be no school. Plans are up the air, so who knows what I'll be doing?

Cheers & Chocolate!

Maggie