The First Day : 7-20

Well, amazingly, we are in Japan.  After spending a needed night in bed (in which my jet lag woke me up many times) we awoke to a breakfast of miso soup, bagels, and some interesting sandwiches that had a chocolate-like filling.

I suppose I should talk about the family we are staying with first, and elaborate on the use of the phrase we.  "We" amounts to me and Carlos, the other student staying with the family on my trip.  Unlike most people, I didn't really know my roommate before, as I didn't quite get to choose him.  Mary Beth Wright just said she thought that I should be with him because he was a little nervous about the trip.  He seems fine.

The family I am staying with has five members, Shinya, the father (I think I'm supposed to call him Otana?), Takako, the mother (I think I'm supposed to call her Osana?), Taeko, the oldest sister, Mikako, the younger sister, and Shintaro, the younger brother.

Shintaro came to Yakima when the Yamate students came.  Shintaro is cool.  He seems to be very stylish in the way he dresses.  Also, he was not with us for much of yesterday because he had to go to rugby club.  Apparently his instructor was angry at him for not showing up.

Mikako is also not around very  much because she is studying for the college entrance exams.  When I asked her what she plans to study, she said that right now her goal is only to get into college.  It must be very difficult!

Taeko is studying sociology but is seemingly off for the summer.  She speaks good English, and thus has talked to Carlos and me a lot.  It is nice to have Taeko around because we can ask her more complex questions.

I can't say much about Takako, as she speaks no english, other than that she is very pretty and is a great cook.  Shinya is a very funny man, however.  It seems like both in America and Japan kids are embarrassed by their parents.

(The picture at the beginning of the post shows Shintaro's family.  From left to right: Grandma Kiku, Mikako, Shinya, Shintaro, Takako, Taeko.)

Yesterday we did so many things.  In the morning we walked to a grocery store (only 1 block away!) to get some food for Carlos and I to try.  We bought many things: Japanese oranges, Japanese chips, octopus, tea-flavored ice cream, and more!  It was all very good.  We tried this juice drink that was like a mix between grape soda and grape jello.  Segoi!

We also gave our gifts to our host family, and they seemed to greatly enjoy them.  I brought some apple chips, cherries, and huckleberry tea for food gifts.  I also brought a Salsa Band CD, a Dream catcher, and a Mariners hat.  They really enjoyed the CD.

At lunch we ate soba.  Soba is very cool because you have your own little bowl of soba sauce that you take the noodles or anything else (there was this breaded stuff that was really good that I forget the name of) and dip it in the sauce.  It's very tasty, and also very filling.  I am always very full at the end of each meal.

After that, we walked and took a train to the baseball game (Yokohama Baystars vs. Tokyo Giants).  The train system is very cool.  You purchase a card with say, 5,000 Yen on it, and you just whisk it by some reciever that records where you have been and where you get off (so how much you pay).  It's very cool.  The baseball game was also very fun.  The stadium was interesting.  There were not decks or upper or lower levels, or luxury boxes, but it was still big.  The whole stadium was a kind of bowl, with more seats behind home plate than in the outfield.  In Japan, many fans always show up for games, even for bad teams (like the Baystars we were rooting for--they actually won 4-1).  They also have elaborate cheers for each batter.  It's very exciting.  They always say "Kato Visei, (player name)".  It means something like "Hit it again!".  Also, after the game, the MVP's of the game speak to the fans.  In this game, it was the pitcher, Williams.  He came from America to Japan (he played for the Yankees).

We went to a sushi restaurant following the game.  I tried many things, liking all of them except the sea urchins, which tasted somewhat bitter.  Everything else was wonderful, though.  They had this system where this conveyer belt cycles these plates with sushi on them by you, and the color of the plate determines how much the food on it costs.  At the end of the meal, the plates are counted to decide the price of the meal.

Yesterday was a big celebration in Japan.  I think it was a thanks for things from the sea.  Anyways, at the end of the day we watched fireworks, very impressive ones too.  

I must go now, because of fatigue from typing, and because of impending breakfast.

Atiki mas!