Homestay: Hangin' with the seniors

This weekend, the JSPS program sponsored a Homestay. Basically, they match up all of the students with volunteers from the surrounding communities to host us for the weekend and expose us to Japanese culture. When I first heard about this, I was a little nervous about the whole experience and being paired up with someone who didn't speak English at all. In May, I received information about my hosts saying that their interests were tennis and recitation of Chinese poetry (man) and embroidery (woman). After reading this, I kinda new that these people would not be young and figured that maybe they'd be middle-aged, but even that was a stretch. Once I arrived, I learned that the man was 74 and the woman was 69.

Everyone was chatting about their host families and how they had all these events planned and had small children that they'd get to play with and when they asked me, I just said "I have old people". I couldn't help but be a bit jealous that these people would have awesome homestays and I'd be stuck with the senior citizens. Needless to say, I didn't have very high expectations for my homestay.

The night of the start, we all lined up with numbers and felt kinda like we were at an airport picking people up. While waiting, one of the organizers looked at me and asked if I had met them before. I said no and she responded "you can tell by the look in you face...like dread". Yes, that was in fact true. I was nervous and dreading what I might be in for. When Mrs. T found me, she was SO excited. Mr. T wasn't thrilled, but it was difficult to read him at all. Once I picked up my bag, Mrs. Teraoka says, "We are so excited to have you--we've been doing this for 8 years and you are our first girl!" That made me very happy--not so much hearing that I was their first girl, but that she said it with very good english.

That night, we drove up to Hayama--a small resort town in the hills but near the water--the same town where the Royal family has their villa (we drove past and there were guards outside). I got my own room and was shown the Japanese bath (two compartments--one for rinsing and one for bathing) and the shower. I said I'd be fine with just a shower (BTW Japanese people bathe at night--so that you go to bed clean. I myself am a morning showerer, though Mr T insistedthat I shower at night--however, I fell asleep before being able to shower).

After settling into my room (I got the whole second floor to myself), I went downstairs and Mr. T was watching TV. I said I enjoy cooking and would love to help out and learn Japanese cuisine. Mrs. T was SO happy. She said she's so glad to have an assistant in the kitchen. I learned how to make tempura shrimp and vegetables (relatively simple except I cut the vegetables wrong). In the process, Mrs. T explained to me that they were only talking about their son but really, they had a daughter but she died in a plane crash when she was 23. What was sad was the way she told it--like it was her daughters fault: she said, she met a man, got married, moved to Malaysia and died coming back to Japan--that she was the only girl in the family and left Japan so her plane crashed--like that was what happens when you leave family. Though her son lived in Paris and London for several years.

At dinner, I was afraid there wouldn't be much to talk about, but was I surprised. Mr. T first complimented me on my cooking and said I am old enough to be married so I should get married and bring my husband back to their home and cook tempura for both of them. Like I need any pressure to get married from Japanese hosts! I didn't respond to the comment, just nodded and smiled. That senior citizens sensitivity class I took in high school really paid off. Changing the topic, these people are really active. They play tennis for 2 hours (non-stop apparently) 3 times a week! I then told them I enjoyed watching basketball and Mrs. T gave me the play by play of the last 4 minutes of the Heat vs. Mavs NBA finals game--they had watched it the night before and apparently it was an intense 4th quarter.

The rest of the night went well. Mr. T invited me to attend his Chinese poetry recitation the following morning. Oh man, this is what I was dreading! Stuck listening to poetry for a day. But he was SO excited to invite me--like a 5 yr old at his first play. He said "I will be on STAGE!" with huge hand gestures and a great big smile. How can you say no to that?!

The next morning, I went to the performing arts center to watch Mr. T recite "Pacific Ocean". I was pleasantly surprised by the whole thing. In one corner was this old man playing a Japanese-type of flute and on stage were individuals waiting their turn while one person stood center stage chanting. I took a video of Mr. T's performance--he was beaming with pride-- and will hopefully be able to post it. Who would've thought that I could have fun in a room full of senior citizens (there was maybe ONE person under 60).

Mrs. T said we could leave after he was done--that she goes to these all the time and always has to sit through all of them and gets bored--so we left to grab some sushi for lunch.

That afternoon, we went to Kamakura to visit the shrine. The Great Buddha is in that area but was hard to get to, so we went to the shopping district. Oh, at the shrine there was a wedding going on so I took pictures of that. Its also customary to buy a fortune from a booth nearby--mine was "middle of the road" good luck. It was all very beautiful.

The next day, we went to Yokohama--located outside of Tokyo and houses Chinatown! On our way there--they pointed out their future grave site--now how many homestayers can say that their hosts showed them where they would be buried?! Special indeed. Yokohama was very nice. Lots of people walking around even when it was raining! Then we ate Chinese food and went back home.

Overall, I had a wonderful homestay. I was very pleased to make them happy, as I think I really did. Mr. T at one point said after his recitation, he got so much attention--people asking who I was--that he felt so special. After dinner one night he said, "I am so happy--I have my two flowers sitting next to me" I was sitting on one side and his wife on the other. Then his wife joked--yeah, one dying and one young one! They were such sweet people and so generous and kind. I will miss not having had more time with them.

Pictures here