Fri. Aug. 22 – Sun. Aug. 24

I headed to Aizu Wakamatsu for my Japanese language classes and home stay. I was in the pre-beginner class; we were dubbed “Budo” (grape). We had some pretty chill teachers, including Skinny Mr. T! We played that counting game with sticks (ichi, ni, san, shi, go, roku….)
At the end of our first day, all of us JETs were herded into a classroom with our bags. A dude with a brown clipboard would holler our names, indicating when we’d finally meet our home stay families.
Two really cute little girls in pink were holding hands with their mother. The little two-year-old wore precious “Anpanman” (a popular cartoon superhero) sandals that squeaked every time she walked!
So, my host family includes the father, who works as an architect; the mother, who is a nurse; and two daughters ages 7 and 2. These kids were sooooo kawaii! We played in the tatami room. The seven-year-old also wanted to have a sleepover with me, so we slept on futons in the tatami room. We had to go to bed pretty early – I’d say 9:30 p.m. I remember getting a text msg at 11ish that night, ha.
The next day, the family got up at 6 a.m. I think the girls were up watching cartoons, while the father slipped out to go to work. We ate a traditional Japanese breakfast, complete with: miso soup, salad, cucumbers, scrambled eggs and fresh peaches. I also asked my host mother to show me how to use the microwave… I have one at home just like it, but I don’t understand all the different functions. (Ah, kanji!! Good times).
We had another full day of classes, which was fun. Our class can finally construct sentences!! We were pretty excited. We can now say: “Otedama wa tsukue no ue ni arimasu.” (The juggling ball is on top of the desk). Ha ha, so jokes.
I think that day we also had lunch. We learned how to play “rock, paper, scissors” in Japanese. And there was a weird game where they tightly wrapped a belt around a balloon, which was passed around then popped.
That night, I went camping with my host family in Nizuru. The grounds were about 20 minutes away from Aizu Wakamatsu. When we arrived, I met about 30 or so people. These were young families who were all part of an English club. My seven-year-old little sister prepared me a plate with way too much food! The families set aside some time to put on a play. It was about Captain Hook fighting with Peter Pan, haha. Then, I had my first “Gaijin! Entertain us” moment… They asked me to give a little self-introduction, and then play a game with the kids. I talked about myself for a few minutes, then taught everyone “Skinnamarinkydinkydink…” It was awkward, to say the least!
We later played with fireworks – even the little kids enjoy getting in on the action. I also went to an onsen for the first time. There was a little indoor onsen located on the camping grounds. It was… an experience?! Ha.
On Sunday morning, I gathered the courage to talk to some of the other kids there. I noticed one of them had hair like my brother’s, so I asked to take his photo! I then said good-bye to my family, and was whisked back to Aizu Wakatmasu.
We went on a field trip to the castle. There was an amazing view from the top – the mountains were enveloped in misty fog. On the front lawn, there were people huddled around a big screen television set up outside. They were waiting for the big race of one of the Japanese competing in a marathon in the Olympics. I believe he got the gold. (p.s. Everyone at the BoE would update me when Canada lost in baseball/softball. They really love their baseball here, especially the high school level games).
We also walked through the sake museum. We got to sample a few shots of sake before lunch. Sake here in Japan is delicious. The stuff I forced my friends to drink in Canada does not compare! I ended up buying a light sake, which apparently goes well with cider.
After our last rainy day in Aizu, we took the train back home. We stayed a bit in Koriyama… I was pretty excited to finally get my own sticker pictures. We stuffed about eight JETs into one tiny booth. They turned out grrrrrrreat!