This had to come some time. I kept writing something for it and I just didn't like it and trashed it. But right now I feel like I just need to write about my host family and maybe something will come to me or I can edit it later with something that I like better.
As of now I have been living with my family for about 5 or 6 weeks. It really doesn't feel like it has been all that long to tell the truth. One because the days are just so packed and go by so fast. And second I thought I'd be improving a bit more that I have been. More on that later in the post.
My family is so sweet and nice! I have my Otousan (dad), Okaasan (mom), Kayoko (my younger sister), and Niango (our cat).
So Kayoko is only 15 years old, but she's been learning English for 10 years now. So she is pretty amazing with English, even though she won't admit it. She is also SO FREAKING energetic! I swear she has the energy of at least 3 people. But she is also super sweet and your typical teenager who wants to do things her way and not do what her parents tell her. She's completely obsessed with Karaoke and Video games. Both of which can be a good and a bad thing.
I never really thought Karaoke could ever be a bad thing, but lets just say if you don't have enough food to support you, and you much have sugary horribly unhealthy food, 8 hours of Karaoke is killer! Not because you're singing almost nonstop for 8 hours(well that is part of it), but because it's super hard to keep coming up with more songs to sing! And I was the only one singing English songs, not to mention a few Korean and Japanese songs too! I really don't know who she does this, because I'm very sure this was not her first 8 house straight Karaoke session...
My Otousan, well I don't really talk to him all that much because he's usually either sleeping or at work. But he's a cute little man, he enjoys a nice glass of beer or wine with dinner and is always taking pictures of what Okaasan cooks. He also doesn't know a lot of English, and his Japanese is all Osaka-ben so it's hard for me to understand when I could with Okaasan or one of my teachers.
The greatest moment with him though was when I was getting ready to go meet my friend Katie to shopping in Amimura, because she's the only one I've been able to find who will go to my punk/goth clothes shops and not get bored after being in there for 5 minutes. And I always feel bad dragging people to these places when I know they won't like going. But anyways, back to Otousan. So Okaasan is making me lunch, because she just sweet and awesome like that, and randomly out of the blue he asks me if I drink alcohol. Going with it since I don't get to talk with him all that much, I told him I have a glass with my mom every once in a while. And 10 minutes later when I come back down to the dinning room, what do I find waiting for me...A steaming bowl of delicious smelling INSTANT RAMEN and a glass of RED WINE! This was probably the greatest combination of a meal I've ever had in my whole life!
Last is my Okaasan, well there is also Niango but he's just a freaking cute can who likes to sit there and stare at people as they walk past. Okaasan is so sweet, she actually knows quite a bit of English, just because Kayoko has been learning it for the past 10 years so she would obviously pick up some here and there. She is also one of the best cooks in the whole world. Back home even if mom or dad cooked it, I usually wouldn't try many new or different foods, but almost everything she has cooked I've loved, and I hated quite a lot of the things before I came to Japan. Yakisoba is pretty much one of the best foods ever created and I have yet to find a bad Yakisoba and almost each one is just as good if not better than the last. But non of them compare the slightest to Okaasan's Yakisoba! I become a bottomless pit when I eat it. Literally the other night when she made it I eat close to enough for 3 or 4 people! It was just too good to let go cold and not be eaten with love!
I don't know how she does it though. She wakes up before 6 everyday, works part time, keeps the house almost spotless, does laundry everyday, cooks, and stays up till 1 or 2 in the morning EVERY FREAKING DAY!!! When I only get 5 or 6 hours of sleep at night even the excitement of being in Japan can't wake me up until about 2 in the afternoon...She is a truly amazing Okaasan!
Now about our house. I live in Neyagawa shi(寝屋川市), by car it's about an hour from Kansai Gaidai, but I walk and take the train to school. This way it takes about 40-45 minutes. From the house I walk about 20 minutes, I go past a truck place, 2 huge shopping centers, and a long street filled with little shops and cafes and resterants and an arcade and about 4 Pashinko parlors and 4 karaoke places. Then I take the train 4 stops from Kourien(香里園) to Gotenyama(御殿山), that takes about 10 minutes. And from Gotenyama it a lovely 10-15 minute walk to school. And by lovely I mean that at 7 in the morning I have to climb up a HUGE hill...
Neyagawa shi is so pretty though. There are so many old houses and buildings. And I think if I was back home I would hate doing this walk everyday, but I really don't mind it here. Every time I take it I find something new!
Yay I'm finally getting aught up on my posts!!! Only a few more left, can I get them all done tonight???
Gilli
