Host Family Stay

The Host Family Stay is one of the highlights of the JFMF experience. Each host city must find 20 families to host an American teacher. Some volunteer, others are volunteered, and each experience is a little different. Fusako and Ryozo (in the picture) were my host parents. The dog isn't theirs, it belonged to the guy taking the picture.

I met Fusako briefly a days before and was excited to meet her husband Ryozo. They live in Chiba City but Ryozo travels to Tokyo everyday, a 90 minute commute that requires riding a bus, taking the train, switching trains, and walking. I know this because their English was really good, especially compared to my Japanese skills.

After picking me up, we drove over to the Chiba Folk Museum located in Chiba Castle. From the observation deck we were able to enjoy the changing autumn leaves, which is something very special in Japan. This was not your typical autumn day though, there was a typhoon coming! I know, a typhoon! Sounds scary right? I didn't think so. It was just a thunderstorm. Now there are some meteorologists out there who will argue with me, but I don't think any meteorologists out there are reading my blog so I will go on record and say that typhoons are NBD.

TMI? My point? We had to find things to do that we inside activities. We also went to the National Museum of Japanese History, which was pretty cool. It covered some of the same history of the Shellmound Museum, but what I enjoyed the most were the little model villages and palaces. I don't have pictures of course because you can't take pictures in a museum, but I was inspired to go home and build little Japanese villages with my legos.



After a trip to the grocery store for sashmi (YUM) and some ramen noodles at the food court we headed home. I presented my family with my thank you gift (gift giving is huge in Japan) and we shared photos of family and vacations. Fusako has traveled to so many places in Asia -- like China, Vietnam, Taiwan -- as well as Hawaii and Paris. Dinner was truly a feast "go-chi-so-sa-ma" and included sashmi, sushi, pickled vegetables, fish jerky stuff, and some squishy stuff. It was good, I just don't know what it's called. The main dish was a beef and vegetable and rice thing (don't know the name) that was cooked on the table. But then -- after it is cooked, you dip it in raw egg before eating it. Dip like you would slather a hot wing in bleu cheese dressing. I know you aren't supposed to eat raw eggs but I do it all the time with cookie dough and you know what? It didn't kill me. And was good.

After a shower and soak in a tradional Japanese bath (details are not necessary) I snuggled into my floor bed. No, they weren't being rude hosts -- they just don't have the traditional box springs and mattess that most people use in the States. There were several layers of mattresses, a soft/furry mattress pad, and a down comforter. It would have been a great night's sleep but of course my over-active imagination got the best of me and scenes from the grudge kept playing in my head. But with my trusty red flashlight in hand, I braved the dark and went to sleep.

The next day we went to a local harvest festival. There were crafts for sale and many mini-concerts. I liked the drums best. We also toured the gardens, which reminded me of Holland (even though I have never been to Holland) and ate some rice dough stuff that I guess is very special and you eat during celebrations. So here it is, the moment of truth. I gagged. I ate it but at one point I gagged. At first I was excited to eat it because I thought it was like a doughnut hole. But it was raw rice dough that has the consistency of chewing gum. I ate one and said I was full.

Our last trip was to a local temple that was kind of out of the way, but Ryozo thought I would really like it, and I did. It wasn't a tourist shrine like most of the places I had gone, but one Japanese families go to for celebrations like the 3-5-7 ceremony for children. We then had cold soba noodles and started home.

Fusako asked me if I wanted to try on her kimono and get my picture taken in her Japanese room. Of course I said yes. It was a bit tricky getting my very average American body into her very small kimono, but with lots of ties and sucking in we made it work. I wouldn't recommend wearing jeans under a kimono though. It really just makes it that much harder.


We then headed back downtown to meet up with the other JFMFers. We got lost and even though Ryozo and Fusako were kind of arguing in Japanese, I was able to figure out what they were saying. Those, "I think it's this way, "No turn here," conversations need no translation.