Day 78
Home stay
I have had one of the most pleasant days of the voyage today. It's comparable to Stargazing in Namibia.
This morning I woke up at 0615 so that I could watch the sun rise in the land of the rising sun. And I was not let down. It was a clear morning, but not devoid of clouds, so the whole spectrum of colors was present. I know that the sunrise can't be any more beautiful here than any other part of the world, b
ut who ever regrets seeing a sunrise? I figured there would only be so many opportunities for me to do that in Japan, anyway. Seeing the pink sky slowly turn orange behind purple mountains and the sapphire bay was worth it.
Breakfast was being served by the time the sun was up, so I got some eggs, oatmeal and coffee. From then on I would have to wait for the ship to be cleared. Since my home stay was starting at 1100, there was not much else for me to do than pack, take a shower and go back to sleep. When it was finally time to go, I was one of the first people off. The customs process is complex here. They took our finger prints and a photo as well as stamped our passports.
When it was time to go on the home stay, all the students on the trip headed downstairs in the terminal to where the families were waiting. At first, I was afraid I wouldn't have a family because there were 63 people who signed in but only 60 people on the list. And I had seen that I wasn't on the list. Thankfully, though, there was a woman with two little girls holding a sign with “Erin” on it. I was so happy and relieved. I walked up to them and pointed to the sign and then to myself and said Erin. The mom looked so excited, and the girls immediately embraced me in a big hug.
My mom's name was Tokiko and the six-year-old girls, who were twins, were named Maya and Sakura. They actually spoke a little English too. That was really surprising because some of the parents didn't speak any English themselves.
We played a couple of games as a group with all the students and families, who were part of a language organization called Hippo Club. We played their version of rock, paper, scissors and did a dance. Then it was t
ime to go. We joined up with two other families for the day. The SASers staying with them were Whitney and Rob.
We went to a shrine first. Tokiko had to park the car in a garage, which was practically full and very compact, and we walked through a mall to get to the shrine. Just outside the gate, we encountered a very small child all decked out in a kimono. Her parents were dressed up as well, as though it was a special occasion. We asked if we could take a picture with the little girl, but after a few tries with her running to her mom, she started to cry.
Inside the shrine we took a few group pictures. Maya and Sakura ran around and played with the little pebbles. Sakura kept complaining that she was hungry. There was a poster explaining why the little girl and her parents had been dressed up: they were having a special ceremony, for luck or well-being or something. Then we saw another little girl all dressed up. Her mom and grandmother were also wearing kimonos. They looked beautif
ul. We were able to take a picture with them because the whole family posed and the little girl could feel comfortable. She was adorable.
We washed our hands in a little fountain/sink place to the side of the sanctuary. I think we should have things like that in the States: ceremonial bathing before you go into the sacred space. Crossing yourself with the Holy water counts for the Catholic Church, but what about all the other places?
The children’s ceremony was going on inside the sanctuary. We watched it for a while. The priests played a drum and flute while a woman did a dance. Then the children walked to the exit and picked out some kind of paper sign and a balloon. We tossed a coin into the donation box and got to ring the bell for good luck.
Next, it was time for lunch. We went to sit on a bench and unpacked the lunch, watching the children and their families process out in the meantime. They would usually pose for a picture on the steps of the temple and then walk over to a small tent that housed a large drum. All the children beat the drum.
Our lunch was spectacular. It's so surreal to be having this food that we pay so much for in the States as a regular lunch that they had put together in the morning. We had rice balls with meat or veggies inside (I forgot what they're called), salmon, eggs, broccoli, mini wieners, tomatoes, rice, sweet potatoes and red beans that are sweet. It was so good. I've become pretty pro at using chop sticks.
When everything was all eaten, we started walking to a Japanese garden. The girls would pick up all kinds of flowers, berries and leaves for us just like Avery does in Boston. There were vending machines all over the place. Off in the distance we could hear a strike going on. Tokiko said it was some kind of political strike. Then we found the garden.
I don't understand how the Japanese have so much stuff that's better than ours. Their gardens are always so perfect. I could have stayed in there the whole time, it was so peaceful. The Japanese Maples had all turned red and several other trees were turned for fall. They had mums on display everywhere too. Then there were these flowers that had really tall stems and huge fluffy blossoms on top like a puff ball. Other flowers looked like fireworks, and they grew spaced out on this wire thing so that they looked like a big explosion.
Tokiko and the other moms wanted to sit and relax for a few minutes while Whitney, Rob and I circumnavigated the pond. We ended up taking a shorter path and they caught up to us. On the far side of the pond was a very ornate room. They said it was an old barge that they had converted into a tea room. That was a helluva place to drink tea. The room itself was gorgeous, and the view was unbeatable in that garden.
Sakura and Maya were having the time of their lives climbing on all the rocks lining the path. When they got bored with that, they started hiding from us. If we happened to catch sight of them, they sprinted back down the path to get a better hiding spot. That resulted in them being on the opposite side of the pond by the time we were heading to the exit. Even when we got them to come over, they climbed up through the garden to the gate. Of course they were exhausted for the walk to the car.
From there we split off and went to our respective homes. Tokiko lives in an apartment at the base of a mountain. I know that could be anywhere, but I don't know Japan. They had a large place by japanese standards. I even had my own room. Beds were just mats that they put down every night and picked up every morning. They had a kitchen and a main room where they also ate.
For a few minutes after we got home, we relaxed and the girls watched TV. Then I helped fold and put away the laundry. Then I washed the dishes and (wait for it) helped make dinner. I know. Big shocker. Debra would be proud. We made raw octopus, taco in japanese, with seaweed and cucumber, chinese-style cooked veggies, spinach and sesame salad, fried shrimp and tempura. I can't believe I helped make japanese food, even if it was mostly preparation. And it was so good. I could go for some more.
While we were eating, I picked up a mushroom with my chopsticks and said, “shitake.” Maya looked at me, jumped up and ran into the kitchen to Tokiko. She laughed and yelled to me, “Maya said, 'she speaks japanese! She said shitake!'” Throughout dinner they would speak to each other in japanese. It was wonderful to just sit and watch them.
After dinner and dessert, the girls busted out their artwork. They had several notebooks of drawings and paintings that they had done. I dutifully oohed and ahhed at each one. Sometimes they would try to hide a picture from me because they didn't think it was very good. I just can't express how cute these girls were.
Next I was invited to take a bath. We were told to always take a bath when they offered because it was an honor to go first. They would use the water after you were finished and plan their activities around it.
The bathroom was really smart. It was like the bathroom on my safari, but indoors. The whole bathroom was tiled so that you would just stand on the floor to take a shower. And I guess it didn't matter if you spilled bathwater everywhere. They also had some kind of insulated cover for the bathtub, which kept the water warm. I was def digging it. I tried to be fast, though, because it was late, and I figured that Tokiko wanted the girls in bed.
After my bath, I french braided my hair. That was really impressive to Tokiko. She couldn't believe I did it by myself. I wonder if they see french braids very much in Japan.
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