Ok, some more updates.
First, the family is really nice. I get to eat really great food all the time. Last night my host mom made Yaki soba, fried noodles, with vegetables and meat and stuff. It was really good. I went to a temple and saw a festival. It was basically a street lined with little shops and stands selling amazing food, like tako yaki. Tako yaki is like little squishy chicken pot pies that have octopus inside and are in the shape of a ball. They`re great. I took lots of pictures, but the computers at Nanzan kinda suck and i need an administrator password to access my camera. BUT, the temple was fun.
My host family is cool. The dad, Jun, is really laid back. He loves golf and took me to Nagoya castle with Ojiichan and Miku. That was really interesting. Mayumi, the mom, is probably the nicest person ever. She studied english at Illinois state, but only uses english if I reaally dont get it. She always has stuff for me to eat. She took me to the grocery store the other day and I made grandma`s clam sauce and pasta for dinner. The family really liked it. Junpei, the son, is really quiet. He annoys his little sister just like any big brother would. He does karate and kendo, and loves videogames. He doesnt play nintendo, hes a PS2 fan... thats alright though. Miku is really cool. She helps me with my homework (Shes 8) and tells me wierd stories. She also made fun of Ochiichans scrambled eggs when he wasnt in the room one day. Ojiichan is my favorite. Hes 70 and really nice. He always makes sure i have food in the morning and always brings me orange juice cause he knows i like it. They took me to a conveyor belt sushi restaurant last sunday and it was the best sushi i ever had.
Breakfasts usually consist of toast and hot dogs, or rice and whatever we had the night before. I have tea with most meals, and no one drinks water. They think im crazy. Lunch is at school, but I havnt tried much yet. I cant read most of the menu, so i basically get the same thing every time., Its really good though. Dinner is always amazing. Theres usually some sort of meat, rice, maybe fish, and a soup of some sort. I tried eel-pies and any food from convienient stores is amazing.
Theres engrish a-plenty here. I have a good example from my apple juice container this morning, "It is squeezed, and the flavor of the vertical fruit juice is delivered."
Bathrooms are interesting. The toilet seat is heated. Really a great thing. The shower is a little strange. Theres a big room with a large bath tub thing. Theres a shower head off to the side that you use frst. The tub has a cover on it. You shower quickly and then just relax in the hot bath. Everyone uses the same water too, so its kinda strange, but cleaner than a lake and stuff.
School is nice. The classes are good. I have 4 Japanese classes,, all of them cover something a little different. Most of the students are american, but theres some french, italian, and dutch too. Its funny when we eat lunch cause its the large group of gaijin (foreigners) among the japanese people. We always get talked about, but its funny. Its so different being a minority. Whenever the gaijin are out in public, if we see other gaijin, we instantly become friends, or we try not to notice each other. I went to the temple yesterday with an american friend, and while we were eating, we got stares from EVERYONE. It was pretty hilarious, and sort of intimidating.
Ill update when there is more to say, i cant think of anything else right now.
Taken at Osu Kannon Temple. There were pigeons everywhere!! :
This random dog kept following this little old lady (Osu antique market) :
