In the morning we all went over to the host grandparents' house, where my host grandma and her cousin (?) dressed me up in a furisode, a type of kimono with very long sleeves. I think this is a ritual they've done with all four of their past exchange students. They said the last one was so fat they could barely wrap the kimono around her. In my case, I have such a little waist that the obi was giving them trouble and they were considering padding my middle with towels. Anyway they did a very thorough and professional job. Afterwards we went outside to take pictures together. The day before the grandfather had actually gone through the trouble of pruning one of the trees in the yard to give it a nice Japanese shape to make a good background for the photos. I won't post pictures of my host family online, but here's one where you can see Whiney in mid-air in the background. Also, you can see the pruned pine behind me and to the left.
After pictures, I changed back into my normal, boring clothes and we all went out to lunch at a nice restaurant, sitting on a traditional tatami mat floor. A huge tray loaded with fancy-looking food was brought for each of us. I'm sure all the food was delicious, but I didn't enjoy it much. When dealing with unknown objects that must be eaten, my strategy is to eat the least-appetizing first. So I promptly attacked the shrimp, which were fully intact, little black eyes and all. I also ate mushrooms, lotus root, ginger, and some sort of raw white slimy something, among other somethings.
Knowing that lunch was a bit of a challenge for me, afterwards my host mom graciously took me to the dessert store, also known to me as "The Happiest Place on Earth." We chose our Christmas cakes for the evening.
Even though it was two days early, we ate our Christmas cakes after dinner, which is pretty much all the Japanese do for Christmas. Even though they don't give presents on Christmas in Japan, I had gifts for my host family. To Origami Boy I gave a set for making a huge paper dinosaur, which to my gratification he immediately began working on. To Whiney I gave a book about airplanes. To my host mom I gave Jelly Bellies, which she had once told me she ate in America twenty years ago and especially liked the watermelon flavored ones. (She also said that the licorice-flavored jelly beans taste "like air-fresheners." I've never liked that one either.) To my host dad I gave Asahi Super Dry, wrapped in wrapping paper and placed lovingly in the fridge. My host family didn't give me anything, but I didn't mind, since of course they've taken care of me all semester, and I don't have any more room in my suitcase anyway.
I'm kind of surprised to realize that I'm going to miss my host family. Even though they really drove me crazy sometimes, I have grown to care about them and I want them to be happy. After hearing stories from other exchange students, I don't think I fully realize how lucky I was to have such an understanding and flexible host family. (A classmate was recently woken up at midnight by his host family and told, 'We hate you! Go back to America!')
Tomorrow, I ride by the famous shinkansen to Tokyo! If the weather is good, I should be able to see Mt. Fuji from the window!
4 comments:
Wow, you look so beautiful, Kelley! That sounds pretty bad what that other person heard from their host family. Sometimes I think my host family might have felt I was a burden because of the way I behaved, but I'm still grateful to them. Glad yours was very caring to you! Have fun in Tokyo and Merry Christmas! :)
No way- you get to ride a bullet train!? Lucky.
Thanks Candice! You have a good Christmas too!
I sure did get to ride on a bullet train, Dad.
Kelley, you just look amazing in kimono. You have to come back to Japan when you become rich- to buy a kimono for yourself. The color of the hurisode you wore was just for you!
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