Meeting the In-laws

Today I met the in-laws...not mine, of course. Today we went to grandma and grandpa's house. They were, of course, very nice and asked me a lot of questions about California. They got out an atlas and asked me to show them where I live, etc. We also had this interesting conversation as we sat around a coffee table eating cake:
Aunt: Kelley, do you like sweets?
Me: I love them! (a huge understatement.)
G'ma: But you're slim!
Host Mom: We've had 5 other exchange students, girls, stay at our house.
Aunt: They were all fat.
Me: Were they Americans?
Host Mom: Yep.
Me: Of course they were.
I was watching the grandfather play with my little host brothers and remembered something my Dad said: that not too long ago this grandfather and my grandfather would have been pointing bayonets at each other. War sucks.
We went out for sushi for lunch. Raw squid was offered to me, and I couldn't turn it down without being rude. It tasted pretty much the way it looked: like eraser covered in fish slime. I've been learning to appreciate the taste of whatever is offered to me without thinking about what it might be made of. Sometimes it's better not to know. But on the other hand, we also went to a pastry shop, and I could have eagerly gobbled down everything in the store. They make the cutest little cakes here.
Around the corner from my house is an awesome little shrine. It's so quiet and peaceful, I think I'll go there whenever I need a breather.


In the back was an old cemetery. It was so crowded. A Japanese just can't get a break, I guess. Someone put a pink lace cap on one of the statues.


Walking around my neighborhood, I noticed how modernity and tradition co-exist in Japan:

That's it for now.

My Host Family

Today I met my host family. There is a father, mother, and two little boys, aged 8 and 6. The parents speak to me in short, simple sentences so I'm able to understand almost everything they say. The grandmother, who I met later, said to me, "watashi wa grandma desu!" But she talks so fast that that was pretty much the only thing I understood from her.
In a way, there is nothing remarkable about my host family. They are very kind, pleasant and patient with me, of course. The little boys treat me much as you would expect from little boys: a mixture of shyness and indifference. But hearing them call me "Kelley-chan" is really cute. One of the boys was bugging his mother for more money for video games, much as my little brother would. His mom rolled her eyes and put her fingers in her ears, much as my mom would. The father fell asleep on the train with his head tilted back and his mouth drooping open, much as my father would.
My university is in Nagoya but my host family lives in a small agricultural suburb about 30 minutes away. Host Mom warned me that Japanese houses are very small, but their house is really not bad at all. It is two stories, and while it isn't a strictly traditional Japanese house, there are Japanese influences to be seen. Most of the floors and walls are wooden and some of the windows have sliding wood-and-paper screens. The tables and beds are low to the floor. But otherwise the house looks pretty normal. It's cluttered with baby photos, VHS tapes, house plants, legos, airplane models, and origami dinosaurs.
I was surprised at how large my room is. It's much larger than my bedroom at home. I have a bed, desk, little couch, coffee table, and a dresser.
Japan has a reputation for being high-tech, but I didn't expect this to extend to the bathroom. I'm surprised at how complex the toilet and bathtub are. They have buttons. Buttons on the bathtub, shower and toilet. In my primitive American mindset, I think, "Why would you need buttons? How many options can there possibly be?" Today I tried to take a shower, but for the life of me I couldn't get any hot water to come out. My host mom told me that I needed to push a button first.
Host Mom is especially helpful. She seems to know a lot of English but only uses it if I get stuck on a Japanese word. She asked a lot of questions about what I like to eat and you are all going to be jealous when you hear what's on the menu for dinner tonight: sushi!

Department stores and Pure Engrish

Yesterday I visited a "Depaato," which is Japanese for "Department Store." Going to a department store doesn't sound like a very interesting or touristy thing to do, but this is not your average Macy's. Japanese depaatos are of titanic proportions. The one I visited was 12 floors high. It was like a Safeway, Wallgreen's, Nordstroms, and Staples all stacked on top of each other. I went around exploring the grocery store on the bottom, the cute Japanese stationary on the 6th floor, the kimonos on the 10th floor, and other areas. There are restaurants on the top floor, too. There are lots of western brands here, like Gucci, Louis Viutton, Occtane de Provence, and of course Starbucks. The whole store was very crowded.

I noticed that people often hang their umbrellas on the handles of their bikes, obviously not concerned about them being stolen. Japan has a lower crime rate than the US, and petty theft is rare. Yesterday the reason why became clear to me. The Japanese place their policemen on a pedestal. Literally. In the train station you can see the occasional police man standing on a small blue platform labeled "POLICE." They stand there perfectly still, looking serious and authoritative, and holding a very big stick. Would you steal bikes with that guy around? I sure wouldn't. I'll try to get a picture of one of these policemen for you guys, but they look so intimidating I'm a little hesitant to go up to one and say, "hey, can I take a picture really fast?"

The breakfast buffet at my hotel has all the food and condiments labeled in Japanese and English. But the English is so bad that I wonder why they went through the trouble if they couldn't even be bothered to use a dictionary. The knives are labeled "naahu," the forks are "hooku," the soy sauce is "source," and the orange juice is "orenge juice." These are simply attempts to English-ify the Japanese borrowed words; for example, the Japanese word for "knife" is "naifu," which they then tried to translate into English as "naahu." This isn't English, it's English's twice-removed cousin. Pure Engrish. So I wrote down the correct spellings on a napkin and gave it to one of the cooks. I wonder if they'll do anything about it. Maybe they don't really care- do the forks really need a label anyway?

Robots, cone pizza, and shopping

Today I went shopping in Japan.

Do you know how long I have wanted to be able to say that?

A long time.

I found a huge underground mall full of fun stuff. I love the clothes here. They have the cutest stuff for girls, but a lot of it is pricey, so all I bought was a pair of tall socks. I also found a lingerie shop named "Triumph International." I guess they take lingerie very seriously. Some of the bras had tags on them that said "For girls only"...I don't really want to think about that too much. There was also a kimono store, which I was stoked about.

I also went to the Robot Museum today. On the first floor they had robot-related activities for children. I stood off to the side and watched, mostly in confusion, until one of the employees got me to join in the activity. So before I really knew how it happened, I was standing in a group of tiny Japanese children and their moms as we watched a girl on a screen do a robot dance and tried to imitate her, hilarity ensuing. It was pretty ridiculous. Escaping to the second floor, I looked at an exhibit about the history of robots, beginning with the amazing little mechanical dolls Japan made in the 1700's. At the end of the exhibit there were a few robots to interact with. I went up to one that looked like a small R2-D2 with an anime-style face. I leaned close to it and said, "Konnichiwa!" To my surprise, the robot actually looked up at me, smiled, and said "hi!" There were also some cute little robot dogs that would wag their tails when you pet them, and baby seals that looked like stuffed animals but could move their heads and tails and make cooing noises. I've heard that they're supposed to be "therapeutic robots."

For lunch I went to "Kono Pizza," which is basically a pizza slice rolled up into a cone. Brilliant.


This is Nagoya TV Tower, which had a lovely park around it:


And I have nothing to say about these shoes:

I'm not lost, I just don't know where I am

This morning I decided to go exploring around my area. I told myself that I wasn't going to go far so I wouldn't get lost. Well, I didn't go far, but I got lost anyway. After an hour wandering around while sweating to death in the stifling humidity I decided to ask for directions. I went into a post office and one of the employees very kindly got out a map of the city, drew me a little map and went over the directions with me until I could repeat them back to her. So I found my way back, FINALLY. During my wanderings I located two McDonald's, a Denny's and a 7-11. I also went inside a 3-story electronics superstore and played the Beautiful Katamari demo on a huge flatscreen. That was awesome.
In the afternoon the cleaning lady knocked on my hotel door and asked if she could have ten minutes to clean my room. While I was putting on my shoes she said,
"Oh, your teddy bear is soooo cute!"
"His name is Jasson." I said proudly.
"Cuuuuute!"
I don't have much to do these days. I'm waiting for my host family to pick me up this weekend.
Engrish of the day. I found this at the breakfast buffet in the hotel:

I was so excited when I could see Japan out of the airplane window. Finally! I've been studying this country for years, now I'm finally here. I giggled and bounced up and down in my seat, to the amusement of the guy sitting next to me, who had been to Japan one too many times. When I came to the center of the Nagoya airport, I looked around at all the Japanese signs and Japanese people and just stood there and soaked it up, grinning.
But I knew today wasn't going to be a walk in the park. No sir, this was the first episode of Survivor: Japan, the first challenge being to get to my hotel. A lot of things could have gone wrong today, but the kindness of strangers got me through. First there was the taxi driver who used his personal cell phone to call my university and find out why there wasn't a taxi waiting for me like there should have been.
"You're an exchange student?" He said in English.
"Yes."
"You're so young. Two years ago my daughter studied in America." He smiled. After getting off the phone he informed me that I was going to have to take the train.
Crap.
I approached the monster that is the Japanese transportation system. Its red eyes gleamed at me. The hundred timetables and maps and signs I couldn't read closed in around me. We circled around each other slowly.
It is not fear that grips her.
Only a hightened sense of things.
Having no idea where to go, once again I asked strangers for help and as I stuttered in Japanese, they stuttered in English and we both pointed at trains a lot. Somehow I got the information I needed, and after an hour arrived at the correct station. As I stood in the middle of the station, wondering how I was going to get to my hotel from here, a young man approached me.
"Do you need help?" he said. I guess I must have looked pretty out-of-place.
"Yeah, actually. I'm trying to get to this address." The man told me that it was nearby, but much too far for me to walk with my heavy luggage. I was going to need a taxi, and they were right up the stairs.
"Thanks a bunch! By the way, your English is really good." I said, sincerely.
"It ought to be, I studied in Missouri for five years!" He said.
So to the taxis I go. The driver didn't speak English but, like everyone else I had met so far, was very friendly. He pointed out to me the new Toyota building, which is an insanely tall skyscraper. Toyota is located in this city. I arrived at my hotel about five minutes later. I paid the driver and he gave me change, counting each coin carefully and telling me how much it was worth.
My hotel room is clean and simple and about the size of an index card. But hey, it has air conditioning (it is SO humid here), a bathtub, internet access, and a very comfy bed. After barely sleeping on the plane and having so many adventures today, I'm just happy to have a place to sleep.
To anyone who has been praying for me: thank you so much. A million things could have easily gone wrong today, but they didn't. I believe that your prayers are what made today go so smoothly. God is taking good care of me.

Here's my hotel room. Think this is small? You should see my bathroom.

A picture of the hallway, to give you an idea of how close together the rooms are:

Worries

My host family is keeping me in suspense. I emailed them, introducing myself, and they promptly emailed me back, asking for the date of my arrival in Japan. I told them the date, but I haven't heard back from them since- and it's been about two weeks since! Yesterday I attempted to call them on the phone, and it told me that the number has been disconnected or changed.

...

I'm flying out in one week, and I would really, really like to know that someone will be waiting at the airport for me. Please host family, write me back!