I just met my host family last night and they are really awesome. Otousan speaks decent English but Okasan, Obasan, and Ojiisan do not. Obasan is the cutest person ever. She gives me hugs and is always worried that I am cold or have not eaten enough. Otousan wears his hair in a top knot and Okasan is very pretty and cooks very well. That picture is of Otousan to Obasan. They showed me around the house and explained all of the rules to me. There are not very many. I take my shower at night, which I like much better than in the morning because I can dry it at night and straighten it in the morning.
I have not had any trouble using appliances or charging things. I still can not get service on my Cincinnati Bell phone to text. I also help Okasan make breakfast in the morning. We have coffee, tea, toast, and yogurt. They really like apple flavored things here. I also help her make dinner at night. We eat at 7:30. They made me pizza last night. Then we wash the dishes and then we put them in the dishwasher and wash them again. The house is pretty big and they have a piano but I forgot my music. Otousan plays the alto sax and he wants me to play the piano with him. We are going to a nearby Jazz club next Saturday because he really likes Jazz music and likes to go there. My family wakes up a little after 7 but I woke up at 6, washed my face, straightened my hair, did my makeup, got dressed, and then looked over a Japanese phrase book and a book about Japanese situations and what you should do in them. They had already put these in my room for me.
I came downstairs at 7:30, which was perfect timing and helped Okasan make toast and coffee. The toast is really good because it is homemade and really thick. It is so delicious. She toasts it in a little oven with some butter and then we put orange marmelade on it. We listened to Otousan's favorite Jazz music this morning during breakfast and then I helped Okasan with the dishes. I am getting better at speaking already. I was able to tell her that there are 5 students from Centre and 4 from Bishops, the Canadian school. She told me that if it was raining today and that she would take me to school in the car.
We are on the Southern tip of Honshu, the big island, so we get all the weather from the island and there has been a typhoon yesterday and the day before, asita to ototodoi. Today was beautiful however and Okasan drove me to school this morning to show me the best and safest way to get there and home again. You only ride your bike on the sidewalk here and she yelled at a man riding his bike in the street. The dog's name is Romuko and he is very little fluffy and cute, kind of a poodle cross I think. He does high fives, and shakes with both paws. Okasan puts him in her purse and he rides in the purse on the front center console of the car. She told me I should take the train if it is raining because the station is right by our house. It is just a 5 minute train ride. By bike it is about 20 to 25 minutes. I have a mountain bike along with 3 other students because we live the furthest away. I am allowed to ride it anywhere. It is blue and the shortest one, they have already adjusted it for me. There is a bike shop on campus which takes care of all students' bikes for free. It has a nice basket on the front so I can carry things.
The school system is neat here. I start classes tomorrow. We go to whichever classes we feel like for two weeks and then you decide on October 16th which ones you want and sign up for them. I'm thinking about doing archery club too. There is a really sharp learning curve as far as language goes. Last night I felt really stupid because I was hardly able to say anything but I have learned a lot since then and this morning I was able to communicate ok.
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