First Weekend

The Welcome Party on Friday night was mildly ridiculous. I anticipated some nervousness by going to the onsen, or public bath, at the Kyoto Tower Hotel. I remembered going when I was in Japan four years ago, but I had not remembered quite how relaxing of an experience this is. I was really surprised more AKP students didn't take advantage of the free ticket to the onsen we all received, but I was really happy to see this onsen also included a sauna and a cold bath in addition to the hot bath. Afterwards, I went up to the changing rooms to get ready for the party, where the atmosphere resembled the moments right before opening night of a play, or else getting ready for prom. When else do a bunch of guys all put on really fancy clothes together? Hmm.....

Anyway, the Welcome Party was great. We all gathered on the 8th floor of the hotel and slowly our host families started trickling in. My host mom, Fujiko, arrived before my host dad, Takashi. From the minute I met each of them I felt immense relief. They are the cute old couple I imagined them to be. They both speak very good English, and as volunteer Japanese language instructors, they have been correcting me as I stumble my way through this weird, awesome language. Their daughter Yoko arrived a little later with her daughter Amane, a very cute one year old I hope I will be able to spend some time with this year. After all the host families arrived, we all went up to the 9th floor for the part. After some boring speeches in Japanese (thanks Lofgren sensei), we all made a toast to a great year. My host dad was hilarious pouring drinks for me and Kendall. It was really interesting seeing how the other students were interacting with their host families.

Then, we came home to 30-14 Kitayama, Uji. This house is amazing. My host dad gardens, and I still have not yet explored the garden like I know I will want to. There is a greenhouse, but what sort of plants does he grow inside? The downstairs has a large tatami room but it is rarely used. A lot of the doors are traditional Japanese style sliding doors, and in typical Japanese style there is lots of secret hidden storage space all over the place. My room is upstairs, next to my host parents' room. It has a large closet, a (Western-style) bed, a small bookshelf, airconditioning, and a desk. It's a lot more fun to move into a house than a dorm because the desk is already equipped with pens, pencils, colored pencils, highlighters, rulers, etc. I hung up a bunch of pictures on some string and clothespins that were already hanging on the walls. But probably my favorite part of the house is the balcony my bedroom and my parents' bedroom share. Balcony life!!! (Although currently it is way too hot to make good use of that space. I much prefer my AC bubble at this time of year). 

Yesterday all of AKP met at Shimogamo Jinja, a Shinto shrine that predates the founding of the city of Kyoto, for a ritual blessing for a good year. I invested in a shuen, which is a book that you can get stamped and calligraphized in at every shrine and temple in Japan. What a cool souvenir for the year. My host dad accompanied me to Shimogamo, which was good, because while the trains are easy, they are also confusing. Also I really enjoy spending time with my host parents! Just like my friend Iris said: "They are going to think you are so silly. But you are going to think they are silly, so you are just going to have a really great relationship." After Shimogamo, my host dad peaced out and some friends and I went to Kiyomizu dera, my favorite temple from my MA Japan trip. I of course got my shuen stamped at both these sites. My host dad said I must get 100 stamps from the next 8 months. Is 100 going to be too many, or not enough? After Kiyomizu, I also invested in a Nintendo DS. It was a bit more expensive than I wanted it to be, but it is in a sweet shade of "aisu buru" (ice blue). For my first game I got Super Mario 64, a good choice because I have played it and beaten it several times on N64, and that it is all in Japanese does not matter. But I am really excited to get some ridiculous Japanese games that I just won't know how to play at all. 

Today was Sunday and I had an Uji adventure by myself. I took a train and a bus and walked to the Uji River, and went to Uji Jinja. Then I took a bunch of trains back home. Tomorrow is the first day of classes, Japanese review in the morning (placement tests on Thursday and Friday) and Japanese Animation in the afternoon. So I guess today was the last day of summer vacation.