I gave my host family my "omiyage" yesterday (the present that one brings when visiting people.) I brought maple sugar candy as well as a book of pictures from the Hudson Valley, and they seemed to like them a lot. They were also very curious to see pictures of my family, so I showed them several that I had on my computer. I was amused as they pronounced my father "like a movie star" and my mother "very pretty" and even called my cat "sugoi."
Behind the house, okaasan has a garden in which she grows all sorts of vegetables. There was definitely a gap in my vocabulary where Japanese vegetables were concerned, but thanks to a tour of the garden last night, that has been rectified, I'm especially excited to try the pumpkins that she's growing. I had pickle-like things that okaasan makes from Japanese radish (daikon) that she grows herself, as well as spinach this morning for breakfast and they were both delicious. We had ramen with all sorts of vegetables for dinner last night too- totemo oishikatta!
We live pretty close to the nearest station, so they lent me an extra bike, and I bike (along with dozens of uniform-clad Japanese middle-schoolers) to the station every morning and catch the 7:40AM train from Namiiso station to Hakodate station. The train ride is about 30 minutes long, and the walk from the station to HIF is another 30 or so.
We have quite a bit of homework for Japanese class as well as daily quizzes, so I've been learning a lot of new vocabulary as well as reviewing difficult grammar structures such as the passive-causative tense, and I did my first small speech in front of the class the other day about my trip to the onsen. I decided to do my independent study project on the Japanese college preparation and entrance process, so I'm excited to interview local high school and college students as well as teachers. I also signed up for Judo, which is a Japanese martial art that I know very little about, but it starts next week, so I'm excited to try it. I also signed up for Japanese cooking, visiting Asahi elementary school, and quite a few other activities that start later in the semester.
In the last few days, I've had a few really encouraging conversations with Japanese people. First, I successfully managed to buy my monthly train pass by myself, which required filling out forms in Japanese. Then, on the train ride home yesterday, after asking the woman sitting in the seat across from me if she knew the station name, we talked for almost 20 minutes. Trying to keep up with what she was saying felt a good deal like running with someone in better shape than me, but I successfully managed to understand all her questions and answer them. I'm starting to get the hang of politely deflecting compliments in Japanese, which seems to be a pretty important skill.
Unfortunately, there is no internet whatsoever at my host family's house, but I found a place with free wi-fi within walking distance of HIF, so I'm updating from there. I'll try to include pictures in my next entry- my camera wasn't working this morning, so I left the battery to charge.
Behind the house, okaasan has a garden in which she grows all sorts of vegetables. There was definitely a gap in my vocabulary where Japanese vegetables were concerned, but thanks to a tour of the garden last night, that has been rectified, I'm especially excited to try the pumpkins that she's growing. I had pickle-like things that okaasan makes from Japanese radish (daikon) that she grows herself, as well as spinach this morning for breakfast and they were both delicious. We had ramen with all sorts of vegetables for dinner last night too- totemo oishikatta!
We live pretty close to the nearest station, so they lent me an extra bike, and I bike (along with dozens of uniform-clad Japanese middle-schoolers) to the station every morning and catch the 7:40AM train from Namiiso station to Hakodate station. The train ride is about 30 minutes long, and the walk from the station to HIF is another 30 or so.
We have quite a bit of homework for Japanese class as well as daily quizzes, so I've been learning a lot of new vocabulary as well as reviewing difficult grammar structures such as the passive-causative tense, and I did my first small speech in front of the class the other day about my trip to the onsen. I decided to do my independent study project on the Japanese college preparation and entrance process, so I'm excited to interview local high school and college students as well as teachers. I also signed up for Judo, which is a Japanese martial art that I know very little about, but it starts next week, so I'm excited to try it. I also signed up for Japanese cooking, visiting Asahi elementary school, and quite a few other activities that start later in the semester.
In the last few days, I've had a few really encouraging conversations with Japanese people. First, I successfully managed to buy my monthly train pass by myself, which required filling out forms in Japanese. Then, on the train ride home yesterday, after asking the woman sitting in the seat across from me if she knew the station name, we talked for almost 20 minutes. Trying to keep up with what she was saying felt a good deal like running with someone in better shape than me, but I successfully managed to understand all her questions and answer them. I'm starting to get the hang of politely deflecting compliments in Japanese, which seems to be a pretty important skill.
Unfortunately, there is no internet whatsoever at my host family's house, but I found a place with free wi-fi within walking distance of HIF, so I'm updating from there. I'll try to include pictures in my next entry- my camera wasn't working this morning, so I left the battery to charge.
