Bye Bye Japan!

This is my last night in Japan. I was so excited to go home I didn't expect to feel this way. I am actually sad about leaving. My host father came home for literally 5 seconds to say good bye and give me some gifts. Then I went down stairs and my host mother gave me a gift and she prepared an English sentence for me. "To only spend 100 days with you is bad" Wakaru? She looked like she wanted to cry. I met so many great people and I had a great experience! 

I still am ready to see my family!

Jennifer

Hakodate!

This weekend I went to my friend Rippy's house in Hokodate. It was a 5 hour bus ride. Being a guest of a Japanese woman is the best. Yet, you feel guilty the whole time. Rippy's parents drove us around everywhere and just waited n the car while we looked at stuff. One time we were in a place for over an hour and they just sat in the car.
Rippy's mother made us so much food I was stuffed all day long. Then she just stood their waiting for us to want more. Also her parents paid for everything. They had a nice house and her dad has his own business and a massage chair. Katie and I both enjoyed that.
On Saturday morning we went over to Rippy's grandmother's house. Which consisted of the grandma, uncle, aunt and cousin. Everyone sat in a circle around Katie and me. Asking questions like what do you think of Obama. And how about Tiger Woods?  And do you think the cousin is an attractive boy? Rippy's grandmother kept calling Kate Cakie and said that Rippy is stupid. I thought that it was custom to keep their thoughts to oneself. But people are always saying rude things about each other in front of their face.
Today we went to an onsen. Japan is the only place I think that you would meet your friends mother and the next day shower and bathe with her naked. Awkward....but I really like onsens they are so relaxing. Rippy made Katie and I go into thing called BaBa it was so wierd it is this thing that shocks you in the water. I was like why would you ever want to do that. It was like STEM only it hurt really bad. And I thought that electricity and water aren't suppose to mix.
Then when we left today everyone came to see us off and Obachan brought us bento and Okasan gave us a bag of goodies and ran to the convenient store when she found out we didn't have anything to drink.

Japanese Image of Santa

26 years of marrige

family portrait

Yep they sure treat you nice here.

Two more mondays!

Puffed in my snow suit. Oh the fragrance woof!!!

Christmas season.

 Rippy and I were going out to buy a diary. I guess it is the thing to do in Japan with your friends is keep a diary only this one you pass back and forth commenting on what the other says and correcting each others 2nd language. While we were at the 100 yen store I was engrossed by all the Christmas decorations I had to get some antlers to wear for the rest of my stay here.

My house.

Cold night.

I was walking home freezing. On my way home in the dark I see about about 7 or 8 years old practicing swinging his bat. Thats dedication.

How would you like flakes of gold in your soup?

Went on a tour yesterday and Then we went to this rich girl's Mansion that her mother owns. It Is a museum now but it was pretty cool. The food cost about 30 dollars a person and there was gold in my soup. Real gold. The guy I was sitting next to said it doesn't taste like anything and It is ok to eat just don't eat too much. The gold soup was the only thing I ate we had to pre pay a week in advance and I didn't know the only thing on the menu was going to be fish.

Shopping

This week Katie and I went shopping in a new area. Seemed to be the weirdos part of town. Katie was on her way into a bathroom when a lurking lurker came up to her and said Sex...Sexual...だめ?　Then he followed us after Katie left the bathroom but just for a while.