There are no words to describe my experience with my host family. It was more than I was expecting. When I first met my host father, he was dressed casually wearing a cap. He had a bag full of trash because he goes around picking up trash off the streets. On the way to his house, we took a detour to a local shrine. He mentions that the area looks gorgeous in the springtime.
When we arrived at his house, it was a pretty common Japanese house. I met his wife and daughter, who prepared a delicious dinner and breakfast. I later found out that he is very talented. He is a artist and a musician. He was very insightful and humble. I plan on writing him monthly to see how he is doing. I had never seen the inside of a family house in Japan. It was quite the experience.
I enjoyed my first karaoke party. Just seeing everyone having a good time really made my night. Although I wasn’t in the mix of all the singing, I still had a great time seeing others sing. I actually prefer the way Japanese interact with one another during karaoke versus anything we do here in America. Coming together singing your favorite songs really brings people closer together. I admire that.
The photos here are at the entrance to the shrine. My host father told me this was a very popular spot for people to get married. Ironically, when we left this shrine there was a wedding ceremony that was taking place at this very same spot. I would have love to take a photo of the wedding, but ran out of storage space. Nevertheless, this is a lovely photo that I wanted to share.