Day 6 Home Stay

Day 6 Home Stay – Ben Sunday 26^th March (Hiraki 471- Bullet train service to Hiroshima)

The home-stay was a bit nerve-wracking at first. Staying for the weekend with a family you've never met in a country you don't speak the language can be an uncomfortable thing to anticipate, to say the least. Never-the-less, after meeting Mr. Masahiro Suzuki and his family, I immediately begun to relax.

A family of five, they live in a small, two-storey house on the outskirts of Kawasaki City. Mr Suzuki is a Social Studies teacher, with an easy-going personality and willingness to learn about our Australian culture. Mrs Kazuko Suzuki is a Junior High School English teacher, who acted as the back and forth translator for the family and myself; and a wonderful cook. Yumeno Suzuki is a 17 year old high school student with a stack of fifteen textbooks she lugs around every day for her studies. Ariga Suzuki is a 14 year old junior High School Student with a passion for soccer. Finally, there's Ui Suzuki, a young feisty 11 year old who loves to poke fun at my terrible Japanese.

Everyone I met when I stayed with the Suzuki family was extremely kind (almost overwhelmingly so), fun and eager to learn and teach. In the two and a half days I have spent with a host family, I have learnt more then I ever thought I would about their culture and their everyday lives:

School is extremely important in Japan. Not only for educational purposes, but for a wide variety of other reasons. Teachers are on a level field with parents, and are very interactive with students lives; for example, Mr Suzuki was late in picking me up because two of his students were in a fight and he travelled to one of their homes to help them work things out. Every Student in Japan gets the same lunch in Elementary School, so no matter financial status, children still get a healthy, balanced meal. In the event of an Earthquake or Tsunami, once everything is settled down, everyone would migrate to their school, where there are ready supplies and they make sure everyone is accounted for.

Most Students (90% according to Mr Suzuki) participate in after school programs and are part of clubs on the weekend. I got the pleasure, and privilege, of joining one of these clubs that all three students participated in: Gymnastics. When I arrived, everyone was extremely friendly and accommodating, even though they had no idea who I was or that I was coming. The owner of the School, is an ex-professional wrestler, who also trained under one of Bruce Lee's students for MMA; so as someone who practices Kung Fu among other martial arts, I was in awe. His wife however, was equal in my adoration; for even though at first sight she was a short woman with sharp instructions (albeit she had patience for those struggling...me in other words), I soon learned that she was an international gymnast for Japan. So imagine my surprise when at the very end of the lesson and everyone was going home, they stop me and say they had a present for me. It was a book that she wrote in Japanese (obviously), but it had many stretches and pictures to accompany it.

This, many other experiences (ROLLERCOASTERS AND SUSHI TRAIN!!!) and talking with my Host Family until late, late at night have built an amazing image of Japan for me, and I am honoured to have stayed with them. My first impression was one of mild terror to stay in this unknown land with strangers, but now I feel like I have a firmer grasp on their lives, and it has helped me understand their lives a bit more. They are very genuine, kind people with very close ties to their community and empowering themselves. I highly recommend this experience of immersing yourself in a foreign environment with a host family to future Class 12 students, wherever they may go.

Home Stay Experience by Jess

Over the first weekend of our journey in Japan, the class separated to experience modern-day life with Japanese host families. Initially I was apprehensive about this, so my attitude wasn't as good as it could've been. This particular activity pushed me to my limits, as I had never imagined doing anything like this before. Friday night I was introduced to my host family and shown around the house. The family made me feel very welcome and as at home as I could've been in such a situation. Saturday morning we went out early and down to the local shopping centre in Yokohama. Sayako, who was the only child in the family, and her mother took me to get a head massage and a foot bath. This was very relaxing! I didn't expect to be taken here, so it was a delightful surprise. The foot bath smelled of jasmine and they gave me peppermint tea afterwards. After that, we went down to their favourite pasta place to get lunch. They knew I liked pasta, which is why I presume they chose it. IT was very yummy! I had an awesome time with them. We strolled back to their home and on the way visited a flower shop and a pet store. The puppies were so cute, (kawaii), and the store had lots of adorable clothes you can dress your pooch in. I loved it! Later in the afternoon the whole family took me to my favourite shop, lush. I got to show them around and recommend my favourite products, they loved it so we all had an awesome time. We got an awesome bath bomb and some other goodies to play around with later. Sayako wanted to go to the Disney shop afterwards, so we did and it was so cute! We got matching key-rings of a little cat, I really liked it. We took some pictures then went back home, where we tested out one of the bath bombs we bought earlier. It was awesome! It looked like the night sky. The whole family watched the bath bomb melt away in awe. They are an awesome family and I had such a good time, and I have made friends which will last forever.

Jess 26-03-2017 Kawasaki