My Home Stay...

I stayed at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Masahiro. They were a very nice couple. They have three children and six grandchildren. I spent most of my time with Mr. Masahiro. He saw to it that I had a truly cultural experience. He wanted to expose me to things that I had never done. He took me to my first tea ceremony at a building that used to be a rice warehouse. The building was 150 years old. Then, we walked through an incredible house that belonged to a family that he knew very well. I saw an azalea tree that was 250 years old. The house itself was also 200 years old. It was incredible. Then, we drove around Kurashiki and did some shopping. When we returned home his wife had fixed an official Japanese meal. It was wonderful. She worked very hard to make me happy! The next day was just as wonderful. After breakfast we walked through the streets and saw the Fall Festival. You could hear the drums and chants of the various groups. It is very traditional. Then we walked around a Japanese temple. Mr. Masahiro is Buddhist. He took me to the temple where he practices Zen. We went in the temple and he showed me what to do. He actually took me in to areas of the temple that people do not get to see. I got to tour the monk’s house and meet his wife and mother. We were invited to have tea with the monk’s mother. She is 90 years old and looked wonderful. She was very nice and generous. After the temple we went for a Japanese lunch of ramen noodles. It was actually one of my favorite meals since I have been here. I was encouraged to slurp my noodles. It was very hard to do since I was raised “not to slurp”. The home stay was full of first time experiences. I truly feel as though I have experienced the Japanese culture.