遅くなってすみません、読者。
Sorry for the delay, readers.
Sorry for the delay, readers.
Last week I anxiously awaited an e-mail with information about my short homestay 短期ホームステイapplication. The previous week I had filled out the 申し込み, including a brief self-introduction 自己紹介, current photo, allergies (なし), and favorite Japanese cuisine 日本料理. Basically, I felt as if I were going through the adoption process.
Eager to hear back, my computer finally caved in and granted me my wish. After my last Friday class, I met up with my recently acquainted friend, Rui るい, who served as my guide in commuting to her home near Kamakura 鎌倉. Through our train-ride chatting in Japanese and English, I realized I had found my other half. Also a fellow English literature major, Rui plans on teaching English at the high school level and wants to create an atmosphere similar to that of her high school. In addition to our ambition to teach, Rui and I came across more commonalities: we both ran in high school; we enjoy music by Arashi 嵐 and Taylor Swift テイラー·スウィフト (yes, you read the latter correctly: guilty as charged); we dislike mangoes; and we find Engrish 日本人の英語 often confusing and therefore humorous.
Once we arrived at Rui's home, her mom お母さん opened the door all smiles, warmly greeting me with『あっ、大きい女の人だね』. Her use of the verb 大きい (big) triggered a chuckle from me. I translated the comment as "Oh, she's a big girl!" I asked Rui's mom if she didn't mean 高い(tall). She explained how 大きい can also refer to one's height: なるほど (I see).
After setting down our things and taking in the beauty of the quite spacious Japanese condominium マンション, Rui led me upstairs to meet her grandma おばあさん and grandpa おじいさん. I don't think I've met an elderly couple as cute as them. Sitting on their tatami mats, they said "hello" in English and then their faces creased with grins as I greeted them in Japanese.
Leaving the precious pair to relax before dinner, Rui and I descended the sleek, wooden stairs to help out in the kitchen. Taking tortilla-thin slices of floured dough, Rui taught me how to prepare Gyoza 餃子, fried dumplings. We filled the dough slices with seasoned pork and spinach, gluing the dumplings shut with water and pressing the sides in a shell-like pattern. We could all discern the dumplings I had made from their torn edges but Rui and her mother assured me, their unskilled pupil, that mine were good 上手.
After frying the dumplings, the five of us gathered around the elegant and modern dinner table, enjoying rice, Miso soup みそ汁, and a tasty spring noodle salad to go along with our Gyoza. Rui's mom presented me with a welcome gift of polished chopsticks, my first pair in Japan, which I used for the feast. As we ate, we watched a Japanese game show on television, which reminded me of my high school days when I first witnessed the Japanese media. Unlike TV shows in America, Japanese programs usually film the commentators' reaction to what they're viewing for audience members' reference.
Dinner finished, we bid "good night" 『おやすみなさい』to Rui's grandparents. Rui, her mom, and I continued to enjoy each other's company as we waited up for Rui's dad. I found out Rui's mom is fluent in German and spent a year abroad in college studying in Deutschland ドイツ. She sells makeup from their home and studies German and English in her free time.
At around 10pm, Mr. Kurosaki, お父さん, arrived. His presence definitely made Rui and her mom come out of their shells even more as they teased him about his English speaking skills, which once again impressed me, as he told stories. I joined in on the fun, feeling at ease in making jokes in my broken 片言 Japanese. For instance, Rui's dad explained his experience of driving over a snake へび and his concern about the consequences because this is the year of the snake (according to the Chinese calendar). As snakes came up in conversation the next day, I alluded back to the story, advising お父さん to be careful about those snakes 『へびを注意した方がいいですよ』 to everyone's amusement.
* * *
Waking up at 6am for our Harajuku 原宿 and Meiji Shrine 明治神社 adventure, I climbed out from beneath my strawberry-themed comforter and followed Rui downstairs for a breakfast of sunny-side-up eggs, greens (salad often accompanies breakfast here), and a slice of honeyed and buttered toast. Exchanging goodbyes 『さようなら』with my favorite seniors, I hopped in the family car and Rui, her parents, and I set off for the day's excursion.
At 9:30am, Rui and I jumped out of the car at Harajuku Station and the two of us began exploring the shops as Rui's mom and dad headed to Sophia University for the annual parents meeting. Although most stores had yet to open before 10:30 or 11am, H&M happened to be an early riser as well. Rui and I perused the sales racks and I snagged two shirts, one for 300 yen ($3) and the other for 700 yen ($7), for a taste of "super Japanese" ちょう日本 fashion.
Our next stop was the Harajuku photo booths プリクラ. Luckily, only a few other early birds had the same idea and we were able to take our time striking fun poses and decorating our photos. In addition to the bold backgrounds and stylish stamps, we added "hipster" accents, putting Rui's recent knowledge about the current American trend to the test.
Suddenly becoming attuned to our growling stomachs, Rui and I stopped at a takoyaki たこ焼き stand, famous for its octopus dumplings. We spotted the newest item on the menu, Takoyaki Tacos, and decided to give them a try. Wrapped in small, soft tortillas, the octopus dumplings were laid in a bed of fresh lettuce, cheese, chili, and hot sauce. To the cook's delight, the Mexican twist on a Japanese favorite was a hit with us as evident from my second taco purchase.
Browsing other shops, Rui and I passed the rest of our time pointing out Engrish words and sayings on merchandise and taking pictures of clothing that had strange prints (i.e. a skirt covered with eggs and another one with Homer Simpsons). We also stopped by a crepe shop to get our sweet-tooth fix and listened to American music blasting from a neighboring store painted with bright, neon colors.
Later in the afternoon, we met up with Rui's parents and ventured to the famous Meiji Shrine nearby. Although I had been to the shrine itself before, they took me to the outer gardens area where we spied the seasonal irises in full bloom, butterflies of every pigment, and ponds with passerby feeding the koi and kame かめ, turtles. The shade of the Meiji trees and thatched huts kept us cool as we made our way to the popular Kiyomasa's well. According to Rebecca Milner's article titled "Wishing Wells," Kato Kiyomasa, a well-known Japanese daimyo of the Edo period, dug the well. Milner explains that apparently a fortune teller told a couple to go to this well for luck and it has become a frequented place ever since. Rui and her parents took pictures of the well with their iPhones, for setting the picture as your backdrop is also supposed to bring luck (Milner).
After being treated to a delicious sugar cone filled with sakura さくら, cherry blossom, flavored soft serve, Rui's family dropped me off close to my apartment, and after several hugs, bows, and thank yous『どうもありがとうございました』, we parted ways.
Though my time with Rui and her family was short, I feel so blessed to have had the opportunity to meet such warm, friendly, and hospitable people who made me feel included and a part of the Kurosaki clan.
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