This week I had a three day home stay with a student from school! I have had some home stay experiences in the past so I was a bit used to Japanese homes but it was still a little nerve-wracking to go.
On the first day, we met up at school and took the train to her house. It was raining hard so the bag that held my present for the family ripped. It was a bit awkward at first but it eventually got better! Her mother picked us up by car and we ended up using a car a lot of the time during the weekend which I had not experienced much before as most people don't drive much in Tokyo.
We ate at a family restaurant and I was really impressed with everyone's English abilities. Her family used to live overseas where they learned English. Since her father was on a business trip, we had a "girl's night out" and we sand karaoke with my host sisters and host mother. We also played arcade games, took "purikura" pictures and ate sushi. After we got home and they showed me how to use the bath (Japanese like to take baths and share the water with the entire family) and we watched videos of my host sister when she was young. We also played card games and I taught them how to play the American version of "B.S." and we had a lot of fun.
The next day, we got up very early and rode the train to go to Disney Land with my host sisters! It was my first time to go to Disney Land. Unfortunately, it was extremely busy so we could not ride much. We ended up riding about 5 rides throughout the day! The longest we had to wait was 3 and a half hours for a ride called Splash Mountain. During the wait we played games in English and in Japanese. It is interesting that the Disney parks in Japan have a lot of unique flavors of popcorn such as curry, honey, milk tea, strawberry, cinnamon, and butter soy sauce.
After we came back home, we went out with the entire family to eat yakitori (chicken on a stick). I tried roasted ginkgo tree seeds and they were surprised that I could eat it. Actually, they were very delicious. At the izakaya (Japanese style bar and food) we also got rice dishes that are cooked in old style pots where the rice is made under a fire.
On the last day, we all were so tired from the day before that we slept in until 10:30am. It was very strange for me to sleep in so late and it was my first time to experience waking up late with a Japanese family. I didn't feel so bad since everyone else was also still asleep.
We ate lunch together and then they drove us to the west side of Tokyo. It took more than 1 hour to get there. It was very strange to see Tokyo from a car as I am so used to seeing it from a train or from the street while walking. It was almost like I was in a different city as the highway is up above the rest of the town so you can look down onto everything from the road. On the way I helped my host sister study for her English exam and we listened to her favorite songs. I was very surprised to hear that her favorite songs are by Taylor Swift and it reminded me of myself when I was in middle school and my favorite songs were by a Japanese artist. I wish I would have had a home stay experience as I had when I was in middle school!
We visited the Ghibli Museum (a Japanese animation studio) and we had an amazing time! This studio makes some of my favorite movies, especially from when I was little. Sadly, I couldn't take pictures inside the museum. The entire trip, my host sister tried her best to speak English the entire time and I was very proud of her.
Afterwards, we went an had dinner at a "Chankonabe" place which is the traditional food by Sumos. It was some of the best food I have had in Japan! I had such a great time with the family and they showed me so much hospitality. I can only hope that I can show the same amount of kindness as they gave to me in the future.
On the first day, we met up at school and took the train to her house. It was raining hard so the bag that held my present for the family ripped. It was a bit awkward at first but it eventually got better! Her mother picked us up by car and we ended up using a car a lot of the time during the weekend which I had not experienced much before as most people don't drive much in Tokyo.
We ate at a family restaurant and I was really impressed with everyone's English abilities. Her family used to live overseas where they learned English. Since her father was on a business trip, we had a "girl's night out" and we sand karaoke with my host sisters and host mother. We also played arcade games, took "purikura" pictures and ate sushi. After we got home and they showed me how to use the bath (Japanese like to take baths and share the water with the entire family) and we watched videos of my host sister when she was young. We also played card games and I taught them how to play the American version of "B.S." and we had a lot of fun.
The next day, we got up very early and rode the train to go to Disney Land with my host sisters! It was my first time to go to Disney Land. Unfortunately, it was extremely busy so we could not ride much. We ended up riding about 5 rides throughout the day! The longest we had to wait was 3 and a half hours for a ride called Splash Mountain. During the wait we played games in English and in Japanese. It is interesting that the Disney parks in Japan have a lot of unique flavors of popcorn such as curry, honey, milk tea, strawberry, cinnamon, and butter soy sauce.
After we came back home, we went out with the entire family to eat yakitori (chicken on a stick). I tried roasted ginkgo tree seeds and they were surprised that I could eat it. Actually, they were very delicious. At the izakaya (Japanese style bar and food) we also got rice dishes that are cooked in old style pots where the rice is made under a fire.
On the last day, we all were so tired from the day before that we slept in until 10:30am. It was very strange for me to sleep in so late and it was my first time to experience waking up late with a Japanese family. I didn't feel so bad since everyone else was also still asleep.
We ate lunch together and then they drove us to the west side of Tokyo. It took more than 1 hour to get there. It was very strange to see Tokyo from a car as I am so used to seeing it from a train or from the street while walking. It was almost like I was in a different city as the highway is up above the rest of the town so you can look down onto everything from the road. On the way I helped my host sister study for her English exam and we listened to her favorite songs. I was very surprised to hear that her favorite songs are by Taylor Swift and it reminded me of myself when I was in middle school and my favorite songs were by a Japanese artist. I wish I would have had a home stay experience as I had when I was in middle school!
We visited the Ghibli Museum (a Japanese animation studio) and we had an amazing time! This studio makes some of my favorite movies, especially from when I was little. Sadly, I couldn't take pictures inside the museum. The entire trip, my host sister tried her best to speak English the entire time and I was very proud of her.
In the study, "Students' self-determined and
integrative orientations and teachers' motivational support in a Japanese as a
foreign language context" by Maya Sugita McEown, Kimberly A. Noels, and
Kristie D. Saumure, it mentions, "Research shows that more self-determined motivational orientations are associated directly or indirectly with better learning engagement and academic outcomes including: metacognitive awareness." As I saw with my host sister, she had personal interest in learning English as well as academic interests, making learning English enjoyable for her. I can definitely tell the difference between the students who have a personal motivation to learn a language than others. I wanted to show all the other students a way to enjoy another language and I think by having access to speaking the language they are studying with native speakers is really a good way as they can become friends and have a more personal connection with the language.
Afterwards, we went an had dinner at a "Chankonabe" place which is the traditional food by Sumos. It was some of the best food I have had in Japan! I had such a great time with the family and they showed me so much hospitality. I can only hope that I can show the same amount of kindness as they gave to me in the future.
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