Picture #1: This was taken from my room at the hotel we stayed at in Tokyo before flying to Hokkaido. Hakodate is a much smaller city and the pace of life seems slower (and HIF's presence in the city is probably a bigger deal than it would be otherwise, as the presence of several local notables at the opening ceremony might have attested to), but it's also large enough to be an exciting place to be. Last week, before we moved in with our host families, I went for a run around the hotel in the afternoon, and it was funny to see the little kids staring and talking about me. They're young enough not to have learned to hide some of their feelings as is culturally de rigueur.
Picture #2: I volunteered to try to play the koto after the short koto concert at the hotel and managed to pick out 'Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" which the instructor made sound much more complete with an accompanying pattern. I've never tried a koto before, that I can remember anyway, and it made for a fun new experience. I've always liked traditional Japanese music. (Many thanks to Vinson Young for snapping the picture!)
Picture #3: My host family. They're wonderful, and seem to be relatively straight-forward in their expectations, letting me know by what time I should return in the evening, etc. They also don't really speak English at all which makes it easier to practice my Japanese without falling back to my vernacular, as it were, although it does mean many instances of double checking words on the Eiwajiten (English-Japanese Dictionary) and Waeijiten on my cell phone. My host parent's both work, and my host dad started his own building firm last August. Shouta, my host brother, practices volleyball every day for his school team, even though they have no games till the fall. It seems pretty intense. Did I mention they're all very nice?
Picture #4: This is the first concrete electricity pole in Japan. It is still being used today. I think that speaks for itself.
Picture #5: I walked to a small bridge above the highway a mile or so from my host family's house the other night to watch the sunset. It was gorgeous. When I told my host mom, she was shocked that I had walked so far down the road. (She thought it was neat in the end, though.) The same reaction was elicited when I told her I'm walking a couple miles after class some days during the week to go to a gym. My host dad also drives to his office which is very close to the house. I see this as a cultural/status issue, the idea being that if one is well-to-do enough to have a car one should use it. I've noticed similar feelings in the Philippines when visiting my family there.
Picture #6: This beach is just a couple blocks from my host family's house. I asked about tsunamis, and they said there hasn't been one for many years, since before they lived in their current house.
Picture #7: Today I went to mass with my host parents (we're all Catholic) at a Trappist monastery that dates from the turn of last century and my host mother and I ended up bringing up the host during mass! This shot is courtesy of my host father, who was very excited to have been able to take a picture. About thirty people attended the service. The monastery land is beautiful. Apparently someone just tried to put a shinkansen (bullet train) through there, but, luckily, since the Catholic Church owns the land it had to be rerouted elsewhere.
Picture #8: After mass we visited my host dad's hometown and his family's land. It's much more rural than where they live now. Their old house is gone, but he and his brother's have designed a beautifully manicured garden on their property, which includes small shrine.
Other notes: Class is good, and I like the teacher, though the daily vocabulary/kanji quizzes are on the overwhelming side. I also am really enjoying meeting all the other ryuugakusei.
Till next time!
Great blog! Great pictures, and your family looks really nice. Any standout challenges?
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