It's HOT

Hello! Here is a really quick update...
The six day camp was fun, long and exausting - but it allowed us to really get to know the campers! The campers were a mix of Japanese and Korean kids. The Korean campers flew from Seoul to Tokyo just for the camp! We had a lot of free time - down time - and time we didn' t know what to do with - but on the fourth day we got to leave the facility and pick vegetables and then make soba (a traditional Japanese noodle) It was a great day!! My favorite camp day so far.

I am now at my final homestay. I am staying with a husband and wife (50 and 45) They don't have any children and my host father doesn't speak any English! The dad owns and operates two convinience stores and the mom is a wedding planner. I told her she would have to give me some tips before I leave!! Last night was my first night here and they entertained me by playing their 3 hour long video of their drive from Illinios to California on Route 66....and constatly filling my beer. This morning my host mother and I took the train to a nearby city and did a little shopping and then went to Family Mart (my host fathers store) to visit. He made me put on the Family Mart uniform - he already had a name tag made out for me...and made me stand behind the counter!! He was laughing really hard - but he didn't leave me alone for too long! He let me keep my nametag and bought be some candy for putting up with his torture! My host mother has left for the evening to have dinner with her friends - so I am home alone for a few hours, which is quite nice actually. They get a few English channels and I have been switching back and forth between CNN and the Twilight Zone!

Tonight it is just me and my host father for dinner. He claims to be a great cook and has promised me pasta. It should be an interesting evening of gestures and laughs!

Starting today - for one week is the 'Obone' festival in Japan (that is most likely spelled incorrectly). It is a buddhist holiday - which mostly all Japanese families celebrate. (Japanese people are not religious - so the combination of christian beliefs and ceremonies such as weddings with buddhist beliefs is quite common) During this week Japanese people believe that they must bring their deceased family member's spirits back into their homes and celebrate their lives. This is done by going to the cemetary - capturing that person's spirit in light (a candle) and bringing it home. A candle will most likely be burning most of the time symbolizing that that person's spirit has returned home. During the week the families make offerings to the person who has passed by placing food, flowers, and wine by their picture and candle. The families will also perform dances for their deceased relatives. My host mother said that during this week families entertain such spirits. My host family has an area of their living room all set up with a picture of my host father's father. I think on Monday we will go to the cemetary to bring his spirit home with us. I am excited to experience this holiday!

There are only 10 days until I am home, and to be honest I am ready! I am so thankful for this opportunity - but I am sick of living out of my backpack!

I will leave you with a list of things that I have generated that will be absent from my life once returning to the States.

1. Squatty potties
2. Tatami mats and futons
3. Public baths/Team showers
4. Curry and rice
5. Language barrier
6. Getting starred at everywhere I go
7. Toilets with 'badaes' (sorry if the spelling is wrong)
8. The bathroom being called the toilet
9. Sitting down to shower
10. The stench of urine in the bathroom
11. Moving every 3-6 days
12. Singing silly Enlish songs
13. Using hand gestures
14. Speaking slowly and using broken English to communicate
15. HUGE bugs
16. Eating rice for every meal


I'm sure there are many more...I just can't think of them!