Day Five of Arrival Orientation (The One with the Sad Goodbyes)

The day we had been waiting for had finally come. After breakfast at the usual cafeteria we left the building just in time to see the salmon leaving the Center in busses (There were so many buses! There must have been a row of around 10 at least). We started waving goodbye to each bus that drove past and some of the reactions were great. We all agreed that it was good to be leaving at the same time as the salmon, the place would feel empty without them.

We were all being shipped off to our host families in different parts of Japan. Those of us taking the Shinkansen (Alistair, Sununtha, Elina, Kor-anchan, Carissa, Kwan and Jessica) all met at around 9:00 in the original 4th level classroom… with all our bags. This meant, of course, lugging them up the stairs again. After saying goodbye to everyone that was staying behind and taking last minute photos, we headed off to the train station, bags in tow. We had to catch a few trains before getting to the station where we could catch the Shinkansen. By the time we’d arrived we were all exhausted, the bags were heavy, my arm felt like it was going to fall off any minute and we hadn’t had the pleasure of sitting down on any of the trains prior!

Finally we were in our designated seats in the Shinkansen, though, and it was very comfortable. Best train ride I’ve ever been on, that’s for sure. The trip itself wasn’t too exciting though. Everyone was really tired and the scenery was nothing to write home about – the weather that day was way too cloudy and the visibility was really low. Saying goodbye to people as their stops came was sad, and nerve racking since every time we stopped I knew it was one closer to Kyoto! When we finally arrived at Kyoto Station I could already see Junko (My host mother) and Fumiaki (My younger host brother) standing on the platform with a bright sign that said ‘Kaspar Spencer’. I was excited, but just so tired that I guess I didn’t feel all that nervous anymore.

After we’d waved goodbye to the other students from the platform and the train had moved on, we quickly made our way to a taxi and off to the home where I’d be staying for at least the next 6 months. By this time the nerves had returned and it was all a bit awkward since no one really knew what to say. By the time we’d reached the house things were lightening up though. After we got inside, settled a few house-keeping issues and whatnot, I headed to my room to relax a bit and ended up falling asleep almost right away! Yes, I was that tired… haha. I got woken up at about 6 though, since some family friends were coming over for dinner that night.

Dinner was lively, if not a little awkward. The older brother, Hiroki, was absent since he was working and the same goes for the father (Who hasn’t been around for one dinner yet, he seems to work long, hard hours). As such it was just Junko, Fumiaki and Junko’s friend, as well as her daughters (One about 14 I’d say, the other much younger). Trying to think back I can’t even remember what dinner was that night, I was just so tired it’s all a blur. I’m sure it was great though, since every dinner I’ve had since I’ve come here has been awesome, I’ve tried so many new foods in just the two weeks I’ve stayed with the Tomori family!

So that was the end of the week long orientation with PIEE. After writing this much for just those few days I still have two weeks of living with my host family that has gone unmentioned! It would simply take way too long to write out every little detail of my time here so far, so I guess most of it will have to be told in pictures. I will go over some things though.

The family itself; very friendly! They were very welcoming at first and now I feel like I’m really starting to become more and more of a family member. I’ve met a few of Fumiaki and Hiroki’s friends and they’re very interesting. My first time going to karaoke in Japan is definitely unforgettable! I’ve seen quite a bit of the surrounding city nearby the house, and so far I definitely like Kyoto. Where I’m staying has that city feel (Nowhere near Tokyo calibre, of course) and a certain charm to it. I’ve visited both the 金閣寺 (Golden Temple) and 哲学の道 (Philosopher’s Path) the latter of which I walked when the sakura were at their peak; quite the sight indeed! Even still there are heaps more touristy things to get around to over the course of my stay. Kyoto is just full of them, really.

The only real big downside so far has been the lack of internet connection! I have been disconnected for the past few weeks and as such unable to update this blog, unable to check & respond to email and unable to check myspace! Horror, horror! I did visit an internet café briefly just over a week ago but even then, myspace was blocked and the keyboard was just too annoying to think about updating the blog. I hopped on MSN for a brief hour or so though, which was definitely a relief for the addict in me. By the time I post this though, the internet will have been installed in the house (10th of April), unfortunately the same time I’m due to start school. Fingers crossed I have enough free time to regularly update.