Saturday, June 27, 1998

I began this morning by packing up my stuff. I put what I needed for the next two days into my carry-on bag and brought my large suitcase to the front desk. My large suitcase will be returned to Tokyo by truck. I brought my carry-on to the lobby.

In the lobby the whole group gathered to wait for our host families. You got it; today was the start of our host family visit. At this point, all I that I knew about my host family was the name - Nishina. Actually, I also knew that Nishina-san is a doctor, his wife's name is Masako, and he has three daughters (13, 15, 17 years old). All the FMFers were in the same boat. One-by-one we were picked up. Eventually, only Ami, Carol, and I were left. I was nervous each time the hotel doors opened.

Finally, a woman walked in. Harumi (our amazing guide) spoke to her and motioned towards both Carol and me. I was confused. Harumi told us that the woman was Takami-san, Carol's host. Takami-san was actually there to get us both. It turns out that the Takami and the Nishina families are great friends. So, we left together while Ami talked to someone from the states (more about that when I get back to the hotel).

Takami-san had a small, nice white car with working air conditioning. We drove and talked for about 30 minutes. When we arrived at the Nishina house, I got out of the car and took my bags into the garage. Nishina-san led me up a small staircase in the back of the garage. Through the door was a small, clean room. The tatami mats were well swept and everything looked fairly new. Before I had a chance to look around, Nishina-san asked me to come back to the car.

Back in the car, Takami-san, Nishina-san, Carol, and I drove to Sami Beach. This is the oldest beach in Japan. I think that means the oldest resort beach in Japan. It was about one half a mile long and about 30 yards at its widest. We sat for a while on the edge of a platform being readied to hold small cabanas. The beach was lovely and the cool breeze off the water was wonderful.

After a nice stay on the beach, we drove back onto the town of Tamashima. Nishina-san and I went back to her house, while Carol went with Takami-san. I sat at the kitchen counter with Nishina-san and talked. She asked me many questions and told me a great deal about her family and this small town. Nishina-san was particularly impressed by morning recess in American schools. She does not like the idea that kids eat breakfast before 7 am and then do not eat again until noon. She believes that is too long for a little kid to go without eating. When her youngest daughter Amiko came in, I talked briefly with her. Amiko wanted t show me her social studies and English text books. In SS they are studying world and US geography. Amiko also showed me her room that she shares with her sisters Emiko and Mamiko. Amiko wanted to show me her pet squirrel (or was it a chipmunk?). I looked at it, but did not want to touch it.

At almost exactly noon, Nishina-san asked if I would like lunch. I wasn't very hungry, but thought it best to accept. While I sat and talked with her, Nishina-san prepared the ultra-traditional Japanese lunch: spaghetti and tomato sauce with green salad and soup. Now I know that some of you are thinking that the Japanese probably had noodles before the Italians. You are right; they did. I was not served udon or lo mein. I was served spaghetti with Ragu. She must have thought I was the biggest person ever because she served me enough for three people. I tried to be a gracious guest and finish it all, but I could not. Oh yeah, Dr. Nishina arrived home for lunch so we ate with him and Amiko.

After lunch, Nishina-san showed me the guestroom again. I was surprised to see that the light switches and a few other items were labeled in handwritten English. Very accommodating. She also showed me Dr Nishina's study. The first thing that I noticed in his study was the wet-bar. Dr. Nishina has an amazing collection of miniature bottles of alcohol. Booze of every variety lined the bookshelves. I was truly impressed.

I was also impressed with Dr. Nishina's computer. He had a brand new, Macintosh G3. Anyone reading this, who knows me, knows that I love Mac and hate Windows. I was quite pleased to see my new Japanese friends using a Mac. I mentioned to Nishina-san that I was posting my journal to the web. She asked to see it. Nishina-san and Amiko were duly impressed with my web site. Nishina-san was particularly excited to read the English.

It turns out that English is a hobby for Nishina-san. At 2:15, we went to the Tameshina English Language Club. Each week, the club meets with a local English-speaker to study English. The group is small, but very active. The teacher was especially excited to have two native English speakers visit that day. (Carol came with us). Carol and I were glad to answer questions and speak about our experiences in Japan and about schools in the US.

After class, we went to the home of one of the club members. She wanted us to visit, because her home is in the traditional style. This 300-year-old house was gorgeous. It was quite large with many rooms. There was one western style room with a TV, but the rest of the house was still in the traditional style. The rooms were separated by sliding paper doors, and each room was covered in tatami mats. The master bedroom had a great view of the garden. The gardener ( I was told) works very hard to keep this pleasant space looking serene. On the far edge of the garden was the family shrine. This family had been living in this house for 300 years. It was quite beautiful.

The owner of the home decided that we should see the town cemetery. We walked through the small streets and then up a steep hill. Near the top, behind a fence, was her family's private burial site. The stones go back a full three hundred years. At the top of the hill sat the town shrine. A classic wooden arch/gateway led to a simple wooden building. There was also a small statue of the Buddha.

When we finally returned to the Nishina house, I had only about one hour to get ready for dinner. We had been invited to the house of Takami for a big dinner. At dinner was the entire Takami family: fahter, mother, three sons, and grandmother; Dr. Nishina and his wife; Carol; Mitchell, an English teacher from Kansas; and me. The meal was amazing. There were about 12 different plates filled with all sorts of fish: red snapper, shrimp, salmon, tuna, clams, eel, and some kind of fish head. There was also weird potatoes, ham, pasta salad, beer, and sake. The sake was warm and delicious.

After much food and sake, the men moved into the living room to watch blues and country on the video disk player. The youngest Takami boys and the adult men, played basketball with a cork from some long finished bottle. Even Carol got in on the game. It was a great night.

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