A Typical Day With the Ito Family

I have had a fun day with my host family, which has left me feeling very pleased to be living with them here in Kobe. I went to the supermarket with my host mother, and we bought food to be used for the barbeque we held this afternoon. Maybe the first trip to the supermarket is the most exciting, but I was overwhelmed by the array of tasty-looking Japanese sweets, including dango (balls of sticky rice flour on a stick covered in a sweet and salty sauce) and mochi, balls of rice flour filled with anko, or red bean paste, to name a few of my favorites. I was also surprised to see that in Japan, furikake, or rice seasoning, is packaged in plastic packets as opposed to glass bottles, which are used in the United States. In addition to going to the supermarket, my host mother took me to an outdoor court where my host brother plays basketball. He was shooting hoops this morning as opposed to playing a pickup game, but it was still fun to see. He practices right near the port, so I enjoyed the ocean view as well.

This afternoon my host family held a barbeque at their home, and a few aunts and cousins came over. We grilled hot dogs, beef, and chicken, as well as corn, green pepper, carrot, sweet potato, and lotus blossom root (a commonly enjoyed vegetable here). I enjoyed meeting my host mother and host father's relatives, and I learned more about the personalities of those in my host family. We grilled s'mores for dessert, which of course reminded me of the U.S.A.

After dinner I spent a long time sitting around the table with my host siblings, talking and writing kanji. They also taught me a few origami designs, which is always a fun experience, because my attempts are usually quite off-beat and creative since I lack a knack for origami. Now I'm up past my bedtime because I need to be up early tomorrow to take part one of my Japanese language placement test!