Saturday, October 31

Halloween is not celebrated in Japan the way it is celebrated in the United States. However, there were various parties in restaurants, bars, and clubs in Osaka and Kobe this past Saturday night. I went to a restaurant in Osaka with my Peruvian friend Duñia and her husband.

Duñia is my classmate Kevin's host mother, and I am on good terms with her and her family. Her husband is Japanese, and they have three children, but just the parents came out to the restaurant tonight. They also brought Kevin. Before going to the restaurant, I spent a few hours in Osaka with Yusuke, an acquaintance who is Kevin's host dad's fellow employee for Dell in Osaka. Yusuke and I did some shopping and walked around the city. It's fun to walk through Osaka and see what kind of fashion is currently in style. We also looked for people wearing interesting Halloween costumes, but we didn't see too many costumes. There was good music playing at the restaurant, so we all danced and ate delicious Mexican food. We returned home to Kobe very late at night, but Duñia and her husband, Okamura-san, took me out for a late-night meal of ramen before they dropped me off at my host family's home.

Duñia is a very caring and selfless person. She invites me to spend time with her, she speaks Spanish with me, and she looks after me. Okamura-san drove to and from Osaka so that we didn't have to wait for the trains to start running on Sunday morning in order to return home. They are very kind, and I appreciate their generosity. I enjoy spending time with them.