Good News and Stuff!

Yatta! I have some good news to share, obviously based on the title. So I mentioned how I had my home stay interview the other day... but one thing I didn't mention is that there were limited spots, hence the interview. And when I say limited spots, I mean very limited. There at about 40 of us here and half of us wanted host families. Only 7 families had spots. And they don't necessarily base it on your Japanese skill level either. It's actually based on other factors, some of them rather shallow ones. They won't chose people who are allergic to anything, for example (besides dust or outdoor allergies- those are ok). If people say they don't like certain foods, or even show the slightest bit of hesitation, you are out. And that was hard not to do, because through the interview, they keep just throwing negative things at you to see how you react and if you think you can overcome them. They also, won't take you if you look a certain way. In Japan as well as many Oriental countries, they have one standard of beauty. Literally one. As in one, shared by all, no matter the race, no matter the gender, no matter the physical limitations, they are expected to conform to one standard of beauty. So people who are too outside the norm, like people who are tall, people who are bigger, weird looking people, they won't take them. It can be really hurtful if you don't fit this ideal.
We had the home stay interview on Tuesday, and I didn't think we would even find out until Friday at the earliest. But I'm sure you all know where I'm going with this, so today in my mailbox there was a slip of paper saying to go to the home stay coordinator's office along with Alex. After class today, Alex, Ivan, Alisa and I all headed over to that office since we'd gotten the slips. All of us were fitted with host families! :D Before the interviews, the interviewer mentioned that there were two houses that wanted two people. At the end of my interview the other day when I was asked if I had any questions, I mentioned that if possible, Alex and I would be willing to live together, but it not, then that would also be alright. The woman seemed excited by that, and as it turns out, one family accepted us! It's a 50 minute commute in total- we'll have to bike 10 minutes to the station, take a 20 minute train ride, then bike from the station to the school. All in the rain, mind you, because the tsuyu, the rainy season, starts next week-but that doesn't really matter to me, since I basically wake up at 7 or earlier every day. I forget our family's name, since I only briefly got to look at the description, but our host dad is 67 and doesn't speak a lick of English. He is an artist, and they have an art studio in their home and have a separate house where they have his art gallery. Our host mom is 63, and she loves calligraphy. She also speaks English, but only plans to let us default to it if there is a serious question we can't understand. Since they are a bit old, we're told to expect them to eat dinner early and to go to bed early. I talked about this with Alex, and we agreed that we don't have to literally eat every dinner with them, since we will want to do things with friends here at school, so we would just have to let them know before hand. As for their bedtime, the point is that host mothers, no matter how much you tell them not to worry and to go to bed, will stay up and wait for you. Although I would like to stay out late on weekends, Alex and I are fine returning by 10 (at the latest. We probably won't have much going on here on campus that late anyway). I'm sure since there are two of us, we could convince them to let us stay out later if we want to go out with friends and what not. Otherwise, we weren't given any additional rules. Unlike Ivan, who was told he's going to be receiving a manual from his family in the near future! XD I think it would be really neat to have other kids in the family, but I think it will be wonderful with Alex<3 
However, I feel bad for a lot of people. Before the program started, they made it sound like anyone who wanted a host family would get one. And they never have indicated otherwise until we already got here and started. So many people came here with gifts, expectations of being fed, etc, and now they're being let down. Like my roommate, for example, has the same fear that I had, where she won't be able to afford the food all the time. Not just the food too, but all the household things they make us buy: separate garbage bags, dish soap, bathroom soap, cleaner, laundry detergent, laundry baskets, house hold slippers, ethernet cords, silverware, and so much more. I don't envy their situation. Although it would be nice to live here in the dorms with friends, I think the benefits of home stay outweigh the benefits of the dorm. Because even the negative aspects of home stay life, to me, can be overcome. I just worry that Alex will wake up in time for the commute XD She is a girl who likes her sleep :P.
So tonight we had dinner with my tour guide from Shiga University, her 4 friends, and about 12 of us Americans XD. It was not supposed to be that way, I only invited a few people, but then other people saw us leave and then followed along, some people who were coming invited other people, and then two random American girls from the internship program sat with us. It was craziness. And loud. XD But the Japanese kids dispersed themselves, so every Japanese person had a few Americans to talk to. I sat with Yuu, the tour guide, and I spoke terrible Japanese, but it was Japanese. I told her interesting things and she talked to me in her Kansai dialect and I would be confused until she switched to standard Japanese :P. I ate hamburger steak, which is basically a hamburger with no bun in appearance, but it tastes like salisbury steak or meatloaf! It was delicious! And afterwards, Yuu and I split a yummy waffle like dessert covered with green tea and vanilla ice cream, ice cream fruit topping, sauce, and brown sugar syrup! It was amazing, and it was her treat! We had a lot of fun, and we stayed and talked long after dinner was over (2 and a half hours, to be exact XD). I have a lot to look forward to, so be prepared for more updates! 

^Part of the group outside Cocos

I know I haven't gotten around to some of the subjects I said I would talk about yet since every day has been filled with other stuff to write about. I plan on writing about Japanese shopping, Japanese tv, customs, speaking, and biking. If there are any other topics you want me to go more in depth on, please let me know! Or if there are any specific Japanese of the day words you want. As long as you guys keep letting me know you exist, I'll keep writing. 


Mary


Location: During the duration of writing this, I was in the tv room, Alex's room, and now at my desk
Mood: Excited (*^▽^*)
Listening to: Unicorn composed by Hiroyuki Sawano. Don't judge by the title, it's a good song.
http://www.mediafire.com/?gnlhn374rlld71h <---a present for you
Japanese of the day: やった！yatta! - Woot!/Hurray!