Youth For Understanding (YFU)?

yepunsarang
Thu, 19 Apr 2007 20:44:47 +0000

Sorry Silver Jade! I’m just so busy with schoolwork you know…sheesh kapish. These teachers are really trying to murder me. Ok…about the me time and host parent time, I didn’t want my host parents to think I felt uncomfortable there, so I did all my stuff downstairs in the living room…like read, listen to music, use the computer, and stuff. So I could chat with them if I wanted and stuff. So I basically mushed “me-time” and host parent time together. My sister, though, was able to have a lot of seperate me time in her room cause her parents had their own children to worry about. If that’s your case too, I think you’re okay with that too. But your job in Japan is to get into sync with what your family is like. Be sensitive and get the feel for if your parents seem to want to interact with you more or are loose with you being anywhere. My host mom was also uptight about my curfew. I always came home not late. My latest time was 8. Some of my friend’s parents let them stay out way late and were free about it. But my mom was pretty strict. So get the vibe, and use your common sense to determine how much time you should give to each.
As for your question about visiting a friend, I think it’s personally ok. But i’m not that sure. You should ask your regional rep. Call her/him about it. But I wanted to visit a friend also and contacted her by email. I asked if she could meet up with me sometime. It somehow didn’t work out. But she’s a responsible adult so it was kind of different. I know that you need written permission to actually go out of your host parent’s care because I went to visit my grandma who lives in Miyazaki for about two days. You might need written permission. IF you aren’t sure, make sure you have your parents write a note saying it’s ok for you to go be with this person.
I’m 17 already!! But happy early birthday! In Japanese culture…from what I know of, there isn’t anything really traditional. So, you’re free to make it as crazy as you want. I suggest you ask your host parents if you could invite your school buddies to the party. My host mom usually let her host kids have a “good bye party” before they left Japan, but I wasn’t able to do it because of timing. I’m sure it’d be sooo much fun if you invited your new friends and had a cool “Japanese b-day” there. I’m so excited for you!!
Ok…about food, yeah…Japanese people love fish. Therefore, I love fish too. I eat sashimi and sushi (raw fish included) and it’s not a big deal for me since I grew up with it. It’s probably a definate thing that you’ll be seeing food that you’ve never seen in your life in Japan. It was really easy for me since I grew up eating these things. My host parents and friends were so surprised when I told them all the stuff I like to eat. They were like, “Even some of us don’t eat what you eat!” But anyways, the idea is, the food will be very different, but it’s DELICIOUS. It’s probably the best food anywhere. Just be openminded about it, and enjoy. You’re bound to find a food you love and insist on finding when you come back the US.

OH MY GOODNESS! YOU KNOW WHAT NATTO IS?? That’s amazing!! Did you know, that’s my all time favorite Japanese food! It’s soo good for you, and I just think it’s delicious. May be it’s just me, but I love it. Trust me. Some japanese people don’t even eat natto sometimes because they say it"stinks" and it’s so “sticky.” I love it though. I told my host parents this, and they started buying it everyday for me so I could have them during meals. I even had it for lunch today when I got back from school! My dad apparently hated it as a kid (his Japanese) and he lived in Japan half of his life. I think it’s so yummy, but you might not think so. But try it!!!