homestay weekend

August 24th
This past weekend I did a 2 day/ 1 night homestay. It was in a small town in the sticks, Odai. The town ran along a river and was surrounded by beautiful green mountains. Everyone was so friendly, and we were just about famous as foreigners.

My family was an older couple (age 60) who had met in elementary school. They slept in separate rooms, and really didn’t seem to love each other all that much. They got along fine, but the husband just liked to eat, drink, and be merry whereas the wife spent her time cooking, doing calligraphy, and was generally very reserved. So we learned some cooking, calligraphy, tea ceremony, etc. And we had a feast and drank the nite away.

In the end, I am glad I am in Tsu “City”. In Odai, you need a car, it takes 40 minutes to get to the train, and there are no places to go out. But Tsu is small enough to feel a lil welcomed : )