Beating Rice

Wow. I have a lot of time on my hands at night. Haha. I'm not lonely, I'm just not tired and everyone else has school or work to get up for. That's why I have time. Just clearing that up. :P

So this morning we went to make New Years food. In Japan New Years is bigger than Christmas, so we had to take down all the Christmas decorations and put up New Years ones, which are more elaborate? I don't know if that's the right word. I can't speak English. I speak Enrish now. :) The decorations are all edible. Ok! Back to food....

We made rice cakes! It was crazy fun. We went to a...home (?) for the mentally disabled. So they have older people who can't take care of themselves and younger people whose family can't take care of them. They visit everyday and take them out when they can though. I think it's just hard with everyone working. I met two brothers, one disabled, and the other...well not. It was really sweet. I think I made a friend. Haha. And this old man said I should just live in Japan because I smile and Japanese people don't. I know what you're thinking! I smile now. Crazy.

You start off with white rice boiled in sugar water to make it sweet. When it's soft enough you pour the rice into a big bin. It's like a giant salsa grinder. I have know clue what they are called, but you can check out the pictures. Then you beat the rice into dough with a huge hammer! It's really heavy and I'm not strong enough to do it very long. (Even with my man arms Dad.) We had to rely on this guy to do it mostly. Although, the older fellows were pretty entertained and wanted to show off. Haha. While beating the rice you have to constantly knead it with cold water and make sure the hammer is wet enough so it doesn't stick. The dough will burn you if you aren't careful because it's still really hot from being boiled. I'm forgein, so you know, I can't handle it. :) They like to do things for me, it's cool. I'm lazy like that. After the dough it ready, you cut it into strips or put it in bowls. The strips are rolled and put into boxes, while the pieces in bowls are decorated. I didn't get to stay for decorating, but we took a box home to eat on New Years. The dough has to be boiled again because over the next couple of days it will become extremely hard.

And that sums up the process!!! I'm really happy I get to go do these kinds of things. This is the culture that is interesting to see. I mean, shopping malls are great, but when you are too big for the clothes and too broke to buy anything it's not as fun. :P

Today I had to buy a coat to fit over my uniform blazer. So I had to get an extra large. But I think when I go home I can get it taken in so I can wear it normally. I also had to buy snow boots because mine were getting ruined by wetness. Boo. I hate spending money on things I need. I much prefer spending it on things I want. Oh life. I don't want to be responsible.

Every night I play card games with my brother and sister. I suck at the matching game. My memory is terrible. I'm totally gonna practice playing.

Tonight we ate Japanese curry. I ate two servings. I feel soooooo full, but it made my host mom happy. I also cleaned the bath tube/shower and washed rice. Tomorrow we have to clean all day for the New Years party. I'm glad I'm treated like a member of the family. I really missed cleaning. :P

Love you guys!

P.S. I'm too lazy to edit this :) Also, more pictures are on shutterfly!!! Except I'm not really sure if I know how to use shutterfly properly...so help?!!

Exchange Life

Hey Guys!

So hopefully...well some of you read this so I don't feel like a complete loser. You know, writing to myself. (I already have to talk to myself) Haha. I'm kidding! No seriously.

I know everyone is worried about my mental/physical well-being. Thanks! I feel loved! I love you too, but seriously, I'm doing alright. I'm pretty sure I just look tired because I'm a lot paler. I've been avoiding the soap, so it's probably the lack of sunshine. I bet vampires could live here. ;) Well...I might be a little tired. The beds are kind of like sleeping on a wooden chair. Maybe I'll buy sleeping pills. Haha. But...probably not. I won't become a pill popper.

With that said, I'll go for the happy, "what I love/what I'm doing" deal. :D It's the best part.

So my new family....errr...it always takes me at least 2 weeks to figure out the family name...so at a later date, anyway, my new family lives in Sannohe, Aomori. Which is a town in the middle of the mountains. It's about an hour and a half from Hachinohe (the city). Right now we have about 2 feet of snow and it's still going! I can't believe it. It's intense.

My host dad is an elementary school teacher. He speaks some English and is trying to learn. So, he brings me the little kid homework for me to study, then asks me to translate his sentences to English so he and I can both learn at the same time. It's great. I've learned quite a bit in 3 days. My host mom is also an elementary school teacher, but only part time. She also teaches piano. I'm going to start learning! I wanted to before, so now I get free lessons. Yay! My host parents lived in Holland for 3 years, so the know about coffee, bread, and are interested in other cultures. It's refreshing. They still keep Japanese culture though, so it's not like they ditched it. My host sister Sakino is my favorite. She's sarcastic and doesn't squeal and act like she's 5. It's super cute here for girls to act like that? I don't know. It's like hyper, but in an even more immature way than Americans. It's like...Jessie. Sakino likes music and reads magazines or just talks to me. So compared to my last host sister, it seems like she actually enjoys having me around. ( I love you Jess!) My host brother, Hayato is loud and hyper. I've never had a little brother, but I think you could compare him to Jake. Jake without chickens. :) They are just a cool family. Plus, they make me do chores so I actually feel like part of the family.

Alright, so I kind of bashed my other host family. And you might think I didn't like them, but that's not really it. My first family, The Yokomachi family was great! Minami, my host sister, who is currently at university gave me advice and helped me learn some basics to start of language. My host dad was extrememly loud, funny, and kind of abnormal for a Japanese businessman. (Everyone says that about him) My host mom was funny and really kind. We did a lot together. They took me to see castles, shrines, and parades. I was only with them for a month, but I still feel like part of that family. Ryousuke, my host brother wants to major in English, so he would always talk to me when he could, but he was busy with tennis and studying mostly. He went to the best high school and was like....a tennis champion? I didn't quite understand. But I still talk to the Yokomachi family. I love them! (Not like you guys of course.)

My second host family was the Takahashi family. My host parents didn't speak English and were working mostly. My dad....maybe fished or did something with....fishing boots. Haha. I don't know!!! They never really told me. My mom had a part time job selling furniture. She made me breakfast, lunch, and dinner. They were both kind, generous, and I liked them a lot, but I didn't feel as connected. Language can do that. Mizuho is in my class. She was an exchange student in America, but she was really unsympathetic. She got annoyed and didn't really talk to me. But at times she was really funny and nice, but only if she felt like it. I guess that happens. Oh well. Sachiyo was in Jr. high, so she had to study all the time for the big entrance exam to get into high school. She wanted to get into the same one as my first host brother, but I guess it's really hard. And Honoka...she was the youngest. I spent most of my time with her. yeah, my best friend was a 7 year old. Haha. But she would talk to me, and I could sort of start understanding things towards the end. I felt closest to my host mom and Honoka, who were the only ones there when I left. Haha. Ah, still sounds negative. We went shopping, but mostly they introduced me to a lot of traditional Japanese food like, raw squid, sukiyaki, octopus, Japanese radish, and Japanese sweet potatoes. Probably a bunch more, but those stood out the most. Fish guts! It looks like a brain the size of a bouncy ball. :D But it doesn't taste. I also gained a love for tofu.

So that sums up host families. Though, I could probably write novel about both, I just don't think anyone has time for that. :)

Alright, so for now that's it!!! I'll write more soon...ish.

Love you guys,

xoxoxo
Sara

P.S. Snowmen here are only made of two parts! You know, short. Haha. Ah, that's bad. Kidding! But seriously.