This trip has been going really well, only a few more days left. I feel totally at home with them and they really are pulling out all the stops for me. I appreciate it beyond words.
The Backstory: When I decided to visit Tokyo I originally thought I would do couchsurfing or maybe stay in a hotel. It ended up that couchsurfing wasn't the best place to look and once that became apparent hotel rates were high (this is like 3 days before leaving). I started to feel really nervous and posted a stressed out status update on facebook, literally: "Oh god, trying to figure out where to stay! Stresss!!!" And on the same day I was meeting with a friend who is from Japan, and who has parents living around the Tokyo area. My friend mentioned that I might meet her parents, but when I asked her about it she said "Well actually, they have invited you to stay!" OMG, that really made my day!
I was really grateful but also worried about staying with her parents. There is a lot of weight in staying with someones family, if you are friends it can either make or break a friendship. So of course I was worried about being able to live up to expectations and be polite enough. My friend taught me how to say all of the right polite things like sumimasen, Itakademasu, and gochi soosamadeshta which basically mean: excuse me/sorry, Thank you for this meal (before) and Thank you for this meal (after). She sounded these phrases out and I wrote them down phonetically like I am doing here and then went home an practiced a bit. By the time I arrived I had them moderately memorised and pronounced them well enough to impress. I was pumped!
Arrival: My friends mother and sister picked me up at the airport with a sign that read "Welcome Edna!" and they were standing right in front of the exit gate so I saw them immediately. Everyone was excited and giggling and overjoyed, but the language barriers was instantly apparent. My Japanese would not get me too far, and their English was gonna take work to understand, but we were sooo happy that it didn't really matter. We adjusted and my friends mother Moco being the brave and kind woman she is just spoke. Her talking helped build understanding as we drove towards their home.
To be honest, it was a huge reliefe to be picked up at the airport and have someone to hold my hand. Two friendly faces meant the world to me after a long flight. We got coffee and had a pretty good connection from the start. Getting to Tokyo by trian from the airport seemed daunting and expensive, so I was really happy.
When we walked in the door Moco instructed me about the house routines and rules and we sat down to make a plan for the week. The whole family gathered around and everyone was excited to talk about my trip! how cool! I was so impressed, happy and surprised. Everyone had ideas and was smiling and wanting to show me Japan. Giving me tea and making sure I felt at home. There was a family friend who speaks English really well and he came over to translate a bit and he to was excited to meet me and make plans. I was soo flattered but at the same time a little worried about my autonomy. I took the opportunity to be clear about the days I would like to spend in Tokyo alone sightseeing and everyone accepted that. The weather was beautiful and I started to relax a little on the train to Tokyo. It was nice to have people on the platform happily waving me away!
More Tomorrow!
Thank you for reading, see you!
- Edna
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