I probably spent more than I should have at the gift-shop, but I couldn't help that Neko-Ramen is a total badass.
After that, we stopped at this huge mall where I once again spent too much money. We also got tasty crepes at the food court.
Once we were back home, she likes American music so I burned CDs with a variety of bands. (Death Cab for Cutie, Electric Six (for the hell of it), Franz Ferdinand, The Killers, Gnarls Barkley, The Handsome Furs, JET, MGMT, The Mother Hips, The Rapture, and The Shins)
During that, we drove and picked up Yoko's English-studying friend Yuuko. Since she had never been to Yoko's house before, she brought a gift (some really tasty sweet potatoes). It was interesting to see that aspect of Japanese culture from a different perspective.
It felt a little weird speaking English there, especially since I'm used to being the one struggling to understand the person I'm talking to, but it was a lot of fun. She was pretty good, but she still had a long way to go. I'm probably more able to have normal conversations in Japanese, than she is in English, but I think a lot of the problem was my American accent and her Japanese accent.
That night we made takoyaki (sort of a ball of lightly fried batter with octopus in the middle which my host father, Fumio, described (in English) as "Japanese junk food") which was a lot of fun. It turns out I'm pretty good at it. By about halfway through the meal I was satisfied, but we kept making more and they kept putting them on my plate. It was really good and lots of fun, so I kind of want to buy a takoyaki-maker and make them at home.
Today (Sunday), Fumio didn't have work, so the three of us drove to Asakusa to check out the huge shrine there, and then to Ueno to look around the huge market under the train tracks before dropping me off back at the dorm.
The homestay experience was very interesting and fun. I fell like if this entire program was a homestay my Japanese would improve way more than it is now, but it would also be a lot more difficult and stressful to not always be able to communicate effectively.
My family's relationship was very traditional, which I'm not used to at all. Yoko always had dinner ready for when Fumio came home and did all the cleaning in the house (which was ridiculously spotless). It was an interesting experience, even if I wasn't very comfortable with being waited on quite that much. They were very surprised to hear that my dad only works 7 or 8 hours a day and does all the cooking at home.
They are both great people and I'm really glad to have met them and plan to keep in contact by e-mail.
I learned a lot from the experience, but mostly I realized that I'm at sort of a turning point in my Japanese ability. Right now I'm able to have basic conversations by only occasionally having to look anything up in a dictionary (though I often have to ask for things to be rephrased or repeated), but anything beyond discussing light subjects like food or some differences between Japan and the US is incredibly difficult. Since that's the case, if I were to stop taking classes after this summer I'd probably never progress beyond this point, so I'm probably going to revise my plans for the coming semesters at Iowa and continue taking Japanese language classes (starting with 3rd year conversation next semester).
Also, I could never drive in Tokyo. If you thought driving in Chicago rush hour was crazy, you don't know nuthin'.
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