Homestay Family


 

Host Family Elle Dakovic-Hutchinson

I really enjoyed staying with my host family. I know for some people it seems like a scary thought to stay with a family that you have never met. Even though there was a language barrier we were able to overcome it. I was lucky enough to have the same host family as another girl in the group which helped take some of the pressure away. The family did their very best to make us feel like we were welcomed into their family. They took us out on day trips to family events and to see parts of the city that we didn’t get to go to with the group. A lot of the families in Japan have the grandparents living with them. In my host family the grandparents knew almost no English but we were still able to try to communicate with them through the younger kids and a dictionary. The family also took us to a temple where they pray often and we got the chance to learn about their religion. In the house they also had a room where they would pray and give offerings to different sacred beings. I really enjoy staying with a host family because I found you learned more about the Japanese culture and see them in their everyday life. At first I was really nervous but everyone in the family was so welcoming that all the fears I had disappeared. Since it was always so hot during the day we would eat a lot of ice cream and there were so many different flavors. One of my favorite days was when we made pancakes for the family. They were all so happy we even showed them what real maple syrup was and they loved it. I hope that I will be able to see my host family again soon. It’s a very comforting thought to know that you have a family somewhere else in the world. This experience really opened my eyes and showed me that there is more to the world and that you can have more than one family. 

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