#8-22

おはようございます！！！　（Good morning)

I finally arrived in Osaka last night after missing a connection and spending a night in LA. I think that possibly helped my mental state, as the first day is usually the most gut-wrenching.

The Osaka airport features a lot less english than Tokyo Narita, yet making my way through customs and all as a lone 外人 (Gaijin; Foreigner) was very simple. Coming through the last exit, I was greeted warmly by my host family and a few of my teachers. Most of the Japanese that I had learned was not exactly “survival japanese”, or basic phrases, but simple grammar rules and how to read the two Japanese syllabaries. If I were to go back in time I would have spent a bit more time on basic phrases (I was even advised to) so to spare the anxiety and sweat of spewing out incoherent greeting terms.

My host family, the Tsuchidas, consists of Keiko (mother, piano teacher), Azumi (sister, college student), and Ryosuke (brother, 10th grader). Ryosuke didn’t hold back in warning me know that he slept through English camp. I can only applaud him for actually making the effort because my Japanese is at an even more primitive level than his English. Other than a few words and expressions, there is huge language barrier and little place for English here. I figure that I need to stop speaking English and try to get past the embarassment of terrible pronunciation with my host family first so that it’s a bit less daunting with everyone else.