Sorry it's been so long! For the past week there has been a nagging feeling in the pit of my stomach reminding me it's time to write, and I've been suppressing it relentlessly. But, it's time to get back on the bandwagon. Lots to tell, but I'll keep it brief (relatively-- I don't think I really understand the meaning of that word when it comes to writing..) tonight and talk about this weekend.
Well, I was told on Thursday that my host-dad's company was inviting me to come along on a trip hosted by the company to a farm outside Tokyo. This farm provides some of the produce used in the grocery store chain my father acts as a Public Relations rep. for, and I was very excited to go! It was going to be employees, stock holders, customers, and families, so a very fun group. I had made plans for Saturday but decided this would be a really interesting way to get to know my host family better and to better understand my host dad's role in his company, so I made plans to go.
When I came home on Friday night, I was told by my host dad who had also just returned home that my host brother had suddenly broken out in a rash and was feverish, so my host mom had taken him to the hospital around eleven pm. I was so shocked! It made sense though because when I walked in the door, the lights were all still on, an unusual occurrence, and I understood that they must have been in a hurry to get out the door. My host dad promptly ate a quick dinner (at eleven thirty pm) and then headed over to the hospital. I went to bed, and I guess they didn't return home until four am! Kojirou is fine- just some allergic reaction to something he ate, but still it was pretty scary I think and not something any parent wants to see their child go through.
Thus, because of Friday night's excitements, Kojirou and Machico-san were not able to come with Kenichi-san and me today to the farm, which was really too bad because the weather was PERFECT for a day spent outdoors! I must comment here on Tokyo fall- absolutely wonderful! The leaves are only just changing and beginning to fall, and my favorite part is that many trees look like a gradation with reds and yellows and greens naturally flowing into one another on the same tree. The weather has been very warm as well- probably highs of 60 degrees today. So wonderful!!
Kenichi-san and I left the house at six forty-five am this morning and had to run to make our train. We got off the train at Shinjuku, a central point in Tokyo, and from there took a two hour bus ride to the area we were going to, I think a place called Guma prefecture. We were able to tour an old silk factory which was interesting for me because a) it was neat to see such a historical place, b) It was good practice in my Japanese comprehension skills and c) because I was the only obvious foreigner in site, so lots of people came up to me and spoke to me in both Japanese and in English.
Afterwards we had a quick "bento" (lunchbox) lunch. I was able to meet many of the coworkers that Kenichi-san works with on a regular basis, and they were very very kind to me and indulged me in conversation. It was really interesting to see Kenichi-san in a work environment, to see the way he talks to his bosses, to the children of customers, to his coworkers, to me. Japan has a really strong "in-group/out-group system". By this I mean, people are very conscious of which groups they belong to (ie family, school, company, etc). I have a hard time deciding where I fit in in many occasions- I live with the Yasuda family but I am still a guest in their home. Am I "in" or "out"? I go to Waseda but am not Japanese and am not a four-year student. Am I "in" or "out"? I learned that today at least I was "in" with Kenichi-san. He asked me to wait until everyone else had taken a lunch before we did, and talked about me in a humble way, as one would about a family member. So that was both an interesting and confusing experience, trying to figure out where I fit in when I really don't fit in anywhere. And this is important because depending on your "in" and "out" group status, the types of language you use with another person will be different.
And I digress. After lunch we all hopped back on the bus and went to a farm where we were able to pick our own green onions and sweet potatoes to take home! Really fun! The vegetables were really large and look so delicious- I was worried I had picked too much and that Machico-san would be at a loss with what to do with so many green onions! But no worries, she was very happy and is looking forward to all the ways she can use them. Phew! It was quite a site though, Kenichi-san and I (a Japanese and an American), in the subway train with a huge box of green onions, Kenichi-san and I each carrying bulging bags bursting with produce! But it was really fun, and we had a lot of really nice conversations. We really wished that Machico-san and Kojirou-kun could have spent the day with us, but Kojirou-kun was running around full of energy when we got home!
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