LAJ 3, Local Homestay Programme 13, 14 October Gena Wong Pih Choon, A W

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1 LAJ 3, Local Homestay Programme 13, 14 October 2012 Gena Wong Pih Choon, A W It is well known to all that punctuality is a virtue upheld dearly by Japanese. On the day I first met my host family, I was so afraid to be late that I reached the MRT station half an hour before our stipulated meeting time. It was raining heavily. お父さん brought along two umbrellas with him, and following behind him were his 6 year old daughter A-chan and 3 year old son Y-kun. Nervous, yet extremely excited about the 2-days homestay, I greeted and did a self-introduction in Japanese. As we made our 5 minutes walk to their home, we talked about the Singapore Japanese School where お父さん works at as an elementary school teacher. I also asked the children if they would like to play together. I was greeted by お母さん when we reached their house. I was shown to the guest room and it came as a surprise to receive the Japanese Foundation t-shirt from them as a welcome gift. Then, I was asked to join them for tea. We had kueh-lapis, which I brought along as お土産, served with green tea and I tasted Dorayaki (Doraemon s favourite snack) for the first time. Speaking of which, I am very fortunate to receive many firsttime experiences from this 2-days homestay. One of it would be wearing the yukata. お母さん did my hair and helped me dress up in the yukata. With the two children clad in their yukata too, we took many photographs together. Before the actual homestay, my host family asked me what type of Japanese food I like through text message. I told them I like Sushi and Tempura. I am so glad that I got to experience making these in the 2-days stay. Prior to dinner on the first evening, I helped in the kitchen with the preparation of the ingredients to be added in our own customised sushi. I learned how to place the different ingredients such as slided cucumber, raddish, egg nicely on the dish. I watched how お母さん set up the dining table, where to place our chopsticks (horizontally before the diner), individual plates, and sushi ingredients. My host family bought a sushi-maker machine that looked much like a toy. It was their first

2 time using it during my stay. We took some time to figure out how to fix and use it. A-chan was so excited to successfully make her heart-shaped sushi within the big sushi roll. I made my own California roll, and enjoyed dipping my sushi in soya sauce with wasabe. The rest of the night was well-spent time with my host family. We chatted about their stay in Singapore, education and working conditions in Japan and Singapore, and about their children. My host family came to Singapore last year in April, and had enrolled both their children in local kindergartens. They asked me about post-secondary school education routes in Singapore. I got to know that University students in Japan study only during school hours, and usually enjoy their time in University. However, it is not unusual to have to work overtime in Japan. Thus, our conclusion is that, it is better to be a student in Japan, but better to be working in Singapore. I also played games with the children. They introduced me to many Japanese cartoon characters, and I drew some of the characters for them. Next morning, I woke up before 8am, and found A-chan already up awake watching children TV programmes but the TV was set to minimum volume. She only adjusted it louder after seeing me come out to the living room. I was gladly surprised by Japanese culture of being thoughtful. I was relieved to find out that I am in time to help お母さん with the preparation of breakfast. I asked her what Japanese

3 usually have for breakfast. Japanese families usually have パン or 味噌汁 with rice. That morning, she taught me how to make egg roll using the rectangular pan. She made it look simple but when I tried, I had a hole in one of the layers. Breakfast was delicious. There was miso soup made from real miso (and not instant miso packets I use at home), the egg roll, and rice with the nutritious natto. It was my first time tasting natto. Although I had heard people say natto has a weird taste and is difficult to like it, I find that it goes well with rice and egg roll! お母さん and A-chan were so delighted to hear that I want to have more of it.

4 I gained experience in making tempura during lunch preparation. お母さん and I peeled the shells of the prawns and dipped the tempura ingredients in the floor. I was tasked to deep fry them, while お父さん prepared tsumetai soba and お母さん cooked atatakai soba. I tasted both types of soba and like both equally much. Later, my host family told me that Nagano, their hometown, is best known for soba. お父さん knows how to make soba from flour. In the afternoon, I was invited to watch A-chan s very first Gymnastics performance at Toa Payoh Sports Hall. The event was organized by JACPA and Crestar Music School. I felt like I was in Japan because the parents who were there to support their daughters were mostly Japanese. Everyone around me was conversing in Japanese. Even the emcees introduced everything in Japanese. It was a fantastic experience and I am very grateful to my host family for giving the opportunity to attend the event. When A-chan performed, I felt as if I was part of the family and her elder sister. I cheered with Y-kun who watched her sister s performance intently, while お父さん and お母さん went to the spectator stand in the front to capture the moments with their cameras. The event ended at 4pm, and I parted with my host family after taking pictures together.

5 お父さん and お母さん proud of their 6 year old A- chan while she performed the Ball Dance. Little Y-kun cheering at the glass panel while watching his elder sister performed the Ribbon Dance. Overall, I will never regret participating in the homestay programme. I learnt so much about the Japanese culture through my host family, and had this rare chance to practice conversing in Japanese for 2 days. Although there are many times when I did not understand, they were very understanding and patient. I still remember I almost brought the bowls out to dining room when I was supposed to help scoop miso soup into them. I also learned some vocabulary and words used frequently in the kitchen. We used the electronic dictionary if there were times when we could not translate what we want to convey. My host family has invited me to go to their house, to play and to converse in English with A- chan and Y-kun when I am free.