I woke up around noon, I went to bed around 3 am today as I was talking about my exceptional weekend with my friends and relatives back in Canada all night... What a great way to start school :P. Exceptionally today there was no Japanese courses in the morning, so I allowed myself to sleep in. After I woke up I tried to see if I could drop a class so I have more air in my schedule, but my time is limited so I absolutely have to take 5 courses in Japan if I want to graduate on time and have no summer courses. We can never have everything. After a lazy morning in bed I walked to campus, stopped at my mailbox and I had a message to contact one of the homestay advisors, Kano-san. I went directly to her office and she had all the information about my host family: 5 member family: mom, dad and 3 daughters around my age. One dog, the father is a chainsmoker and probably the drinker too (it says some family members drink). They don't expect me to teach English (good), the dad plays golf (ok, I don't know anything about golf) the girls like bike, shopping and violin (good a musician!) and the mother likes concerts (good a music fan). I instantly said hai hai daijoubu to everything Kano-san was telling me even without having thoroughly read my family information sheet. ( I must have looked like somoeone that wanted out of the dorms at all costs!). The truth is that I really want to live in a Japanese family and I don't want to be picky or else I am scared not to end up in a family. I have to decide whether I want to ride a bike to school (20 min) or walk and train (38 minutes + 165$ a month).. the choice seems clear, but if you are clumsy and daydreamer like me and see what is the "biking" condition in Japan, you do not really want to ride a bike. Riding a bike in Japan is an obstacle course with ditches, cars that don't mind bikes, pedestrians in your way and no bike path. ALong with the American reflex to look on the right first before crossing, it could be deadly. In fact, 2 years ago one staff members was hit by car while leaving campus by bike and died from the injuries... 1h20 minutes commute by day and 165$ per month does not seem so bad after all. The only class I had today was Contemporary Japanese management and business organization. We are only 14 in this course and 6 are Japanese. Before class starts, one Japanese boy comes up to me and says: "Hello, I am Tsutaya, how are you?" I don't know if that is sincere interest or just making sure to have an English-speaking buddy, but whatever the motives are, I am pleased to have a Japanese class mate on my first day of school and being school mates can be beneficial for both of us. The class is fairly advance and many terms and concepts that I am mildly familiar with are iintroduced at a rate of 5 per half hour. I try to empathize with the Japanese students and imagine how difficult it must be for them to understand everything. After class I ask Tsutaya if he understands everything, and he says half... Before I leave campus I buy the manual for the course and Kano-san catches me for one more question... she tells me that the family will not allow me to shower in the morning, but only to bathe or shower in the evening (like most Japanese). I say hai hai, daijoubu desu again and I realize that I will have to adapt my lifestyle a little more than the dorms when living in a host family. But I resist the temptation to contest, I am in Japan and the prevailing attitude is "shikata ga nai". Taking a shower in the morning is a ritual for me that allows me to think about the day coming ahead and waking up. I will need some time to adapt, I might as well start now and only shower in the evening. I am supposed to meet my host family this weekend or the next.
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