My Host Mother in Japan
I was an exchange student in Japan and the biggest help for me was my host mother. More than help, she gave me experience you can't have during a usual trip or study abroad, only when you do home stay.
Our story took place in 2009 when I was a high school student. I have always been interested in Japan. So it didn't surprise my family when I sent my application for an exchange student program. With the help of an organisation called YFU - Youth for Understanding, and the supporting of my family, I was able to spend a month in Japan.
From Hungary, I had to transfer once and the flight took more than 11 hours. My host city was near to Nagoya, so when the plane landed I still had to take on the shinkansen and travel a bit more. It was already late night when I arrived at the station, where two women came to take me. One of them was my host mother.
I was exhausted and my Japanese was really poor, so I was talking to the other woman, who was a YFU agent. After driving to the town where I was going to live for four weeks, my host mot6her, who didn't speak any languages besides Japanese, let me in and put dinner in front of me: it was spaghetti with a fork and a knife on the table. “You like it?” she asked from me smiling widely, not caring at the time which was a little more than midnight already. I nodded and ate the food before going to sleep.
My host mother, Yoko was always getting up early to help the family to have a good day. She had a hard working husband and three kids from junior high school to university levels. Plus now she had me. I was less independent than his 13 years old son. I couldn't read the signs and didn't know the rules, so she had to teach me all of them, despite the language differences. But she was trying really hard.
When she walked me to the school the first time, she pointed to every outstanding object on the way to help me remember the route. "From the next day, you have to come alone. Please, don't get lost" she asked me smiling. Every morning, she gave me a pouch with a lunch box and in the school, the girls of my class were amazed by the rich food and the nice arrangement - my host mother gave his best. When I had P.E. and it turned out that I have no sports clothes with me, she asked some appropriate pieces in her kids' closets. When it was raining, she bought me a brand new, polka dot patterned umbrella.
She was a home stay mother, only having a part time job in a museum few 1-2 days per a week. As the father and the kids were busy as well, most of the afternoons we were at home together. Reaching home from school she listened to my experiences from the actual day and helped me with studying while she was preparing the dinner. I still can recall the relaxing mood of these simple afternoons.
A month is a really short time, I couldn’t believe that it was over when the family brought me to the airport of Nagoya to send me back to Tokyo, where my flight was supposed to departing only to arrive back to Europe. When we said goodbye, we were smiling and promising that we will stay in touch and I will come back as soon as possible. On the plane, the stewardess brought a lunch box for me - I couldn't even open it, I started to cry immediately.
It has been almost 7 years since that exchange program. The family's daughter had connections to Hungary, so I met her two times when she visited my country. On the second time, she brought his mother as well. No matter, how many years passed, it seemed that the time we spent together made a bond between us. We could have fun here like we didn't even get separated for a long time. I didn't have the chance to go to Japan again during this time but I keep studying and working hard to let it happen again. I want to visit my host mother.
