I just realized that I've been here Japan for nearly a month and a week. That means that I've just turned over the half way mark of my stay.

Well, I was in a good mood…

As far as Douglass/host family relations are going, I think today I made some major inroads. For one thing, I think I've discovered part of the reason for the extraordinary amount of traffic in and around the house. Okaasan happens to be the youngest of six sisters (I didn't get around to asking if she had any brothers). I was in the downstairs (for all means and purposes, I consider the dining room, living room, and TV room to all be a common area, since unless the dividers are closed, none of them are really a discreet room) studying, when one of her sisters came in. She was a bit surprised when she saw me (well, most would be if they walked into a room and suddenly discovered a Doug in the house), but after she asked Okaasan about my purpose for being, she became interested because, as it turns out, she works in Hikone and knew of JCMU. So, (much to my dismay) I became the center of attention for a short while.

One thing I don't think that I've described adequately is how much communication is dependent on me. Aside from Okaasan, the only time that the rest of my family can really say anything in English is when they're looking words up in the dictionary (and really, she barely speaks any at all herself). My family is not in this program to learn English (much like I'm sure Eva's family [an exchange friend from high school]) weren't really in it to learn German) so if I don't throw myself and my hat into the ring, well, then this whole experience would amount to nothing much at all.

So, after introductions talk proceeded in rather piecemeal fashion (although I'm proud of the fact that they rarely had to consult their dictionary, and I didn't look at mine even once [the fact that it was in my backpack upstairs notwithstanding]), and I think I made a good showing of myself, mostly in the form of outright flattery. Talk got turned onto how I liked Japanese food and what I had been eating, and I mentioned that for lunch I bought sandwiches from a conbini down the street, but I liked breakfast and dinner best, because I got to eat lots of tasty Japanese food at home.

Them it came out that next year I was planning to return to teach English, a concept that I actually got across on the first try. I'd never gotten around to mentioning it to my family before, so this became a very fertile topic of conversation. Otousan said that I should come back to Yasu when I do, so that I can be Kenta's English teacher. I then had to beg off further talk, because it was late, and I still had a great deal of homework, but no one seemed to mind (in fact I was strongly encouraged to get cracking on it, so I would speak well next year).

Actually, why I think I've made a good showing of myself thus far is the fact that I'm trying very hard with the whole speaking thing. Honestly, I can probably count the number of times on my hands and feet when I've resorted to English in hopes of getting my point across, and always before hand I asked if English was okay (in Japanese of course). Although getting permission is a must in class, asking at home really isn't be necessary, but I think that it shows I'm using it as something of a last resort. My heart is in the right place, even if my head is having trouble keeping up. Although my family understands that culturally I'm still a little child and my gaffes are to be (mostly) forgiven, I still worry… Perhaps, to fully illustrate the substance of my anxieties I should scan in that little home stay synopsis we were given at orientation and post it along with an entry.

Further news as events develop.