I talked with my Host Family!

Ok! Here's the post I promised about my new host family. So, less than 24 hours after the big mess-up with the host family that didn't know me, I sent the same email that I had first sent to the incorrect family to my new one.

The next morning, I checked my email and there was a reply from my adorable host sister, Kyoko-san! She's 17, super cute, and really loves fashion, fruit juice, taking naps, watching action and fantasy movies, music, reading, and talking a lot with her friends and family. She says that the whole family is talkative :D I like all the same things, even her favorite colors are the same (red and pink, and the mom and dad like blue like I do, too!) Also, apparently the mom and dad like tea, so I can drink tea anytime, and that's great! I drink tea everyday and I always make sure to bring chai or green tea with me to school so I don't go through withdrawals or something ;)

Kyoko studied abroad with AFS in Australia for 10 months and just came home in late December 2013. So, she speaks English very well, and that's going to be super helpful. I'm going to try to speak Japanese as much as I can while I'm there, but she tells me that if I don't understand or don't know how to say something, she'll help me with anything. Wow, how kind! I feel very lucky to have this family so far.

She tells me that my host family likes fish more than meat, too, which is fine by me! I like seafood a lot and usually sashimi (raw fish) doesn't bother me (Kyoko's favorite is prawn), especially on nigiri. Today I actually went out for sushi with my sister Anna after work, and it was oishii (delicious).

Here are some pictures of the food Kyoko says they like to eat:

(Disclaimer: these pictures do not belong to me)

Prawn sashimi:

Raw prawn. Kyoko's favorite!

Nigiri-zushi:

A yummy type of sushi made with sashimi. My favorite is salmon!

Nabemono:

Or just simply "nabe."

There are many variations of the dish. It's usually served during the cold months,

and it's usually a soup or stew with a bunch of different ingredients mixed in.

Nowadays, it's kept warm by a portable stove that's set on the table under the cooking pot.

Next, I also learned that Naoto-san (my host brother who's almost 21) goes to college in Tokyo, so he may visit but he won't live with us. Hopefully I will meet him though! I'm also pretty sure that the grandparents do not live with the family but I'm still not positive.

What's crazy is that my Australian friends Wayland and Brandon actually know Kyoko already! They met her at an AFS camp in Australia when she was living there, so that's really awesome. They say I'm in good hands :) Wayland is actually going to live in Nagoya, too, but in Midori-ku, across the city. His blog is here: http://waylandturnsjapanese.blogspot.com )

I am already friends on Facebook with Kyoko and my host father Yoshimitsu, who I'll call Otousan. Otousan commented on one of my Facebook pictures "Hi! Sarah.I am your host father.We can't wait to see you!!!!" They seem so nice! Kyoko speaks the most English, and Otousan speaks a little, but Okaasan (the mother) doesn't speak any and that's totally fine. She wants help with English, so Kyoko and I will help her and I can learn more Japanese at the same time :)

I'll tell you more soon. Host school information is coming up, too! Are you excited?