First, there are some corrections to my last post. I originally received (through email) a single piece of paper with a small amount of information about my host club, school, etc. Now that I have actual documents in my hands, I realized that the sheet I was emailed was wrong about my host family and host city.
My actual host family is larger than the other one I thought I would be in before. It's a family of 5 (plus me makes 6), and includes my 2 parents, a grandparent, and 2 older sisters. I'm really excited to meet them!!! Again, I won't post names or pictures without their permission, but here's a little info at least.
Moving onwards, my actual host city is Otsu, which is much closer to my school than Konan. Also, Kyoto is 15 minutes away by train :) Otsu is the capital of Shiga prefecture, so yeah. Awesomeness. My school is the same, in Kusatsu-shi. It still looks to be a little distance away from my house, so I think I'll be riding the train or biking there. SWEET. Because my host city has changed yet again, I will yet again be changing the blog title. It will now be "Otsu Madness".
In the big stack of documents I was given, I also received 2-3 papers with 100%, straight-up, iron-solid RULES. In the first place, Japan is a pretty strict country to be sent to. They're pretty tight on drinking and things like that, but then again, so are a lot of countries. My district, 2650, is even stricter, but it's not too bad, except for this one rule:
- To families of the host student: Calling the student is not recommended. Please only contact them by mail for at least the first six months.
That means I'm not supposed to call my family. FOR SIX MONTHS. That's terrifying. But I think it is also for the best- if I talk too much with my family in the US, how will I fully immerse myself in Japanese culture? ...Nonetheless, it's terrifying.
Then comes my host club. The rules they have added are short, sweet, to the point, and strict. Here's the bulk of it:
- Curfew: 9:30
- The telelphone of the host family may be used if it is a local call and within 10 minutes.
- The student may use the Internet at the home of the host family for about 30 minutes per week.
OH MY GOODNESS GRACIOUS. 30 minutes a week?!? It's intense. Really intense. But I can do it!!! It's just going to take some serious getting used to. The phone thing won't be an issue, and I can do a 9:30 curfew. But 30 minutes of Internet a week will be hard. BUT I CAN DO IT! I HAVE CONFIDENCE!
Considering everything, I have to say- call me crazy- I'm still ridiculously excited for Japan. There may be rules that will be hard at first, but I've got a great host family, an awesome city, and a beautiful school waiting for me. I can't wait!!!
Here's a picture of my school, to anyone who's curious:
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