Ichiban

konnichiwa!

I've decided to keep a blog of my travels while in Tokyo, as a convenient way to keep people updated on what I'm doing. First, a few FAQs:

What are you doing in Japan?
I will be living with two different host families. I will live with them each for a month. The first family I am staying with is the Kin family. The second family I am staying with is the Takahashi family. I don't know much about the Takahashi family yet, but I do know the Kin family has two children who I believe are in the first and sixth grades. In exchange for living in Tokyo for free, I will be working for a Japanese convenience store. HA!

When do you leave/come back?
I leave June 19th and come back August 30th.

Do you speak Japanese?
I have taken 6 quarters of Japanese at UCLA. So.....kinda. You guys probably also don't speak Japanese, so who better than to help you learn some Japanese words than Big Bird! Big Bird in Japan

Why is the blog called "chewy sukiyaki"?
Sukiyaki is a type of food in Japan that is probably one of my favorites. However, Sukiyaki is also the American title of the only Japanese song to ever reach number one on the American Billboard Hot 100. The real name of the song is actually "Ue wo muite, arukou", which translates into "I will look up when I walk", and thus has absolutely nothing to do with the food sukiyaki. When the song came to America, they needed a simple enough title for English speakers to understand, so they named it Sukiyaki. This blog also will not actually have anything to do with sukiyaki either.

Have you talked to your host families yet?
Yes, and according to Google Translator, this is what they were trying to say:
"The mail thank you.It is gold proton. please call even densely. To visiting Japan in 10 days after shank ~.Very waiting in the pleasure, it increases. The family is 4 human families of the master and the junior high school 1st grade son and the elementary school 4th grade daughter. If as for Internet 2 floor living because it is connected, feeling at rest, PC please have. Because we for the first time do the host family, insecurity is full, but we ask please may."

Well then. This summer should be interesting.

どうぞお元気で
Steven