Japanese food

I sent B to Japan with a bag of homemade chocolate chip cookies in his suitcase just in case he didn't like the food. (I didn't want him to starve!) He ended up giving the cookies to his host family. He liked the food!

This is how the food is put on the table for a meal. You take what you want.

B couldn't use his phone in school but he was able to snap one picture of the lunch his host mom made for him one day.

This was the birthday dinner B's host family made for him.

Curry and rice.

Ramen...

... and more Ramen.

And he's home!

B's plane landed at O'Hare about 8:30 this morning, 30 minutes ahead of schedule. Here he is taking one last picture before leaving the airport to come home.

He did some unpacking. I was a little surprised to see that half of his large suitcase was full of candy and other gifts! He sorted through it and stashed some away in his bedroom. He put quite a bit on the counter for us to enjoy as a family. He showed me a nice photo album his host family put together of the things he did while staying with them. How cool is this picture of B and his host brother on the Godzilla Rock?

B did get a chance to meet up with our former exchange student Ruri while he was in Japan. She sent B home with a big bag of candy and snacks for L so L had to take a selfie to send Ruri a thank you.

And, of course, Muffles can't resist a new place to rest.

Not strong enough

It's not easy to comb through L's hair. This brush was definitely not up to the challenge.

I believe this was B at breakfast Tuesday in their hostel. He'll be home tomorrow!

Minor improvements

B will be in for a few changes when he returns home. Over the weekend, Andy replaced one of our kitchen outlets with one that lets us charge our electronics through USB ports. That should come in handy.

And he installed new shelves in B's closet. The old ones had collapsed and since B is gone, we thought it was a good time to work on it. His room, though, is crazy hot. He has a fan that he uses when he works/plays on his computer, but it doesn't cool the entire room of course. Andy decided it's too hot in there and installed a small air conditioner that should keep things a bit cooler. August was happy that the door to B's room was open for a while and snuck in to lounge on his bed. That's not allowed.

Meanwhile in Japan, it looks B did a little shopping on the group's day of sightseeing. They rode three trains, which took about 90 minutes, to reach Kamakura where they saw the Great Buddha. They also saw the Tsurugaoka Hachiman-guu Shrine, Houkoku Temple and a bamboo garden.

'Enough tears to flood a village'

Sad farewell at the Akita airport as the kids make their way to Tokyo.

And at 11:25 last night, one of the chaperones posted this: "We are off to Tokyo. The students left behind wonderful memories and enough tears to flood a village. Tokyo tower this evening."

Another chaperone posted this photo of the students' view of Tokyo, taken from the 18th floor where they're all staying.

I decided to email the picture of B and his host family at the farewell party to his host mom yesterday. We've been having a bit of an ongoing electronic conversation since B arrived. She almost immediately replied.

"It was a great time hosting your son, B. He went to Onsen with his host father after the farewell party. My husband seemed soooo happy. On the other hand, my son, Shinichi, couldn't stop crying before he goes to bed. He didn't want to miss his big brother, B. My daughter is also feeling sad now.

Spending time with B was so precious that we don't want to miss. I hope he comes back to Japan, or comes here again with you and your family. I also hope to visit you in America.

I have to apologize one thing. When my daughter ate jelly with chopsticks being lazy finding a spoon, B was trying to eat it with his chopsticks. We actually use spoons to eat something like jelly, ice cream, yogurt and so on.;) I hope he didn't take it as the Japanese way of eating;)

Again thank YOU for letting B come to Japan. I hope to see him again. Please keep in touch."

Sounds like he has an open invitation to return. And how cool would it be to show his host family around Chicago some day? I'm betting there was, or will be, tears at the airport when he leaves for Tokyo. I'll have to mention the chopstick vs. spoon thing to him. It's funny how their 13-year-old daughter wouldn't get up to get a spoon, though. I can relate to a 13-year-old who doesn't want to do everything she should.

Farewell, host family

This photo, taken at the farewell party, was posted early this morning. We've attended the farewell party both times when we hosted and the students stand in front of everyone and tell about their trip, thank their family, etc. There are lots of tears. It's amazing how attached you can become when someone is in your home for a mere two weeks. The trick is that the Japanese students here have to deliver the spech in whatever English they know, so I'm sure it was tricky for B to thank his family using the Japanese he knows. It makes for some funny moments. Now it's on to Tokyo for the group and he'll be home Wednesday. Can't wait to hear all about his trip!

Andy and I went to pick E up yesterday afternoon from her stint at the college's engineering camp. We saw this hot-air balloon the minute we pulled off the highway into Champaign. You don't see that every day. During the week, E lucked out when she ran across a sale of ECE stuff and bought this $44 jacket for $10. She also got a shirt for $3.

She also sent this photo:

It's a testing room for antennas and it's non-echoing. I guess she thought was was pretty neat. She said she had a good week with her newlywed cousin and his bride.

Dinner in the city

With B in Japan and E at U of I working at a girls' engineering camp, Andy and I figured it would be nice to take L downtown for pizza last night. And we are thrilled we can simply order a sausage and pepperoni pizza with her - no cheese on half for E or hold the pepperoni for B. She was texting friends most of the way on the drive in, then when we got to the restaurant told us she had plans with them to hop on the L and go into the city Saturday ... by themselves. Um, no. We argued for a while then asked the waitress how old someone should be before they go downtown from the burbs with friends and no adults. She said 18. Thank you, waitress.

Despite that, it was a nice night out and a beautiful summer night in Chicago.

L rolled down her window and took a few pictures which, I imagine, ended up on Snapchat.

Field trips in Japan

Field trips in Japan:

"We went to the Akita Prefectural Museum in Akita city by bus. We first toured a 450-year-old traditional house. Most of it is still original and it was very cool. ... We went to a park next to the museum. First area had a big fountain. They only turn it on during the weekend but they turned it on just for us…..and….it…was….the…..best thing anyone has ever done for the students"

I doubt B played in the water, and he's not in this picture, but the fountains are pretty neat.

"We did paper dye activity. Each of us got a rice paper. We folded it in square, and then in triangle, and then, it was time to die! I meant ... dye!! We dipped the folded paper in several different inks, then ironed the paper, done! The paper really turned out beautiful! You can frame it when we get home!"

This is a Buddhist Temple they visited and learned how to meditate.

"The very act of the meditation, becoming 'nothing,' is the act of god and act of enlightenment. Becoming 'nothing' is not that you are not thinking about anything. Thoughts come and go, but you are not supposed to chase after each thought that enters your mind. Instead, you focus on breathing and sounds around you. Students meditated for 10 minutes. Took a short break, and did another 10 minutes. They were very respectful, stayed still and tried to reach the state of 'nothingness.' It was a really cool experience and we hope they all learned how to let go of their thoughts. Students are SO busy all the time; school, homework, friends, clubs, sports, college ... it is overwhelming. We hope that this experience will help them get through hectic time to come."

Here B is eating soup that we assume he made because E said they're all sitting in the school's home ec room. He does love soup.

Not sure what's going on in this photo - the photos are posted typically a day before sensei writes about them - but the students are at a cultural center where foreigners go to learn the Japanese language and culture.

At the cultural center, talking to his classmates.