Day 29

Today we had a free morning at our host families where Stacy and me (who slept on the floor next to me for another night) relaxed in the morning and had breakfast with my family (it was quite a feast!).  We took pictures and then headed to the hotel.

Jeff, Stacy, Carolyn, and I walked to McDonald's to have a snack (McFlurries the size of shot glasses).  For the rest of the afternoon, I reorganized my suitcase so that I didn't even have to open the larger one in Tokyo.

We had the Farewell Party in the evening.  Each of us (unknown to us) had to give a speech.  Jeff went first and, in perfect Japanese, thanked everyone for the trip.  Carolyn went next and started to get choked up, which prompted Stacy and me to get choked up.  Stacy went next and struggled through tears, which, again, made me get teary-eyed.  I really struggled through my speech-- knowing how much the people in the room had done for me through the past few days and, essentially through the entire trip.

It was truly amazing how quickly the trip went by.  It was difficult at first (and when I was sick) to be away from my family, but I also created some amazing bonds through the month that I would certainly not have had.  I know (and I said so in my speech) that I am taking many of the cultural differences I learned about back to the United States with me.  From the detail the Japanese put into everything they do (clothes, food, gifts), to the size of everyone (even though I knew it, this was reaffirmation that you do not need western-sized portions of food to survive), to the friendliness of the people-- I know I will never forget what I learned throughout the trip.

Living with local families and experiencing life through the eyes of the people who experience it everyday was more beneficial to my career than the actual vocational days.  It was amazing to see the role of women in Japan-- they were either highly educated and spending their days as housewives, or highly educated, in their late 30s, and unmarried.  (I later found out this is very specific to the Kyushu Island.)

It was really interesting to hear the nutritional beliefs of many of the Japanese people.  I cannot tell you how many times I picked the fat off the meat on my plate and people pointed to it and explained how the fat had collagen in it and was good for the wrinkles in my skin.  Someone even tried to convince Stacy that maple syrup was good for her (which, as a Canadian, she knew wasn't true). 

And the tea.  OH, the tea.  The tea was everywhere (although, I saw more of it in Kumamoto than in Oita).  I even saw people put tea in their baby's sippie cups.

While Japanese food is very fresh, there are a lot of sodium-related issues in Japan.  In fact, the government lowered the daily recommended allowance recently to steer people away from eating so many salty foods.  The conclusion I came up with, each country has their own way of eating and it appears that there is no one correct way.