The second stop of our Japan-in-10 days-trip was Toyota. What better place to see daily life in a smaller city than the automobile capital of Japan. On our way to Toyota we stopped at a beautiful hotel to eat lunch. The lunch was delicious and the description of it was even better (see picture below). As soon as we arrived in Toyota we did a fairly extensive tour of the plant which was certainly cleaner and more efficient than the US plants I’ve seen. Afterwards we hit the Toyota museum as well. I was disappointed that they didn’t have a Celica (my car) but the Japanese were very appreciative when they heard that I own a Toyota Celica and a Suzuki motorcycle. During my short stay in Japan thus far I’ve noticed that the cost of living is very high but it is interesting to note that the Japanese cars here are still cheaper than the ones in the US. Hmmmm…
Some very entertaining grammar mistakes on the lunch menu…
We were admittedly all a little scared of what staying with a host family was going to be like but we were pleasantly surprised. Both my and Naomi’s host family were very friendly, funny and hospitable. They were friends with each other and members of an international group that enjoys doing international exchanges via home-stays in order to learn other languages. How perfect I thought!! There were two 30-year old daughters in my family and both of them had done exchanges in the US in their teenage years. My host mom and I exchanged words in at least 3 different languages albeit mostly greetings and expressions relating to food. She also liked to laugh especially at herself–a characteristic to which I am always drawn.
The next day we spent the entire day visiting schools again. It was interesting to see some subtle differences between Tokyo schools and Toyota schools but I was pretty schooled out well before the day was over. I also set a personal oolong tea drinking record as it was the only beverage we were offered all day. That night I went to Naomi’s host family’s house as we were to have a barbeque together that night. The first thing her mom offered me was oolong tea and I promptly refused with explanation. We hung out a while, playing some card games with Naomi’s 13 year-old host brother Yushi until the guests arrived. In the end there were many people who came to this party and we were of course a main attraction. Communication was labored at times but still possible and even enjoyable!
Naomi and her host mom
Me and my host mom
The next day our host families met again and we all went to a look out point of Toyota city together. Afterwards we grabbed lunch and headed to meet our group again. My host mom gave Naomi and I gift (even though she had already given me some neat Japanese coasters that morning) and we said our goodbyes. The two days that we were all somewhat dreading turned out to go by much too fast. I was very impressed with the Japanese culture and hope some day I will be able to be a host to them as they have been to me.
Saying good bye to our host families