December 14th, 2009
This day was the last day of my homestay. I learnt a lot of valuable things during my homestay. Japanese people were really obedient to the rules. They obeyed the traffic signs, immediately made a line, didn’t cut the line. They have so much integrity. They would be really embarrassed to create mistakes. I hope Indonesian can follow these good examples.
After washing my face and having breakfast, I came back to my room to tidy up my items. Suddenly, Okaasan called me. Apparently, Otousan had to leave early in the morning to work. There was not much he said, just a smile and thank you. When I saw his face, I felt like I had a second father. ^^ I also bowed like a Japanese. Many things that I had learnt from him, I would apply it in my life. He had told me about many things, especially Kanji character! I promised that when I arrived in Indonesia, I would learn Kanji. It was really interesting, like a password. When I brought my belongings downstairs (my room was upstairs), Okaasan said I looked really troubled with my belongings. Well, because of Hyaku-en Shop, my belongings were getting bigger.^^’ It could not be help, there were a lot of cute items in Japan, and this was my first time going abroad, and it was to Japan! Japan was my childhood dream! So, coming to Japan for me was such a dream came true.
Well, I was carrying 3 bags, plus a suitcase, meanwhile I had to walk a lot as I should use public transportation. Whereas in Yokohama, there was still one bag that had a large size. Then, Okaasan quickly looked for her bag that could be used. Items that at first were not possible to fit, they were fitted in the bag by Okaasan magic’s hands. She had a great skills in packing things. Jaa and I were stunned to see her skill. Okaasan who realized, immediately laughed. She said that she was used to pack things for her husband when he travelled far away. In the closet, there were a lot of bags. I was given two bags from Okasasan. My previous bags that I used were paper and plastic bags, which meant, they were so easy to be torn. This was because most of the weird stuffs I bought … ^^’ Well, it was for souvenirs though! Haha.. Well, it was my first time going abroad, and it was to Japan! Once you see funny and unique items that were not found in Indonesia, you ended up wanting to buy them. It was really different with Jaa who only brought one big travel bag, she did not really bother with belongings. Suddenly, Okaasan gave us a package as a souvenir. Thank you so much Okaasan! :”) Well, I was really curious, what it was, hehe.
After finished, Jaa and I were driven by Okaasan to Tottori station at 10.15. All Tottori chapter participants were already there. We were guided by Momo-san. Suddenly, came the volunteer sister whose name was Aiko-san. She is a Japanese-American. While waiting for the train, I was not saying much things. I just smiled, took pictures of friends, and told them that we had to keep communicating with each other. When I was busy waiting, I accidentally looked at the tour map of Tottori. I saw a brochure of the Aoyama Gosho Museum. In the brochure, it was shown some parts of Aoyama Gosho museum. Wow, it was indeed Professor Agasha’s car!
photo source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gosho_Aoyama_Manga_Factory.jpg
Conan’s equipment were all made by Professor Agasha, like vocal cords, skateboards, etc. There were also miniatures of characters in Detective Conan made of sand. No wonder, Tottori is famous for sand dunes!
Now I remember what the students at Yazu High School once said when I said I like Detective Conan. They said ‘he is from here, and there is museum’. At first, I didn’t realize what they meant because of language barrier. And after seeing the brochure … Hmmm …now I understand what they meant! Huwaaaa, I really want to go there!!!! If I understood what the students said back then, I would say that I wanted to go to the museum when Okaasan asked where we wanted to go on free day. Well … I guessed this was a sign that I had to come back here soon. Hiiiks, Suddenly I didn’t want to go home, I still wanted to be here. There were still things I didn’t know much about Japan.
From Tottori Station, we took the Densha (electric train), then got off at Himeji Station, followed by Shinkansen to Yokohama. On the way, I saw a lot of rice fields and rivers. Everything was neatly arranged and clean. Moreover, the river was very clear. It made you wanted to play in the river.
When I was at Shinkansen, there was train attendant passing by, offering a variety of food and drinks. There was ice cream, too. The kind-hearted New Zealand teacher who sat in front of me said that she wanted to buy ice cream and treated me as well. Wow, thank you very much! But it turned out that the ice cream was only one left, since it had been ordered by other people. She gave it to me. I didn’t feel good. But when I wanted to give back the ice cream, she said no, she wanted to give it to me. Hwaaa, thank you very much Ma’am. She treated me, yet she could not get the ice cream for herself.
During Jenesys program, I found many kind people. The foreigners I met were all friendly. It felt like everyone was like a brother and sister to me… ^^ When I was busy trying to see the scenery, Momo-san said that we would pass Shizuoka and saw Mt. Fuji. Wow, I was so curious! When our train passed by, Mt.Fuji was covered with clouds. I could only see the top.
Mount Fuji behind the Clouds
Finally, we arrived at Yokohama! Momo-san said Yokohama was the biggest prefecture after Tokyo. From the station, we walked to the hotel. The hotel name was Prince Hotel Yokohama. Along the way, I found cigarette butts. But well, only that garbage was on the road, if we did not pay close attention, we would not realize. It turned out that in Japan there were many men who smoked. Hufft ~ smokers were everywhere. Not in Indonesia, not in Japan, a lot of people smoked. How strange, how can smokers keep smiling even though they have poisoned the air. Fortunately, in Japan there were many smoking rooms. So it reduced the smoke. Hopefully Indonesia will have a lot of smoking rooms for those who smoke.
Arrived at Prince Hotel Yokohama, I saw that the building of the hotel was very unique. The first and second floors were department stores. I got a room on the 20th floor. Before that, we had to go to the 10th floor to get things that we didn’t bring during homestay in Japanese host family. On the way, I met Fajar and Anna, Indonesian students. I immediately came to them and spoke Indonesian as I pleased. How could I not be very happy, I hadn’t heard Bahasa Indonesia during homestay. Everywhere I heard English and Japanese.
It seemed that not all students came yet. When I checked the room card on the envelope, it was stated that I would be in the same room again with Raysha, a student from Jakarta chapter. The room was still empty. It seemed she hadn’t arrived yet. Indeed, she arrived two hours later. During that time, I was chatting with other Indonesian students. It hadn’t been a long time since I met Indonesian. Hehe. It was only 5 days homestay, yet I missed Indonesian students. It was very exciting to hear each of their stories about their hostfamily.
After dinner, there was an evening study. We were told to write anything we experienced during homestay. I sat back in the restaurant with the students from CM 10. The children in CM 10 had their homestays in Tottori, Matsue, Izumo, and Gifu. We had to write the most unique moments we experienced during our homestay. Those who wanted to write a letter for their host family, the Jenesys Committee would send the writings. Therefore, I wrote a letter for Okaasan and Otousan, to express my great gratitude for them. I learnt a lot of valuable things from them.
Actually, I had planned to share experiences with other Indonesian students. However, as it was very late evening study, I felt really sleepy. I wasn’t strong enough to sleep later … This day was really enjoyable.^^ The next day the study tour would take place in Yokohama. I hoped that It would be more exciting. 😀
Next : Yokohama Tours
Previous : Tottori Chapter Closing
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