 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
My Host Mother Laura Ann LaBianca If there were a way to describe the incredible experience that I had during my trip to Japan, I would say it. But it is unexplainable. There are no words that can explain the inspiration received when you have a three-hour conversation with your host mother. But this conversation is unlike all others because my host mother understood about twenty words of English. We shared simple things about our lives through ways of charades and electronic translators. Our favorite word was "Mo ee- yo", which means "stop" in English. Sometimes both of us would forget and ramble on in our own native language. This caused the other one to be forced to say "Mo- ee- yo" which ended the conversation in laughter. On Sunday, I spent the entire day with the family. My host mother
was very interested in everything about my family, especially
my mother. At night, after figuring out how to change the computer
to English, I helped my host mother write an email to my mother
at home in the United States. Both mothers were completely delighted.
While my host student, Miyuki, completing her homework, my host mother and I would talk well past midnight. Through our conversations, I found that she was much like my own mother. She was caring, clever, sensitive, and very inquisitive. At first her questions were surface questions about how to play lacrosse and what my school is like. Gradually, after my host mother saw my pictures from home and assuring her many times that she could not offend me in anyway, she began to ask more personal questions about things like my family, friends, and my boyfriend. She loved to know about my day, about what I did back in the United States, and loved to share stories from her own life. Most of all she loved her family and the Japanese customs. Without my host mother, my trip to Japan would not have been as memorable. Thank you, my host mom! |
 |
