1st Day in Japan

Hello everyone! Starting tomorrow I have Orientation for school so I won't be able to write daily. I wanted to write a little about my first day with my host family while it was still fresh on my mind. They made me feel right at home :)
Etsuko-San is very pretty and SMALL. She came out the door when my taxi pulled up and met me. She took me inside, hefting one of my big bags herself. She showed me the downstairs, my room, the shared tub, and my toilet area right as Toru-San, her husband came home. He was very excited and quickly came and shook my hand. He spoke to me in Japanese and I said, thanks to Yuka teaching me, "Nihongo benkyou chu desu." Which means "I'm still studying Japanese." Toru-San got very excited and complimented my accent. He then gave me a big grin and said in English "I speak Japanese." He made me, Etsuko-San, and the teacher from Otemon laugh. They took me upstairs into the kitchen where I was shown around. Etsuko-San was explaining things to me when Toru-San cut in, pulling the pens from his pocket and insisted, with his silly grin, that they were his work pens. He's very sarcastic and funny. I really liked him right away.
Etsuko-San gave me Ocha and offered me some chocolate. I was still so sick from the plane ride that I couldn't eat anything. I managed to sip some of the tea and sat while my Sensei spoke in very fast Japanese to my host family about my schedule and what I needed to have done. Once she left, around 8 PM, I went off to bed, much to the clear disappointment of my host parents. I could tell they wanted to talk to me but I was standing by sheer force.
I climbed into bed, which is very hard but strangely comfortable, and rode the airplane all over again until I fell asleep. I woke up, about two hours later after a short nap. I could hear my host parents upstairs and, since they had been so welcoming, I felt comfortable going to meet them. I went up and instantly saw the happiness spread across their faces. Toru-San was in his pajamas and doing some work at the table. Etsuko-San asked if I was hungry and I, feeling a little better after sleeping, said I was. She gave me fresh fruit, made me a grilled ham sandwhich, and a cup of water. Toru-San asked about what kind of food I can't eat, their last student was a vegetarian and it seems it was very difficult for them. He recalled that on my application I said that I like Inarizushi (pickled tofu with white rice) and was very excited, calling me his Inarizushi loving exchange student.
I gave them the presents I had bought as a thank you, two bags of ice cream flavored hard candy, and two shot glasses from Utah (One that says Salt Lake City and one with the Arches). They were very pleased and Toru-San immediately filled up one of the glasses, after washing it, with Sake. He said it was perfect for Sake and was very excited about the arches picture on the glass. They asked me many questions about Utah, my family, my home etc. Toru-San even pulled up Google Maps and used used the satellites to look at an outdated picture of my house. They were amazed at the size and the number of children in the family. They also commented on the road width and laughed about how small the town was. They were amazed that I could get to college in 5 minutes.
Etsuko-San asked what my major was and I told her Japanese. They were very pleased with this information and asked what I wanted to do with it. I told them that it was my dream to teach English in Japan someday. They praised this idea and insisted that many people want to learn English. Toru-San leaned over and whispered loudly, "I have a secret to tell you." I asked what it was. He insisted it was top secret and then told me that he is a high school teacher. He made us all laugh so hard. He's very funny and it's sweet because even Etsuko-San talks about how funny he is when he's not around :) Toru-San showed me pictures of his class and told me about his students a little. I expressed and interest in seeing it sometime and he offered to take me to meet them, saying that they would love to practice their English with me.
I asked about their son, he's grown up and living in Tokyo. He sells tickets for all kinds of sports events in Japan and travels a lot doing so. It seems like a very good job and I can tell they are proud. They were shocked to find out my age, insisting that I looked so young. I am only one year younger then their son. I stayed up until around 12 talking to them and then we all went to bed.
The next morning I woke up at 5 AM to the sound of a motorcycle tearing through the neighborhood and a police siren. I feel back asleep but only for half an hour and then I was wide awake. I got up, rearranged my room, since Etsuko-San said I could, and put all my stuff away. It's very hot here right now though so by then, between being so ill the day before, and moving a bed and table I was very sweaty and hot. So I took my very first shower in Japan! For those of you who don't know, bathing and showering in Japan is very different then in the US. You should look it up for further details. Since it's such a different experience it was a lot of fun :) After I showered I got ready and went upstairs. Etsuko-San complimented me, saying I was so cute, and helped me find some breakfast. I haven't had an apatite, since the flight, but I forced myself to eat some food. I had fruit and another sandwhich. Very simple and easy on the stomach.
Etsuko-San then took me outside to show me around the neighborhood a little. We brought along Tommy, her dog, who is 14 years old and so cute. It will be easy to get lost in Japan I think but everything is so beautiful it wouldn't be too bad lol. The trees are so different, the streets are narrow, there are always people on bikes, and all these tiny cars. Pictures cannot do it justice. When we got back home we cleaned the kitchen a little and I helped put away the dishes. Etsuko-San teaches English to housewives through out the day and at 9:30 the first group 4 very kind middle aged woman, came to the house. They were all very enthusiastic about meeting me and the first hour of the lesson Etsuko-San let them ask me all sorts of questions. It was a lot of fun to see and hear their reactions. Japanese people speak a lot in just sounds. So when I would say something they thought was interesting the whole room would fill with "Ahhh!" from all their mouths. I sat in for the lesson in which they translated a newspaper story from English to Japanese. It seemed very difficult, to me at least, and I was amazed at their diligence. They all spoke very good English and Etsuko-San told me that they come to her house just for practice and study.
I ended up telling them that I was religious and this seemed to impress them. They asked what religion and I told them Mormon. One of the women knew about the religion and Etsuko-San said that she had been to their church before. She said she could help me find it so I could attend services. They asked about rules and limitations that come from the religion. I told them that I don't drink alcohol and this made Etsuko-San seem happy as I said I don't mind if others drink at all and explained that it would be fun to go out with friends, even though I don't drink.
After that we went out to lunch. Etsuko-San showed me to the train station where we took the train and she showed me to the bus station where I would take my bus tomorrow for school. We went out for Udon Noodles for lunch, my first Japanese food, and it was so good! I felt bad that I could only manage to eat little more then half :( I had Beef Udon and Etsuko-San instructed me to slurp my noodles (Please forgive me Mom, I will be a slurper when I come home hehe). She bought me lunch and pointed out the Inarizushi for me to buy as well. It is as good as heaven :) While we were eating lunch I finished my glass of water and wanted more. Etsuko-San offered to refill it but I assured her I could. She explained to me how and I walked to the machine and pressed the button for water myself. It was funny because she watched me the whole time, making sure I would be alright, and I could tell she was very proud when I managed it. She's very motherly and sweet. I really love my host family already!
I bought a 3 month bus pass which cost 12,600 Yen (About $135) and that was painful. Curse you economy! Etsuko-San had me lead her home, making sure I would know my way and not get lost. She also taught me some words in Kansaiben (her dialect) but I can only remember one. Mecha atsui! Which means "It's really hot". Is that correct Trevor? I told her I want to learn Kansaiben and she was happy. It is very hot here still and humid. It's a little horrible lol. But it's also very nice because my skin is so soft already. But my hair is very fuzzy lol. Etsuko-San asked me if I minded people staring at me and I assured her I didn't. I said that I would just smile and wave to them. This pleased her and she told me that her last student, the vegetarian one, would get very irritated when people looked at her. It seems like they didn't really enjoy their last student a lot. But she took a picture of me at the restaurant because I couldn't help but grin from ear to ear. I was in Japan, surrounded by Japanese people, eating Udon. What a dream come true!
Sorry, this email was supposed to be short but I'm just so excited and happy about Japan! I posted a few pictures on Facebook, go check them out. I'll try to get pictures of my host parents soon. Hope all is well. Love and miss you guys. Keep me in your prayers.