Host Family
Since I came to Japan mainly to study the language, I thought that I should stay with a host family. With a host family, I would be immersed in the language; something I didn’t think I could find in the seminar houses. When I first went to meet my host family, I was so nervous that when we were introduced, I started to cry!
For the first week, I continued to be nervous. I wanted my host family to like me and I was so scared I’d do something wrong that I hardly spoke at all. My host mother eventually told me that I should relax. I would be living there for almost 4 months and they wanted me to be comfortable.
Slowly I adjusted to living with them, speaking Japanese (or trying to!) to them everyday, and getting to know everyone; my host parents, two sisters, brother, and even the dog!
I have heard that some people weren’t really able to get along with their host families. However, I’ve only had positive experiences with mine. They teach me lots, are friendly and caring, give me freedom, make me feel included and have been nothing but fantastic.
Although originally I planned to find alternate housing for my second semester at Kansai Gaidai, I love my host family so much that I chose to stay with them next semester as well.
For me, having a host family has been worth the sacrifices (like the long commute) and I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything!