I woke up at 3:30 again and tried to go back to sleep. At 4:30, I went to the bathroom and there were already people standing in the hallway talking. By 5, it was a gathering. They didn't appear to notice that there were still people trying to sleep.
At 7, we were called to a Japanese breakfast. It was almost exactly like dinner except for a few minor changes. It was still hard to eat. Japanese people think we eat salad for breakfast. That's nasty. The only glasses that seem to be in this whole hotel are these little Sapporo things, barely bigger that a shot glass. They were in our rooms and given to us at dinner. Apparently, Japanese people 1) don't drink with meals and 2) drink water from tiny glasses afterwards. It was the same way at the restaurant Mohi and I went to in Narita.
After breakfast, we were told about what to do & not to do among other scary things, and then we met our host families. My host mother was there but not host father. We had to wait for 2 other mothers to pick up students and we left in a group of 5 in 2 cars. My host mother hoisted my suitcase in the back of her compact car like it was full of air. I felt like a wuss. The mothers talked about how big we are, including me, at 60 inches. We drove to a train station and they helped us buy train passes [Karen's host family lives in Nanae, a suburb of Hakodate proper (where the HIF offices are); thus she commutes via JR local rail]. At the time, I had no idea why we were doing it, or what was going on. After that, they took us to eat one of my least favorite foods, sushi. I tried to eat what was given me, but my stomach started acting up again, so I went hungry. I could barely understand a word that was said. The other two students seemed to be getting along spendidly, but then again, I could understand their mothers way better than my own. I felt even worse. In the car, my host mother said some things to me. She speaks informally to me and not clearly at all, and she finally gave up. I was fighting back tears when we got to their office.
My family owns some kind of building manufacturing business and they all work there. I met my host father and brother. My father is really nice, but my brother seems like a rough character. I sat for a while, and then she took me home. I was given a room with a cupboard, kotatsu, hard folding bed, a futon, and some terrycloth blankets. My family sleeps in beds and has no tatami room. They must have money, because they own a house in the suburbs and 3 cars. In their house, there is literally crap everywhere. Stacked up in corners, cupboards jam packed, hallways, rooms. There are also trash cans everywhere. One in each room for every type of trash imaginable. They're also fanatical about curtains. There are curtains in the doorway of every room and on bookshelves. And it looks like ass-heater-washer-dryer toilets are common in Japan. My family has one and I saw some in commercials for bathroom cleaners. It's really pointless for me to watch TV here. It just makes me more miserable.
She left me alone and went back to work. I cried for an hour, cursing every person who made me make this stupid trip.
When she got home, I asked if I could help her. Do what I didn't know. She gave me an apron and put me to work washing dishes in cold greasy water. After that was done, I sliced some vegetables and grated some daikon.
Dinnertime was a fiasco. I was fighting back tears and puke and trying to be good natured about their asking me questions I couldn't understand. I was offered soy milk, doughnuts and bread because they thought I wasn't eating because I didn't like the Japanese food. While that was true, I could've eaten it were I not about to throw up. I tried to eat slowly, but I didn't get much down. I sat so long that the other family members started doing whatever they do after dinner while I stared at my food feeling miserable and embarrassed. They kept saying it was ok, but I didn't feel like it was ok. Finally, I covered the food that could be saved, and cleaned the dishes I used and washed some more dishes. After that ordeal, I presented my gifts of jam and grits to my father. Neither he nor my mother really understood what the grits were or where Georgia is.
I had a shower in the bath-room thing. It was fairly pleasant. I didn't get into the tub, though. Then I went to my room and thought about writing this, but I fell asleep soon after I sat down. I woke up at 2:30 and have been awake ever since. (Today is 6/21)