Home Stay Report
Home Stay Report vol.1
June 17th, 2009
The Kasuga Family × Isabel
Isabel from Bilbao, Spain, is experiencing a home stay with Kasuga family in Tokyo. We visited them today to hear how they enjoy home stay.
| KAI: |
Thank you for your time today. I would first like to ask Isabel some questions. What made you want to study Japanese in the first place? |
| Isabel: |
I was always a big fan of Japanese manga and anime
since I was little. This was maybe my first interest in Japan. |
| KAI: |
When did you arrive in Japan? |
| Isabel: |
3 months ago. |
| KAI: |
Have you been staying here with Kasuga family since then? |
| Isabel: |
No, I’m doing home stay only for one month. |
| KAI: |
Why did you want to do home stay? |
| Isabel: |
I wanted to speak Japanese as much as I can. In fact, I can learn a lot of daily conversation here that might not necessarily be taught at school. |
| KAI: |
What do you talk about? |
| Isabel: |
Everything! |
| Kasuga: |
We talk a lot at dinner. We talk about our countries, family, food, hobby... We also talk about Japanese idols! |
| KAI: |
How’s communication in Japanese? |
| Kasuga: |
Isabel already spoke good Japanese when she arrived, so we had no problem from the beginning. |
| KAI: |
Isabel, you are studying Japanese in the morning class. How do you spend time after school? |
| Isabel: |
After lunch, I usually go out with friends and go home around 4 o’clock. |
| KAI: |
What do you do on weekends? |
| Isabel: |
Until now, I had a friend visiting from Spain, so I visited places with her. She is now back in Spain, so I think I would like to spend this weekend with Kasuga-san. |
| Kasuga: |
Good idea! What do you want to do? We can go see a movie or musical...what do you think? |
| Isabel: |
Sounds great! |
| KAI: |
Sounds like you two will have fun this weekend! |
| KAI: |
How do you like the meals here at Kasuga family? |
| Isabel: |
It’s really, really, really great!! |
| KAI: |
Do you always have breakfast and dinner at home? |
| Isabel: |
Yes! |
| KAI:： |
You seem really happy talking about food! |
| Isabel: |
It’s amazing how she has different menu every single day! She cooks a lot of Japanese dishes and I love it! |
| KAI: |
What is your favorite dish? |
| Isabel: |
Favorite? Only one? |
| KAI: |
Pick more if you want! |
| Isabel: |
I love gyoza! (To Ms. Kasuga) What was the pasta we had on Saturday? |
| Kasuga: |
Ah, the cream pasta? Carbonara! |
| Isabel: |
That’s right, carbonara! I love that! I also like what we have for breakfast...you call it pan crapes? |
| Kasuga: |
Pancakes? |
| Isabel: |
Yes, pancakes! That is so delicious! |
| KAI: |
Do you sometimes have Japanese for breakfast? |
| Kasuga: |
We usually have bread for breakfast and Japanese for dinner. |
| KAI: |
Do you cook together? |
| Kasuga: |
No, not yet! |
| KAI: |
Isabel, do you want to try Japanese cooking? |
| Isabel: |
Yes, why not! |
Beautifully arranged meals by Ms. Kasuga. No wonder Isabel’s face melts when talking about food!
| KAI: |
Is lifestyle in Japan different from Spain? |
| Isabel: |
In Spain, I live with my parents. Here I live with young people (Mr. and Mrs. Kasuga). I enjoy living with young people! |
| KAI: |
Is there anything that surprised you in Japan? |
| Isabel: |
Yes, of course, but not here with Kasuga san. Kasuga family is very much like my family in Spain. |
| Kasuga: |
Is that right? |
| Isabel: |
Yes! |
| KAI: |
What did you like the most about home stay? |
| Isabel: |
I really enjoy conversation at dinner. And of course the food!! |
| KAI: |
How much time do you spend for dinner? |
| Kasuga: |
We usually take 1 hour or 1.5 hours. |
| KAI: |
What time do you eat dinner? |
| Kasuga: |
Usually around 7pm. In Spain, you have dinner later than in Japan, right? Was it OK we eat earlier? |
| Isabel: |
No problem! |
| KAI: |
So three of you eat dinner together? |
| Kasuga: |
My husband comes home late, so it’s usually the two of us. |
| KAI: |
Isabel, where do you go out in Tokyo? |
| Isabel: |
I love Harajuku! |
| KAI:： |
Takeshita Street? |
| Isabel: |
Yes! I also love Shibuya and Shinjuku! |
| KAI: |
Is Tokyo very different from your city in Spain? |
| Isabel: |
Oh, it’s very different. For example, trains are not so crowded in Spain, but here, it’s packed at rush hour. |
| KAI: |
Do you have any message for students who want to do home stay? |
| Isabel: |
Everyday conversation with the host family is a lot of fun. It’s an excellent practice of Japanese. |
Isabel in her room.
| KAI: |
Now, I would like to ask Mrs. Kasuga. Is this the first time for you to host a student for a home stay? |
| Kasuga: |
We started having students stay with us about a year ago, but it’s our first time to join KAI Home Stay Program. |
| KAI: |
Why did you want to be a host family? |
| Kasuga: |
I was always interested in foreign countries. I’m from a very small town in the countryside. We had one foreign preacher in the town who gave English lessons at the church. I came to know about home stay through him and since then, I always wanted to try hosting foreign students one day. Now that I quit my job and moved to Tokyo with my husband, I thought this was the best time to try and realize my long-held dream. |
| KAI: |
How do you like your dream come true? |
| Kasuga: |
Being a host family is quite exciting for me. By communicating with people from all over the world, I feel like I’m experiencing foreign culture at home! |
| KAI: |
Isabel seems to be quite happy with your cooking. Could you talk a little bit about the meals? |
| Kasuga: |
I cook Japanese food maybe half the time. I think it could be too much if I cook Japanese all the time, so the other half, I make what the students are used to eat at home. |
Quiet neighborhood with shopping street all the way to the station.
| KAI: |
How do you make home stay fun? |
| Kasuga: |
I always wish for the students to have the best time and enjoy their stay in Japan. Every student has different purpose for coming to Japan. Some may be here for vacation, some for study, some others for anime or Japanese pop culture. I try to listen to their needs and spend time together to do activities best suited for each student. In my opinion, what we all care the most when traveling to foreign countries are safety, cleanliness and the food. If we are not satisfied with those three, the whole trip can become less interesting. So I pay most attention to those three aspects and try to provide students a comfortable stay here. |
| KAI: |
Any message for the students who will stay with your family? |
| Kasuga: |
Well, I love cooking, so if the students like food or cooking, we might be the right family to stay with. I can teach them Japanese cooking or simply try to cook what they would like to eat. |
Thank you Mrs. Kasuga and Isabel!
|
