Joy in the Journey . . .: Homestay

Well, the tables turned and I feel like we're officially 'all grown up' now. I know we do have two kids of our own and all, but there's something about taking on responsibility for someone else's child that makes me feel like a real adult.

Shiori, our beautiful exchange student from Tokyo City University is hardly a child, but I did hear her referring to us as 'mama and papa', and I quite enjoyed taking her under my wing as another child.

Jason and I have both been exchange students as young adults. Jason, during his college years, spent a month in Japan, and later some time here in Australia. I spent a month in Japan when I was 16, and then an entire year in prairie Canada when I was 17. Both my Japanese and Canadian host families took me in as their own; our relationships spanning FAR beyond the weeks and months spent under their roof.

While living in Japan after graduating from university, I would receive phone calls from my host father who lived many prefectures away. "Nicole, tomorrow it will snow, please don't wear high heels and take care!" "Nicole, are you eating well?" They sent me boxes of seasonal fruit and other goodies during my years in Japan. When it was time for me to leave, they journeyed by bullet train to Tokyo to say goodbye...this was ten years after we first connected with their family.

And Canada . . . well, I can't think back on that homestay experience without a lot of emotion. I quickly fell in love with my host family. My family sacrificed a lot for me to have that experience and my host family sacrificed also in keeping me as their own. The goodbyes were gut wrenching (it still kind of hurts to think about it). But little did I know this wasn't the end! I ended up visiting them every summer during university, and after graduating, I lived in Japan with my host sister, Jenny. We got to show her mom, Cheryl, around on a visit she made to Japan (including a very memorable trip to an onsen together!) Jenny was my maid of honor in 2002 and I was hers a couple of years later! NEVER would have dreamed these things! I didn't know when I said goodbye to them in 1995, that 7 years later, we would both be living in the US, just a seven hour drive from each other. Two years ago, in Oklahoma, I watched my kids hunt Easter eggs with Jenny's girls, and sit and read books with my host mom and dad. Amazing!

All that reminiscing to say, we've had wonderful experiences as the student and were so excited about being the host family!

And a wonderful experience it has been. We have been so blessed having Shiori in our home. She is a 2nd year University student studying Early Childhood and our kids LOVE her. Ella looked at me in disbelief when I told her Shiori would be returning to Japan tomorrow morning.

Shiori has read books to them in English and Japanese and sung songs. They have done origami. She has come to ballet and swimming. She has just fit right in . . . helping with dishes, made some sushi, and played games with us at night. She has endured a bit of crying from the kids, been patient with our very lived in home and been exposed to some immodesty from my son :-)

A sweet experience and tomorrow we'll say not 'goodbye' but 'Ja ne', because for all we know she'll be that boomerang exchange student like I was that just keeps on coming back! So glad we could do this!