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| By: Darleen Athila Leng. | |
| Hi!
I’m Darleen Athila Leng From Kuching, Sarawak. I went for the HIPPO
Home Stay Programme in Saitama, Japan from 30th May to 7th June 2003. I stayed with the SUGANO family in Saitama, Japan. Saitama is a city just north of Tokyo. It’s only a 40-minute ride in a train from Tokyo. My family consisted of Mama, a flower arrangement teacher, Papa a sales-engineer. Miho, their 8 year old daughter, Grandma Aiko who taught the sewing-of-kimono and grandpa Ryoichi who has retired and always travelling abroad. (He just got back from Peru). I stayed in a high-tech apartment on the 7th floor. My little bedroom was exactly like most Japanese room with paper thin door and I slept on tatami mat on the floor. The bathroom has a bathtub where we could control the temperature of the water. It also could be used as a mini hotspring. Even the toilet was carpeted and the temperature of the toilet bowl-seat could be controlled too. When you stepped into the house the lights immediately turned on. Mama was a great cook. She taught me how to make sushi. Most of the time, it was Mama who brought me around because Papa was always at work and he only come home after 9pm. Miho was always in school. In Japan I visited Asakusa which is a ’Sumo town’. Coincidentally that day, the ’Tiger Woods’ of Sumo wrestling was retiring at the age of 29 and he was still the defending champion. A lot of people came to watch the ceremony where the Sumo wrestler’s hair was cut, bit by bit by his family members and all the other ministers in Japan. I also visited Asakusa temple and got to see lots of Japanese dainty statue. I even got my fortune told and guess what I got? Good fortune!!! Apart from that, I also visited Edo Wonderland, a park which is a replica of an old Japanese Village. Most of all I enjoyed my visit to Tokyo Disneyland where I got to see Dinsey’s Electrical Parade. Woww!! It was really breathtaking! My whole week in Japan was a blast! Everything went well and ended well. There wasn’t a time where I ever got bored. Everything there was so new to me, the weather, the culture and environment and even the way the Japanese dressed, attracted my attention i.e. with their golden hair and really mini and tight clothes! Overall I really enjoyed my stay in Japan. I wish I could stay longer. In Japan,I learned about their culture and history. I also learned that Japanese are really friendly, nice and hospitable. I hope that Malaysia will start a HIPPO club soon and I hope I can visit Japan again. I am still keeping in touch with mama and her family via e-mail and hope to be back there soon. |
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