Having a Host Family
I’m glad if you like it.
I sent a Christmas card with a small gift, green tea, to my host family in Germany as a surprise. I know they love green tea.
I went to Tsukiji market with my friend the other day and stopped by a green tea shop where me and host parents had visited together. I flashed back to the time and wanted to give the green tea to them.
When I received a Thank-you e-mail from them, I felt so warm. On the card I sent, as I also wrote about the time when we first met at Hamburg central station, both we laughed looking back at that situation.
In Sep, 2003, I went to Germany, which was my first time to go there, to do an internship through a university program, although I was a poor speaker of German. I cannot believe myself I made such a decision! Anyway, I arrived at Frankfurt and I was supposed to meet up with my host family at Hamburg central station. But my train ticket was not booked somehow and I needed to take another train. A local coordinator kindly made a call to my host family, and then I waited to take another train alone for a few hours… When I was on a train going to Hamburg, I felt worried if I could meet them. I had no idea how they looked like. When my train arrived at the station, my host father was waiting at a usual platform, but he heard the announcement and it said my train arrived at another platform! He rushed carrying a little daughter in one hand and a little hand-made Japanese flag in another hand. When I got off the train, I walked by a man and a little girl holding two little Japanese flags. So, I turned back and spoke to them like “Excuse me? Are you looking for me?” That was my first words! LOL. I did not mention even my name or who I was!! But, yea, they were looking for me ;-)
I stayed in Germany for one month and I had a lot of experiences there. Because of my poor German, I had a hard time to go through, but thanks to my host family, every experience became good memory. I enjoyed the time.
Dear my host family,
Thank you for being my host family even though you had a hard time to manage many things happening in your family at the time. I am so lucky to have got to know you. There are billions of people in this world, but we met. Like you said, we had good communication all together. I enjoyed talking with you after coming back from internship every night, and spending time with you all weekends.
Looking at our picture, I often think of you. I’ll keep in touch, and someday, I will visit you again.
Tons of love.
Thank you so much for sending them to me from Germany. I’m missing you and thinking of you.
Thank you so much for sending them to me from Germany. I’m missing you and thinking of you.
