I left off the last post with the hope that we would find my exchange student Chikage’s, missing camera…but first, the next morning we woke up to bacon, orange juice and pancakes for breakfast. It was a very delicious and traditional American breakfast and Chikage loved it too. When she ate with fork and knife she cut everything delicately and used impeccable manners, she was always so proper and used her napkin like you would at a fancy restaurant. It made me feel a bit foolish and clumsy and rude.
Jens Steinbeisser via Compfight
Anyway, we got to school and this camera could not be found anywhere! I could tell Chikage was upset and I felt bad too, especially since today was the joint school field trip to Sea Life Park, an aquarium and marine conservation facility. We put our worries aside and tried to enjoy the day. We got to see dolphins jump out of the water, baby turtles swim, and lots of sharks! I really enjoyed this field trip because it was also my first time at the aquarium! When we returned to school from the field trip, the Japanese exchange students and all of the middle school students were invited to a school dance in our Social Hall. It was a bit loud and crazy for me, so I was glad when my dad picked us up a little bit early from school. We told my dad about the missing camera and we searched the car again…and guess what? We found that the camera had rolled all the way under the seat and since it was the same color as the car mat we had totally overlooked it! Whew! Only that it was the last day and she hadn’t been able to take any pictures and now the battery was dead. We went home to charge the camera and finish the homestay. Chikage really wanted to do more shopping and so we
celebrated our last day walking around my home town, buying souvenirs from all gift shops, and devouring rainbow shave ice from our town’s famous, Matsumoto’s Shave Ice store. Later that night, we drove to Ka’ena Point and Waimea Bay to take some pictures of the sunset and play in the sand one last time.
For our last dinner, Chikage requested hamburgers and French fries which we all agreed was a great idea. After dinner, she presented my family with more beautiful presents from Japan! We gratefully received chopsticks with fancy designs, a Spring themed tapestry, stickers, and some exotic flavored cookie wafers. We had been very busy the last two days and wanted to say our goodbyes but I could barely stay awake. My little brother had made Chikage lots of origami and my mom did all of her laundry. Chikage stayed up really late packing and writing goodbye and thank you notes to each one of us. I reminded her not to forget her camera and make sure she got all her stuff packed and ready to go for the morning.
The next morning we slept in as much as possible before we had to pack up her suitcase and fly out the door. We grabbed Starbucks for breakfast because Chikage really wanted to try their matcha mocha and breakfast sandwich. When we arrived at school, all the students headed to the Social Hall for a farewell ceremony complete with donuts for the exchange students. I hugged Chikage goodbye and watched as all of the pen pals boarded the bus. As the bus began to pull out of the driveway, it started to rain but we all ran after the bus until we could no longer see our new friends faces anymore. It was sad that Chikage had to leave so soon, but I was happy that I got to show her around and experience hosting a foreign exchange student. I hope that if you have the chance to host a student from another place that you give it a try! You will definitely learn new things about your homestay and even about yourself!