Haruto – Sept 18th

Today is respect for the elderly day, and I’m going to respect my weary ass by not going out at all. This is all for the best, since not only are there no plans, but most places are closed on a holiday such as this. I woke up a bit later than usual and had breakfast with everyone, learning the word “hashigo,” which means ladder, but refers to the Japanese style of bar-hopping I was introduced to the previous night.

My host-brother Yusuke came up from Kawasaki with his family to visit. I was excited, not only to meet him and his wife and child, but also because he was the only one in the family who knew how to get the damned wireless network going; no one else even knew where the router was! I’m already sympathizing with him. We finally got the network up and running, and now I’m sailing on the family’s neglected fiber-optic connection. The second I jumped on I got several instant messages from people, welcoming me back to the internet. After briefly saying hi to everyone online and checking my e-mail, I excused myself to go downstairs to spend some time with the family.

Yusuke’s 1.5 year old son Haruto is one of the most adorable children I’ve ever encountered. Never before did I truly grasp the phrase “食べちゃいたい” Look for yourselves, the kid is a doll. He was a little shy at first, but by the time they left, he was shaking my hand and giving high-fives. He’s not quite yet able to speak, so every word for him is a single syllable or “mama,” even his poor dad is “mama.” Haruto loves grapes, or 葡萄 (budou), but he just says “bu! bu!” Freaking precious.

That’s about all for today, I had a lovely time and I can’t wait to meet them again. Now that I have the internet again, I have to set up this journal and get to work catching up on events past.