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Today at 10:15am, Kazuya and Jun boarded the Amtrak train and left to San Francisco.
They arrived on Thursday, August 4th. My mom and I went to Jastro park to pick them up. There was a bus and outside were the Japanese students grouped together. I stood in the back, very nervous since I was new to hosting foreign exchange students.
The board members called their name "Jun Ueda and Kazuya Anahara." They walked over to me, cuter than their profile picture I got in the mail!

They grabbed their suitcases and walked over to the car. We left the park and I tried asking them some questions... I was shocked to discover that they understood little English. I asked them in Japanese "What do you usually do on the weekends?" and they told me they go to the Library. Kazuya understood pretty much nothing that I asked except for introduction questions. Jun was easier to talk to because he could respond effectively and ask more questions in English.

Kazuya loved Abbie (my dog) and the kittens I have. He took more pictures of them than anything else. lol. He was real camera shy and didn't like to be recorded.
Jun looked shy but he is outgoing and watching him put effort to communicate was so cute. They were both so cute! But Jun was adorable.

We went to the grocery store and they found that interesting. Seeing things they've never seen before. We let them choose some food that they wants to try. Bought them Hot Pockets, Pears, Apples, Chocolate chip cookies, Dr.Pepper (they said it tasted like Japanese Wine.. I'd love our alcohol if it tasted like that lol) and Sierra mist Natural. They enjoyed every food that they tried. Kazuya especially loved Chocolate Mousse (Jell-O temptations), Cherry 7-Up, and Sees candy Lollipops.
Jun liked Pancakes, Ritz cheese crackers, and the Fuze Tropical Blend drink. We made cupcakes for the potluck that was for the all of the host families and they caught on quick. They decorated half of the cupcakes and they came out beautiful!

I'm sure they had a good time! We took Abbie for a walk to the store and to my grandma's house. We went to the Valley Plaza, East Hills mall, Cataldo's Pizza, and to the super Target/Walmart. Jun bought some sports gear, chocolates for his girlfriend, and some presents for his family and friends. Kazuya didn't buy much actually because he didn't have too much money.

They made dinner on Sunday night, Japanese food and dessert.
They made Udon Soup and Mochi balls. The Udon was DELICIOUS. It tasted better than Ramen. I ate a bowl, and they made some for my mom who also loved it! The Mochi balls had an interesting taste.. they were cold with the texture of Jell-O, which is dipped in a sweet powder made from beans that tasted like coffee.

Kazuya and Jun were so sweet.. They brought me gifts from Japan. Folding fans for my family, origami books and paper, a picture, two Yukatas and some reusable chop sticks. They got me to watch Death Note with them, watched 15 episodes.

The last night they were here, we went to dinner with the Sister City board members and all of the host families with students at Hodels for free. I felt so happy to have the last dinner with them. Deborah, one of the board members, told everyone the email I sent her over the microphone. I wrote to her how nervous I was the first day, but as time went by I knew that Kazuya and Jun enjoyed staying at my house. She said that my email brought tears to her eyes because I told her that I want them to stay forever and that I want to host Japanese students every year.
(The reason she called me to host Kazuya and Jun was because the family canceled due to a death. Well.. I'm so glad that I was able to have them stay in my home.)
Continuing with dinner, each pair of students went up to the front table and were asked to write in Kanji (Japanese characters) describing in two words what they liked best of their host families. When it was Jun and Kazuya's turn to go up, they wrote the sweetest thing about our family: "Joy and Happiness". I almost teared up.

We got home and my mom and I went to Target while they went to my house with my Grandma. I bought both of them gift bags. For Jun I bought him a T-shirt with the CRUSH logo on it, playing cards, Ritz cheese crackers, colored pencils (he loves to draw like me! We stood up late drawing one night lol) and a Fuze drink.
I bought Kazuya a T-shirt with the Sprite logo, playing cards, Chips Ahoy cookies, a Fuze drink and I bought both of them a farewell card with a message I written in Japanese. The wall scroll of Sora from Chain of Memories I've had for six years, I gave it to Kazuya as a gift because he wanted it so much. We then stayed up until like 2am watching Death Note for the last night.

We got up early to drop them off at the train station, we took some pictures and said our good-byes. All of the Japanese girls were crying so much, the males didn't have really sadness. lol. But I couldn't hold back my tears.. I cried and gave both of them two hugs as they left on their train to San Francisco.

There is a big possibility that next year the host families will be able to visit Wakayama, Japan where all of the students live. I hope to visit there. It's my dream vacation and I would love to see Jun and Kazuya once again!