A trip to Obaasan's!

So...on Saturday the Fama nd I went to visit OKaasan's Mother. I call her Obaasan(which means grandma in japanese-though I'm not sure if Im supposed to call her this or not).

We first met her at a chinese buffet. Real chinese food is good, and less greasy...I mean, american chinese food is good too but I get the feeling that the stuff we had here was at least a little bit healthier. It was delicous and I also got to meet OKaasan's dad. He was nice and friendly. The first thing he said, I think, was that I had a slim face. I'm not sure what that means...^.^

After lunch we went to their house which is more traditional than my family's house. I liked it. They showed us a ton of pictures. apparently OKaasan's dad loves taking pictures, and he even took some there! It was fun and I saw pictures of OKaasan when she was young and some wedding photos. She looked gorgeous!

After awhile we all went to an electronic store where the grandparents bought Manami a new Laptop. I think it was a coming of age gift or something...I'm not really sure. It's nice though.

Finally we went to an Onsen, for my first public bathing experience. Manami was with me and at first I felt a little awkward getting naked in front of her plus all the strangers in the onsen(same sex only). Acfter awhile though, I got used to it. It just wasn't a big deal, there were old people, young people, kids, fat people, skinny people. It just wasn't a big deal. The onsen was really relaxing. I could totally see how someone might just sit there all day long. We tried the Sauna as well but that was a lot less relaxing. I couldnt breath and the smell of wood was so strong I could taste it. IT was choking.

For those of you that don't know...because not even I knew it that perfectly...here's the order of Onsen bathing(at least at this place):
First, you shower and rinse off.
Then you get in the onsen and sauna and whatever.
Then you shower and actually wash and rinse off.
Then you get into a different onsen which is more like a tub with jets.

And that is the order. IT was a tad confusing but Manami was there to help me along.

After the Onsen we all went home and that night I went to a party with people from my Japanese class. It was fun. I had a bit of wine but couldn't stomach much more than that. Because it was at a friends aparment and his whole family is in town, I even got to eat some turkey and mashed potatoes. That made me really happy.

It was a great day.
^.^