Homestay Interview [USA]Michael Abbott

　I had an overwhelmingly positive experience with the Fumoto family. They were all wonderfully welcoming to a foreigner like me and truly brought me into their family. The mother made sure to cook as many (and as much) Japanese dishes as she could think of including takoyaki, okonomiyaki, unagi, sukiyaki, sazae, and many others. One night, she had the children and I attempt to make gyoza for her to cook, shown in the first attached photo. The children got me out of the house to play with me and show me what being seven and four years old in Japan is like. The family also made sure I had as complete an exposure to the culture as possible. They brought me to a family barbecue, pictured in the second attached photo, where we played suikawari, volleyball, and baseball and enjoyed some delicious cooked meat. They also took me on a day trip to Kyoto to visit two famous temples, Kinkakuji and Kiyomizu-dera (pictured in the third attached photo). Additionally, they organized a tour of the Asahi brewery and a nighttime visit to Banpaku kinen koen for a night carnival complete with fireworks. They always made sure to support me in my professional work by coming to see my final research presentation and personally, welcoming me home after climbing Mt. Fuji with a warm meal ready. Overall, I cannot say enough good things about this lovely family whom I will miss dearly.