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Family Christmas
Dec. 27th, 2009 05:54 pmToday was Christmas with the step-family. It was the first one I'd been to in a few years - or that other people had been to, so everyone was a lot older than before. Elizabeth is 14! (But looks at least 16), and Nicolas is 11. And 'Little' David (so called to differentiate him from his father) is a freshman in college! How time flies! While I feel slightly conflicted about the fact that my 14 yr old cousin likes the exact same music as I do, it made things much more entertaining, since we spent a lot of the time fangirling William Beckett (she has all of TAI TV on her iPod!) and Gabe (I told her my meeting Gabe story, and she was practically jumping up and down and swooning over him.) discussing Fall Out Boy. (She feels that they have never been better than 'Take This To Your Grave'. I feel that she was 10 when that came out.) and listening to her story about how she went to Warped with a co-worker of her mother's, who is in her early 20's (the co-worker, not her mother) Travis stole the co-worker's drink. (who is apparently very attractive.
"If you saw her, you'd know why he stole her drink." Toni told me.)Talking to Little David was nice, he's so old now! I also learned from him that Spencer, one of the cousins who moved out to Cali years ago and was never heard from again, by me at least, who is David's age, is in a 'metal/trash/screamo' band who spent last summer touring the country in a van. (They've since broken up for college.) Hee. Meanwhile, Elizabeth has a friend Stefan who is in a band who plays shows in Philly, and Toni (her mom) wants her to sing with them, since she has a nice voice and having a female and male vocalists would give them greater versatility. The whole world is in a band now. LOL
ETA: Just got off the phone with Okaasan. She said they're able to carry on with life just the same as before, which was good to hear, because I was worried. Haru-chan left high school in October, and next year she's going to start at the Yoyogi Animation School, where she will learn to be a mangaka for real. She said she knows what she wants to do and sees no reason to waste time in college when she can start learning the skills to be a manga artist now. Apparently she wants to write doujinshi for this big site, I think it was called Comic Market?
Okaasan was thrilled to hear where I work, she told me to make connections and learn business know how because she wants Haru-chan and I to go into business together some day. She even said she'd put up the capital if it was a venture she thought would succeed! LOL
She said she really misses me, and when we talked about when I was coming to Japan next, she said cheerfully, "Well, Japan won't go away, so you can come any time. It's never too late." She said Haru-chan really wants to go to Hawaii, which had surprised her a little because they have so many memories there as a family. She though that it might be too hard to go just with Haru-chan, but that if I was there with them it would be a lot of fun and plus, they wouldn't have any language problems. She said she wants to meet up there maybe sometime near next Christmas, and told me to save up the money for the flight and she'd take care of the hotel. Who knows if it will really happen, but I was touched that she'd thought of it.
We hung up with promises to keep in touch better, both glad that the other seemed just the same as always and to be doing well.
By the time the conversation was drawing to a close, I had a smile on my face and a warmth in heart. I feel so lucky to have had her and Otosan as my host family. I haven't spoken to her in over a year and yet she was just the same warm, upbeat Okaasan as always. They really are my Japanese family, in feeling, not just in name.
"If you saw her, you'd know why he stole her drink." Toni told me.)Talking to Little David was nice, he's so old now! I also learned from him that Spencer, one of the cousins who moved out to Cali years ago and was never heard from again, by me at least, who is David's age, is in a 'metal/trash/screamo' band who spent last summer touring the country in a van. (They've since broken up for college.) Hee. Meanwhile, Elizabeth has a friend Stefan who is in a band who plays shows in Philly, and Toni (her mom) wants her to sing with them, since she has a nice voice and having a female and male vocalists would give them greater versatility. The whole world is in a band now. LOL
ETA: Just got off the phone with Okaasan. She said they're able to carry on with life just the same as before, which was good to hear, because I was worried. Haru-chan left high school in October, and next year she's going to start at the Yoyogi Animation School, where she will learn to be a mangaka for real. She said she knows what she wants to do and sees no reason to waste time in college when she can start learning the skills to be a manga artist now. Apparently she wants to write doujinshi for this big site, I think it was called Comic Market?
Okaasan was thrilled to hear where I work, she told me to make connections and learn business know how because she wants Haru-chan and I to go into business together some day. She even said she'd put up the capital if it was a venture she thought would succeed! LOL
She said she really misses me, and when we talked about when I was coming to Japan next, she said cheerfully, "Well, Japan won't go away, so you can come any time. It's never too late." She said Haru-chan really wants to go to Hawaii, which had surprised her a little because they have so many memories there as a family. She though that it might be too hard to go just with Haru-chan, but that if I was there with them it would be a lot of fun and plus, they wouldn't have any language problems. She said she wants to meet up there maybe sometime near next Christmas, and told me to save up the money for the flight and she'd take care of the hotel. Who knows if it will really happen, but I was touched that she'd thought of it.
We hung up with promises to keep in touch better, both glad that the other seemed just the same as always and to be doing well.
By the time the conversation was drawing to a close, I had a smile on my face and a warmth in heart. I feel so lucky to have had her and Otosan as my host family. I haven't spoken to her in over a year and yet she was just the same warm, upbeat Okaasan as always. They really are my Japanese family, in feeling, not just in name.
