As long as I'm awake, thought I would update. I realize I've been neglecting my blogging commitments. I've been extremely busy with finals and papers for school and really haven't done a lot worth informing the public about. Now the first semester is over. It went by quick, and it's still hard for me to take a step back and gauge where I am now. I know my Japanese has improved a great deal, but then that's not saying much since I was starting from square one. But on with the update...
On Thursday I was in my room waiting to be called for dinner when both of the kids showed up at my door and handed me a demon mask and a pouch of beans. Tomomi-san opened the front door while I put on the mask, well aware of what I was in for. The kids then chased me around the house throwing soybeans at me and chanting. We switched off--one of the kids putting on the mask while the rest of the family pursued with the beans.

February 3 is Setsubun in Japan. It marks the coming of spring and is new year's eve on the lunar calendar. The traditionSetsubun is called mamemaki where someone dresses as an oni (demon) and beans are thrown at said person to drive any evil spirits out of the house (even now there are still soybeans all over the floor). People yell "oni wa soto, fuku wa uchi"which means something like "demons out, luck in." A bundle containing soybean shells, a sardine head, and holly leaves is placed on the front door. The noise from the shells scare the demons, the smell from the fish keeps them away, and the sharp leaves poke them.
Earlier in the day, I walked around Asakusa and hung around Sensō-ji temple to see their Setsubun activities. From what I saw, Buddhist priests, officials, and celebrities took turns making speeches from a balcony and tossed their own handfuls of beans into the crowd. All the street food you'd expect at a bigger Japanese festival was there, so I bought some taiyaki.

So there's my cultural/holiday related blurb. Continuing the update: Between semesters, I have a 2 month period where housing isn't necessarily provided and students can visit home, travel, etc. During these next 2 months, I'm going to be living on an island about 300 miles south of mainland Japan as a live-in volunteer on a farm. I'm being hosted on Tokunoshimathrough an organization called WWOOF, and I'm really nervous. I've just gotten used to calling Kawaguchi something like home, and now I'm flying away to a small Japanese island. "So many things can go wrong," is what I keep telling myself, but I can only hope it will be an important experience.
I'm leaving for the airport tomorrow, or actually today in a matter of hours. I'm too nervous to sleep. My host family has been very supportive, telling me I'm more than welcome to come back earlier if I need to.
So that's all for the moment. The next couple months should be interesting. I'll try to update from the island as I can. I'm now at the halfway point in my time here.