My grandmother and me

My grandmother, Masako

I finally got the chance to see my grandmother!!! It's weird because even though I'm in Japan, (instead of in Canada), I don't get to see my grandmother because she lives about 2 hours and a half away from Tokai University. I don't yet know how to get to her house in Yaita, located in the Tochigi prefecture. And for her to make the trip to Tokai takes a lot out of her. In Canada, driving that distance is almost nothing, especially for people who live outside the city. I'm used to driving every day into the city, which usually takes about an hour. But in Japan, that same distance takes about twice as much time and is twice as exhausting because there are constantly people around you. So up until now, I hadn't had the opportunity to see my grandmother. We'd been exchanging letters and recently, she also learned how to use Skype. Amazing, right? lol I think we were all a bit surprised, including her, when we found out that she now has an account on Skype. We talked a few times and I think she now has the hang of it. She knows how to accept and end a call... which is pretty much all you need to know.

But it's never the same as meeting someone in the flesh... which I finally got to do the other day! I finally met my grandmother! She came to Tokai and we ate lunch together. I showed her my room and the dojo. And thanks to my Japanese classes, my Japanese has improved leaps and bounds and we were able to talk about so many different topics... and actually understand each other : ). Two years ago, when I visited Japan with my father, I barely knew any Japanese. Of course it was great to see my grandmother then, but we couldn't exchange and communicate the way we can now. And it's only going to get better. : D

So to my grandmother, who faithfully reads my blog (she can understand a bit of English):
愛してる！また今度会いましょう！楽しみしていますよ。: )