After the first week of being in Japan, I was finally starting to get the hang of things. The waters of the new surroundings had been tested, I could make my way to and from school, and the seminar house was starting to feel like... home.
I arrived home one afternoon after a sporadic trip to the grocery store and made my way up the stairs, groceries in hand.
"Sumimasen?" A voice from below echoed in the halls.
About halfway up the stairs, I looked down and saw a woman peering up at me. She looked like she could be in charge? I had no idea.
"Hi!" I smiled politely and hoped that I wouldn't get yelled at for unknowingly doing something I wasn't supposed to.
"Konnichiwa. Ehh.. shoes."
It all made sense now. The room with all the shoes next to the entry way and people wearing slippers everywhere... yet it never even dawned on me that I'm supposed to remove shoes when entering a home.
(Since then, I have learned!)
This is お母さん。Okasan. The wonderful and incredible "host mother" of Seminar House 1!
Though the first couple of weeks I didn't know her too well, I did know one thing about Okasan: that she really cares about every single one of us.
It's proof in her interactions each and everyday. I often see her working around the seminar house doing tasks to make sure our experience in Japan is enjoyable.
Okasan knows us by name and greets us with a smile, wave, and an "Okaeri!" every time we come home.
She willingly works for us gaijin and does it out of the good of her heart... which makes her so incredible and deeply cherished by us all in seminar house 1!!
During our "mini-photoshoot" I got to see a new side of Okasan that I hadn't before.
When I asked her if I could take her picture, she said, "Right now? I didn't have time to prepare!"
Throughout our session, she cracked some jokes and made some hilarious faces. We both laughed a lot, especially at the results.
But out of all the pictures I took, this one stands out the most to me because it shows so much about this woman.
Okasan is truly incredible, inside and out. She has this infectious and adorable smile which is just a teaser of her entertaining personality. She has the biggest heart and will do anything to help us. I have so much respect for her and am honored that she let me photograph her.
Okasan, thank you for everything you do! :)
A great choice for this assignment. Actually, I recently bumped into my Okaasan from seminar house from 14 years ago - she remembered not only my face but my name as well.
ReplyDeleteYour portraits seem to bring out her character. But why is the first photo cropped so that there is so much space behind her?