This is my host mother, Cynthia Okawara. I call her Cyndy. Her last name is Japanese because her ex-husband is Japanese. She has used to live in Japan for a few years, so she loves Japanese food and holidays. The interior of her house is mixed with Japanese and American styles. Particularly, the living room is distinctive. There is a handmade kotatsu by the fireplace. She is very sensitive to the kotatsu. If I lean against the table, her face changes to furious, but she can’t even sit down on the floor because of knee pains. It is rare to see that she sits down to the damageable kotatsu.

　Cynthia is really kind and the best mother. If I say the word “free” on weekends, she makes fun plans, such as going to grocery stores, Costco, and ethnic restaurants. In the afernoon, we watch Korean dramas together and criticize them. When I find difficult expressions or vocabularies on subtitles, she teaches me kindly, politely, and properly. She is really enthusiastic about holidays and spends a lot of money on decorations, presents, and food. Thank you very much.

　She works at Shoreline Community College, located in the northwest area of Seattle. She is a consultant for students who have some concerns. She is always busy, but fine. She loves being busy. 

　This is Kai Okawara, who is my host mother’s son. He has the word “sea” in Japanese on his left arm, which can be pronouned ”Kai.” He really loves Japanese stuff, so, for example, he likes being surrounded by Japanese food and anime. He works at a Japanese restaurant, Shabu-Shabu-Kyoto, as a waiter. He sometimes brings home some leftovers, such as beef curries, deep-fried chickens, seasoned eggs with secret sauce, and some lettuces, which are so good. I could eat super expensive Japanese food twice a week in America. I appreciate him because the food he brought made my mind stay steady. Thank you. 

　Since Kai loves watching anime, we watched the week’s updated anime every Thursday at midnight together. 

　We also went bouldering together. He taught me how to do it and kindly lent the anti-slip powder to me, but I remembered that I have hyperhidrosis. I was kind of sad because it cost me, but after the exercise, we went to his workplace, and we got a 30 percent discount on the menu thanks to him. Thank you again.

　Kai wants to visit Japan again, so we talked about what he will do when he comes to Japan. I’m looking forward to meeting him again.

　This is Scout, which is a dog mixed with Chihuahua and another breed. He is 7 years old. If he were a human, he would be a middle-aged man. His face tells us his feelings clearly, as if he were a human. He lives to get her mom’s attention and to bark whenever he can. 

I was honestly a bit upset when Cynthia sent me her dog’s picture via email as our first contact. Because I was bitten by an adorable toy poodle in my childhood, I got a little worried. I changed my opinion about dogs by living with Scout, and now I think dogs are cute.