The Onion on an Unfortunate Japanese Exchange Student
Posted on 06. Apr, 2008 @ 10:08 am by harvey in Humor
Check out this article in The Onion about a host family in Iowa treating a Japanese exchange student to a night out at a Japanese restaurant.
This is funny on so many levels.
And better yet, I’m from Iowa! I could see my parents subjecting a hapless exchange student to this kind of hospitality. I’ve also been taken out for hamburgers a few times in Japan when a host was trying to find something I would probably like, so I know how it feels. Hard RockCafe anyone?
By the way, a few supplementary tidbits related to the article.
While youngest son Derrick, 14, steered clear of “anything raw” at the restaurant, ordering the chicken-teriyaki platter, the other Tuckers were fairly adventurous. In addition to sushi and sashimi, they sampled miso soup, edamame, and seaweed salad.
Miso soup as you all know goes along with rice as a basic side dish in most any full Japanese meal. Edamame are the salted green bean snacks most commonly eaten as a side dish with a nice cold beer, and seaweed salad, well… Anyway, it’s all cheap-o stuff.
Miyazawa was equally patient when Bobbie suggested he call her “youbo.”
“I didn’t understand what she was saying at first,” Miyazawa said. “But after she said it four or five times, I realized she was saying ‘mother’ in Japanese. That was nice.
“youbo” 養母 does mean mother, as in a foster mother, but it’s so uncommonly used that it would likely be super hard for a native Japanese speaker to catch in a flat Iowan accent. And, even a Japanese kid with a foster parent wouldn’t call their mother youbo, they would just say okaasan, the usual word for mother. Poor Miyazawa-san!
Though when/if I finally settle down, I’m going to be a host parent! My host family days in Nagoya were great fun… Love that stuff.
- Harvey
6 Responses to “The Onion on an Unfortunate Japanese Exchange Student”
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Ashton
Apr 6th, 2008
at 10:40
hahaha, awesome. i love the onion. i’ve been enjoying their “WAR FOR THE WHITE HOUSE!” coverage. my favorite line from this:
“The outing marked the first time any of the Tuckers had eaten Japanese food and Miyazawa’s 18,358th.”
Mike Wilson
Apr 6th, 2008
at 16:00
When I was in Japan, a professor took me to a western restaurant and ordered some comfort food. The calf tongue surprised me, but it was pretty good.
Shane
Apr 7th, 2008
at 08:44
Great link! She is certainly trying hard to make him feel at home – her heart is in the right place.
Roger S
Apr 8th, 2008
at 08:51
Oldie but goodie. I’m going to have to rent “Gung Ho.”
I got taken to a McDonalds for Sunday brunch by my Kanazawa host family. What a treat!
billywest
Apr 10th, 2008
at 02:41
Nice. Funny thing is, I know too many Japanese people who’ve been through that.
Joe
Apr 10th, 2008
at 10:32
Leave it to Harvey to revive something that’s six years old! Let’s all do a parapara dance in celebration!