J.I.A.: Overnight

As much as I was homesick back then during my year-long stay in a foreign country, adjusting to new surroundings was a really difficult task. There are things that I have to get used to like speaking English all the time (at least we could still speak Filipino within the household), getting used to the colder-than-cold climate and unseasonably unpredictable weather, and yes...overcoming culture shock.

Eventually, somehow it all paid off. I was able to gain new friends and learned a lot of stuff along the way. There were a lot of firsts: My first Thanksgiving, my first Halloween, my first Kwanzaa, and among so many is my first sleepover at a friend's house.

It was a little around March or April 2002, spring was at its full blossom, the temperatures hovering between 44 to 65 degrees Fahrenheit. There was a new student in our class, Koji. He's been in with us for a good number of weeks already, it didn't really took long before all of us in the class got really close with him.

One time, I was having this idea of having a friend sleep-over at my apartment for some "getting-to-know-you" bondings. It was actually hard, asking someone about it, because I don't know how I could blurt it out. By some unexpected twist and I don't remember exactly now how it happened, I was able to get Koji convinced of having one of us sleep-over at the other's house. Although I was hoping he could sleep at my place, turns out I was the one who's going to his place for the overnight. Both our moms agreed to what the two of us cooked up and set the day of the sleepover at Friday.

On the day itself, I couldn't help myself feeling all excited. Maybe because then I was thinking "Yeah finally, I'd be able to do those things kids do on TV...SLEEPOVER!". My stuff were already prepped up and packed. I just need to get back home right away from school so I could get them and wait til Koji and his mom arrives to pick me up.

I was able to meet his mom, and she's a really nice and cool person. I thinking though that like Jonathan (our other classmate who lives just a couple blocks from my apartment), the Takagi's are just the two of them. Turns out Koji has siblings who weren't around at the time and his dad is out working.

They live in a quiet neighborhood near Hutchinson..seemingly a secluded and peaceful place, except for the occasional noise coming from the main thoroughfare. for the rest of the day, we played soccer at the front yard and we were joined by a neighbor's kid.

We had dinner that night where Mrs. Takagi cooked up some rice meals (note though I may not be a hundred percent accurate of what I'm writing here. I'm trying to dig up as much dirt in my mind as I can). As they were telling me stuff about themselves, I also share to them mine. It's a quite the cultural exchange I must say. I learned a lot of new stuff about Japanese culture and hopefully they learned a few stuff from mine.

Curiously, later when we were watching baseball (a game I will never seem to understand except for my bunso), Koji asked me this very odd question: Why do I act like an adult?. I was actually surprised he said that. He even expounded that the way I speak the way I see things, the way I know current event, it's something not typical for a kid my age.

Trying to be open-minded about it, I kinda explained to him it's something not uncommon considering that it all falls down with the way kids are raised in different countries. Back home, I don't engaged much on after-school extra-curricular activities (except for Fridays) and in addition, kids back home are always, in one way or another, in the know of current events.

It's very complicated, I pointed him out and the discussion ended on that note.

The following morning, I was pleasantly surprised what Mrs. Takagi prepared for breakfast. MILO: The Olympic Energy Drink! Turns out, Milo or the way they pronounce it, "Mi-roh" is also sold in Japan. They, in turn, were surprised as well on how I prep my own Milo drink. I poured a tablespoonful of Milo powder into my glass and poured water in it before stirring it.

That gave me an idea.

I showed them what my mom taught me on consuming Milo a different way. On a small plate of rice, I poured several teaspoonfuls of Milo powder on it and mixed them all up. The result: MILO RICE.

The sleepover was a big success and in effect, it became a learning experience not just for me but for Koji I guess as well. I don't know how he thought about it but I'm sure it made his day.

Such a highlight of my stay in the US is something I won't ever forget.