My parents were in the US from May 5th to the 10th. I haven't seen them since New Year, so it has been a while. The main reason of their visit was to attend my graduation, see Wil's parents, and see Fayetteville where I spent the last 4 years.They brought 2 suitcases full of Japanese foods, which Wil and I are slowly consuming. Living in a small city, it is hard to get Japanese food here in Fayetteville. Anyway, by the time they emptied their suitcases, there were hardly anything in them!!
First day, we picked them up at the airport at noon and had pizza for lunch. That was all we did that day since my parents were exhausted from the long flight.
Second day, we took them to campus and showed them around. We also took them to the Alumni House and showed them the garden I have been working on since last summer. Then, we had lunch at Hugo's (my favorite favorite restaurant) and enjoyed sandwiches and beer. That night, we went to an Arkansas Natural's baseball game. It was Thirsty Thursday so we were able to get 10oz beer for a buck!! （That is why we picked Thirsday to go see baseball game, of course!)
Third day, we invited my parents to our apartment for breakfast. Then, we drove to War Eagle Mill and bought some jams and crafts. From there, we drove to Eureka springs and had lunch. At 6:30, we went to the graduation party that Wil's parents were throwing for us. Big hugs and thanks to those who came to the party by the way!
Fourth day, we went to Farmers Market in the morning. Then graduation in the afternoon. Commencement lasted about 2 hours, so it wasn't too bad. After the graduation, we had a family dinner at Texas Land and Cattle Steak House at Pinnacle Hill. There were Wil and I, my parents, Wil's parents Gib and Bonnie, Wil's brother Rick, and Wil's sister and her husband Jenny and Greg...total 9 of us. We laughed a lot, ate a lot, and enjoyed each others company!
Last day, I took them to Walmart. We had Mexican for lunch, and walked around the mall. Last visit with Wil's parents and gave gifts for Mother's Day. Went to dinner at Olive Garden. It was very nice.
Then Monday, we took them to airport at 6am.
Feels like my parents were here longer than 5 days.....By the way, afters peaking English and Japanese back and forth, I was so confused and I started speaking Japanese to Wil's mom.
両親が5月5日から10日にかけてアーカンソーに来ました。新年以来会っていないので久しぶり。今回の渡米の目的は、私の卒業式、ウィルの両親に会うこと、そして私が4年過ごしたFayettevilleの街を見ること。
スーツケース2個分の日本食を持ってきてくれて、少しずつ消費し始めてます。ここFayettevilleは小さな町なので、手に入る日本食も限られています。（買えるけど高かったり。）いずれにせよ、私たちへの食料を出した後は、スーツケースが空っぽなくらい（笑）
初日は、両親をお昼に空港からピックアップして、ピザで昼食。この日は両親が長旅で疲れていたので休息日。
2日目は、キャンパスツアー。ウィルと私の職場に行ってボスに挨拶したり、去年から私が手入れしている同窓会団体のガーデンを見に行ったり。お昼はHugo's という、私の大大好きなレストランで。サンドイッチとビールを楽しみました。そして、その夜はアーカンソーナチュラルズのマイナーリーグの野球の試合へ。”のど渇いた木曜日”と称して、12オンスのビールが＄１で買える日。（だから木曜日を選んだのは言うまでもなし）
3日目は、アパートでの朝食後、War Eagle Millへ。ちょうどクラフトフェアをやっていてにぎわってました。たくさんジャムとクラフトを買って、その足でEureka Springs へ。（ここはウィルに言わせると、アーカンソーの箱根、だそう）歩き回った後、昼食。少し休憩してから、６：３０から、ウィルのご両親の家で卒業パーティー。来てくれた人たちどうもありがとう！友人や前のホストファミリーなど、お世話になった人たちに来てもらえて楽しかったーー！
4日目は、朝ファーマーズマーケットにいって、それから午後に卒業式。式は2時間ほどで終わったので、予想してたより短くてよかった。卒業式の後は、Texas Land & Cattleという、いかにもアメリカンなステーキハウスで家族で食事。ウィルと私、両親、ウィルのご両親ボニーとギブ、ウィルのお兄さんリック、ウィルのお姉さん夫妻ジェニーとグレッグ、総勢9人！！たくさん笑い、たくさん食べ、食事を楽しみました。
5日目は、両親をWal Martへ連れて行ってお土産買い。メキシカン料理をお昼に食べて、ウィルのご両親と最後のVisit. 母の日のギフトを渡して、夜は両親、私たちの4人でイタリアンの食事を楽しみました。
そして、月曜日に両親を朝6時に空港に送り届けて。
なんだか、両親は5日間以上こっちにいた気がする。ちなみに、通訳に慣れていない私は、英語と日本語を交互に話して混乱して、しまいにはウィルのお母さんに日本語で話しかけてました。通訳って難しい。
[wp-imageflow2]
No comments:
Post a Comment