How to make our Japanese exchange student feel welcome?

Question:

I am really excited to say that my family is going to be hosting a Japanese exchange for the oncoming school year. I just want to know some pointers on how we should welcome her and make her comfortable. I am kind of scared that she will go into culture shock because she is from Tokyo and our town is really small. Heck our high school only has about 420 kids. She is going to have her own room that has a her own desk and TV as well as the usual closet, dresser and bed etc etc. She is the same age as I am and she will be sharing a bathroom with me. I am not quite sure how much snow they get in Japan, but here we get it by the foot each snowfall in the winter months. I do know some Japanese, but at the moment I have only taken year of it and I'm taking it again this year. My parents don't know a lick of it, but I can carry on a simple conversation and I am hoping to become a bit more fluent this year. So I just want to know what are some cultural things that my family can do to make her feel comfortable but still introducing some American things. What are some ideas to past the time before school starts? When she gets here school wont start for another month.

Thanks :)

Answer:

You don't say where you are, but give her a tour of your area - what is worth seeing. What you take for granted may be very new to her - even shopping in a supermarket, with its huge selection and different products will be very different for her, since space is limited and the number of products relatively small in Japan.
Show her some parks and amusement places, spend some time going on walks or hiking.
She may be very quiet and shy at first, but she will open up more as time goes by. Get to know her better, and give her something to do with you, such as gardening or some cleaning. Make her a member of your family as much as you can.
Later one thing you might want to do, perhaps before she goes back to Japan, is rent or buy a beautiful dress and heels and have her picture taken at a professional studio. It's something they don't do in Japan at her age, in fact there is nothing like a prom in Japan at all. She and her family would love it, and it will one day be a precious heirloom she and one day her future children will cherish.
She may feel a bit homesick at first, but these days with the net she can easily stay in touch with family and friends. If she is really attached to back home though, you can always order some Japanese food items out of California, such as at
http://www.marukaiestore.com
http://shop.mitsuwa.com/eng/eindex.php

Good luck!