On the first Sunday of my homestay experience I was tired and worn out, but determined to bond with my family. We had already spent quite a bit of time together, but a lot of this time involved watching TV, which is something I’m not super used to.

So, when my brother suggested that all of us (including two cousins who were in town visiting) go outside to play a game, I jumped at the chance.

I took this opportunity to teach them an alternate version of Hide and Seek: Sardines. Sardines is like hide and seek in which someone hides, however, only one person hides and the rest of the group has to go find them. When another person finds the hider, they hide with them, and this continues until there is one person left standing. This leftover person then becomes the new hider.

They loved it.

We played several rounds and it was actually amazing the amount of hiding spots there are within their gated yard. I was a fan of hiding in the shadowy spots. It wouldn’t take long for someone to find me, but it ended up taking a long while for everyone to discover my spot.

They then taught me a new game, which was a cross between a hiding game and tag. They called it “hide the stick”.

Hide the stick is a simple game, but was actually pretty fun. One person takes a stick (or any object lying around) and hides it. Everyone else then goes to find it. The person who finds the stick then has to run and tag as many people as they can before everyone ends up in the safe zone.

It kept them entertained for a while, but after only a couple of rounds I had to go inside and chug a liter of water.

They wore me out!

Once everyone was back inside, I introduced the family to Pop Rocks, the beloved American candy that crackles in your mouth.

They all thought that it was hilarious. My brother even said that it was like the candy was speaking KKG because it was popping and clicking!

It was a great night for bonding and running and hiding and candy!