I change families again tomorrow. One of the hardest things about this exchange is how transient everything is. Especially in Japan, where routine is the driving force of life, it's so easy to get used to everyday things and activities. Tomorrow, not just my family changes, but the style of pillow I use, the color and length of my chopsticks, my slippers, my shampoo, my route to school, the amount of space I'll have and where I'll keep everything. It's exciting, but a little bit of a heavy feeling to know I'll never see those people at the busstop again. Easy come easy go. It's silly to be sad about never seeing them. We've never spoken before. We usually come in the exact same order everyday. First is the short man with a big jacket and a briefcase. And then me, the foreigner wearing pants, and then the sullen-looking girl with hunched shoulders and a puppy-ish face. We've waited in the rain together. Doesn't that mean anything? For three months, we've impatiently tapped our watches and hid under jackets while we waited for the bus. What will they think when I'm not there on Monday? That I went on another trip to Hiroshima or Hokkaido? Or that I went home to my country? Or will they not think anything of it. If I got hit by a car and was on the news, would they worry about me? Would they say to their spouces, "Oh, I know that girl. She's the foreigner with the pants."
I'm not worried or anxious at all about this change, like I was a little last time. I'm excited, but not so much. Mostly, I'm just thinking about how in the world I'm going to be able to repack everything for my treck across the city. I think I've just about doubled my luggage. I'm not sure if I'm exaggerating or not - I'll tell you tomorrow after everything's packed.
So yeah, I'm become a master at adaptation. Not just to a whole new culture, but to anything. In just six months, I've successfully adopted the Japanese way of life, catered to two different family's set of rules, standards, pet peeves, and personalities, and you know, learned a language or two. It's a good feeling knowing that I'm going to change and it's going to be fine, but it's a little tolling knowing that tonight will be the last night I'll ever eat dinner made by my host mom and that tomorrow night I'll probably be tossing and turning in a new bed, with different color blankets and different rules as to how to fold them in the morning. I'm probably on the verge of learning a whole new set of vocabularly that my new host family will favor.
Guess I ought to go pack or write thank you cards or something. I'll get back to you as soon as I get internet figured out at my new house. Maybe right away.
Friday, February 23, 2007
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Hokkaido
I'm sitting on the plane waiting for takeoff. Crossing an entire country in two hours. Can you imagine that? Two hours and I can be virtually anywhere in Japan. In America, two hours of flying may take me to the next state.
We're taking off now and I'm talking to my friend, Zsofia. She's a nice person, though a little more pessimistic than I'm used to. We land and head to Sapporo. Do you know Sapporo Beer? Yeah, that Sapporo. It's a beautiful place where a grand snow festival is held every year for people to build castles out of snow and exquisite ice dancers to spring to life. Hokkaido. Sapporo. We enter our hotel and I am once again made aware of how lucky I am to be doing this exchange with Rotary. If there is anyone out there considering exchange, do it and do it with Rotary. We're at a huge huge, beautiful hotel.
We deposit our stuff and head out to see the source of the famous Hokkaido chocolate. A whismical and fun chocolate factory beckons my friend and I. Like children, we dance in (well actually, I dance in and Zsofia puts a respectable distance between us - can't imagine why...) and gape at the chocolate streaming from one contraption to another until it takes the shape of snowmen and strawberries. A women is making tiny, detailed dolls out of a sugary mixture. The result is women with dresses that I swear are real until I touch them and they melt beneath my fingers. Woops, that's 500 yen. For a brief second, I wish my siblings could be there with me. They understand magic when they see it. The tour ends (inevitably) with rich chocolate cake and hot chocolate that warms all the way through my body. It's a perfect winter day. I've forgotten such days in Kyoto.
It's late now and we are walking back to the hotel. Tsuyamasan, the man that's taking us, apologizes that we can't do more today, but I'm shocked that in a single day, we flew all the way across the country, rested at a hotel, toured a chocolate factory, and had dinner (more like dessert).
It's tomorrow and we have a full day ahead of us. Hotel breakfast, which of course is a clash of miso soup, rice, fish, toast, and cereal. And to the bus station we head. Our chaperone has business to attend to (he's the owner of a company that produces equipment for health clubs or something like that - how random is that??), so he sends us off apologetically on a bus tour through Hokkaido. Only he makes a mistake and we end up on the Japanese only tour. I am secretly thankful. Life is more fun in Japanese. More surprises that way. The lady stops us as we are boarding the bus and lets us know we are on the wrong bus and the English tour has already left. I smile and say in my boldest (and thus most vulgar) Japanese, "No problem! We'll work hard! Let's go and understand Japanese!" and board the bus. The bus driver laughs. Zsofia shrugs apologetically and follows me to our seats. Everyone on the bus loves us. Zsofia is intimidated by the attention, but I love it. It's so much fun! Everyone wants to know where we're going and why we're here and can we really understand the tour guide? Zsofia falls silent and I guiltily (and happily) take the conversation. What fun! People in Hokkaido are more open than Kyotarians. Hehe, I said Rotarians, but with Kyoto instead of Rotary. Haha, I'm funny. (gosh I'm losing it.) We pass by famous parks with statues of dead people, clocks centuries old, mountains covered in more snow than I've ever seen in my life, and line of shops filled with fresh crabs and other assorted seafood. Zsofia thinks it's horrible how everyone is gaping and wanting to eat the fish. I would also think it's horrible if they didn't look so darn delicious. Man have I changed. The people at the stores also love us. I want to see all the fish and I ask about whatever I can. They love me and I love them. One woman stops me and pulls out a fish for me to hold and take a picture with. I'd post it, but the picture was taken with Zsofia's camera. She says it's disgusting and refuses to hold it. Now, instead of them stopping me to strike conversations, I stop them to strike the conversations.
For lunch, we have yakiniku, maybe. It's my first time doing it without a Japanese person there to cook the meat. So I wing it. It's not so hard and I've certainly eaten enough of it to know how to do it. Grease is flying everywhere and Zsofia and I are both wary of the pan of meat glaring victoriously at us. Nevertheless, we approach and toss more meat onto the cooker-thingy. The food tastes of success.
We ride a sleigh back to the bus, which is at the bottom of the mountain. The tour continues and we see wierd places that don't seem so interesting at first glance. Between Zsofia and my own Nihongo, we decipher enough to find the trip exciting. But despite ourselves, we both doze a little in the second half.
We finish the tour absoutely exhausted. Our chaperone (Tsuyamasan) told us earlier we can spend the rest of the day however we want, so we go shopping at a big and rather famous department store (Daimaru), but Zsofia doesn't seem interested. We abandon attempts and head up the stairs to a movie theater. After purchasing really crazy expensive tickets (about $14 each just for the movie), we call Tsuyamasan and he tells us that we should meet for dinner for a few minutes, so I dash back up to the seventh floor and plead my case for a refund, which is finally granted to me. I don't know how to say "Can you refund my ticket?" so I said "I'll give you this ticket and you give me money. Is that okay?" She laughed. I gleefully head back down and we meet Tsuyamasan and his coworkers for a dinner of crab, freshly caught from the glorious oceans lining Hokkaido. Excellent. I think crab is my favorite food.
Tomorrow comes and we head out for the famous Asashiyama Zoo. We watch penguins and polar bears brave the snow. Maybe it'd be more accurate to say they watch US brave the snow. It's pretty cold. Zsofia is mortified with their terribly small living quarters and se we leave with her in tears. I have to admit that for being a world famous zoo that attracts more tourists than Tokyo Disney Land, it was pretty depressing. I forgot before I came that this is still Japan and everything is still on a smaller scale. Some of the animals just looked sick to me.
We eat lunch and head to the movie we didn't get around to seeing yesterday. We watch a manga called どろろ or "Dororo". It is maybe the most imaginative movie I've ever seen and completely what you would expect from a Japanese manga movie.
The next morning, we head to the airport and start our 2 hour commute across the country.
We're taking off now and I'm talking to my friend, Zsofia. She's a nice person, though a little more pessimistic than I'm used to. We land and head to Sapporo. Do you know Sapporo Beer? Yeah, that Sapporo. It's a beautiful place where a grand snow festival is held every year for people to build castles out of snow and exquisite ice dancers to spring to life. Hokkaido. Sapporo. We enter our hotel and I am once again made aware of how lucky I am to be doing this exchange with Rotary. If there is anyone out there considering exchange, do it and do it with Rotary. We're at a huge huge, beautiful hotel.
We deposit our stuff and head out to see the source of the famous Hokkaido chocolate. A whismical and fun chocolate factory beckons my friend and I. Like children, we dance in (well actually, I dance in and Zsofia puts a respectable distance between us - can't imagine why...) and gape at the chocolate streaming from one contraption to another until it takes the shape of snowmen and strawberries. A women is making tiny, detailed dolls out of a sugary mixture. The result is women with dresses that I swear are real until I touch them and they melt beneath my fingers. Woops, that's 500 yen. For a brief second, I wish my siblings could be there with me. They understand magic when they see it. The tour ends (inevitably) with rich chocolate cake and hot chocolate that warms all the way through my body. It's a perfect winter day. I've forgotten such days in Kyoto.
It's late now and we are walking back to the hotel. Tsuyamasan, the man that's taking us, apologizes that we can't do more today, but I'm shocked that in a single day, we flew all the way across the country, rested at a hotel, toured a chocolate factory, and had dinner (more like dessert).
It's tomorrow and we have a full day ahead of us. Hotel breakfast, which of course is a clash of miso soup, rice, fish, toast, and cereal. And to the bus station we head. Our chaperone has business to attend to (he's the owner of a company that produces equipment for health clubs or something like that - how random is that??), so he sends us off apologetically on a bus tour through Hokkaido. Only he makes a mistake and we end up on the Japanese only tour. I am secretly thankful. Life is more fun in Japanese. More surprises that way. The lady stops us as we are boarding the bus and lets us know we are on the wrong bus and the English tour has already left. I smile and say in my boldest (and thus most vulgar) Japanese, "No problem! We'll work hard! Let's go and understand Japanese!" and board the bus. The bus driver laughs. Zsofia shrugs apologetically and follows me to our seats. Everyone on the bus loves us. Zsofia is intimidated by the attention, but I love it. It's so much fun! Everyone wants to know where we're going and why we're here and can we really understand the tour guide? Zsofia falls silent and I guiltily (and happily) take the conversation. What fun! People in Hokkaido are more open than Kyotarians. Hehe, I said Rotarians, but with Kyoto instead of Rotary. Haha, I'm funny. (gosh I'm losing it.) We pass by famous parks with statues of dead people, clocks centuries old, mountains covered in more snow than I've ever seen in my life, and line of shops filled with fresh crabs and other assorted seafood. Zsofia thinks it's horrible how everyone is gaping and wanting to eat the fish. I would also think it's horrible if they didn't look so darn delicious. Man have I changed. The people at the stores also love us. I want to see all the fish and I ask about whatever I can. They love me and I love them. One woman stops me and pulls out a fish for me to hold and take a picture with. I'd post it, but the picture was taken with Zsofia's camera. She says it's disgusting and refuses to hold it. Now, instead of them stopping me to strike conversations, I stop them to strike the conversations.
For lunch, we have yakiniku, maybe. It's my first time doing it without a Japanese person there to cook the meat. So I wing it. It's not so hard and I've certainly eaten enough of it to know how to do it. Grease is flying everywhere and Zsofia and I are both wary of the pan of meat glaring victoriously at us. Nevertheless, we approach and toss more meat onto the cooker-thingy. The food tastes of success.
We ride a sleigh back to the bus, which is at the bottom of the mountain. The tour continues and we see wierd places that don't seem so interesting at first glance. Between Zsofia and my own Nihongo, we decipher enough to find the trip exciting. But despite ourselves, we both doze a little in the second half.
We finish the tour absoutely exhausted. Our chaperone (Tsuyamasan) told us earlier we can spend the rest of the day however we want, so we go shopping at a big and rather famous department store (Daimaru), but Zsofia doesn't seem interested. We abandon attempts and head up the stairs to a movie theater. After purchasing really crazy expensive tickets (about $14 each just for the movie), we call Tsuyamasan and he tells us that we should meet for dinner for a few minutes, so I dash back up to the seventh floor and plead my case for a refund, which is finally granted to me. I don't know how to say "Can you refund my ticket?" so I said "I'll give you this ticket and you give me money. Is that okay?" She laughed. I gleefully head back down and we meet Tsuyamasan and his coworkers for a dinner of crab, freshly caught from the glorious oceans lining Hokkaido. Excellent. I think crab is my favorite food.
Tomorrow comes and we head out for the famous Asashiyama Zoo. We watch penguins and polar bears brave the snow. Maybe it'd be more accurate to say they watch US brave the snow. It's pretty cold. Zsofia is mortified with their terribly small living quarters and se we leave with her in tears. I have to admit that for being a world famous zoo that attracts more tourists than Tokyo Disney Land, it was pretty depressing. I forgot before I came that this is still Japan and everything is still on a smaller scale. Some of the animals just looked sick to me.
We eat lunch and head to the movie we didn't get around to seeing yesterday. We watch a manga called どろろ or "Dororo". It is maybe the most imaginative movie I've ever seen and completely what you would expect from a Japanese manga movie.
The next morning, we head to the airport and start our 2 hour commute across the country.
Saturday, February 17, 2007
Kyukei
Man, I didn't have my computer for four days and it feels like it's been four months. I feel incredibly cut off from the world.
The most exciting thing that's happened is the Rotary Speech. I woke up that morning slightly nervous, but it was gone by the time I konnichiwa-d the Rotarians. I screw this language up everyday. Making mistakes is not as god-aweful as it sounds. I'm a pro mistake-maker now. I didn't even make so many mistakes during my speech. I smiled and laughed and cried all at the right times. Okay, I lied. No crying was actually involved in the giving of that speech. I didn't know the word for "zoo" and I said "shupatsu" (departure) instead of "shumatsu (weekend). But they laughed and corrected me and that was that. I finished with five extra minutes, but even that isn't something I'm terribly upset about. They told me even that morning that Otoosan would probably be able to make it and that he would speak for five or ten minutes, so I left him time during my preperations. But he had a huge job thing that prevented him from coming so I had to fill all the time, which I didn't. They spent the time calling my host mother and my last host father up to talk about me and it made me feel all gushy inside. The good gushy, not like the molding, dying gushy. Maybe gushy isn't a good word to use. It kind of sounds gross to me. Gushy. Okay, I felt good. Happy. Successful. Yeah, successful. Like I can actually pull this exchange thing off okay and nobody will even realize that I'm just winging it. My last host father said that I look at everything as an adventure and the only food I don't eat is broccoli. Everyone laughed at that. I didn't.
Kendo was so much fun today. I sparred and lost, but it was terribly close. I still have yet to score a point but I don't feel so in above me head anymore. I can hold my own and I can feel how close I am to my first point. Anyways, these guys are almost all second degree black belts and I'm like a white belt, so I figure I'm doing just fine.
Tomorrow is the Hokkaido trip! I'm going with my Hungarian friend and her old host father and we'll be there until Wednesday. This should be a blast!
Good to be online again.
The most exciting thing that's happened is the Rotary Speech. I woke up that morning slightly nervous, but it was gone by the time I konnichiwa-d the Rotarians. I screw this language up everyday. Making mistakes is not as god-aweful as it sounds. I'm a pro mistake-maker now. I didn't even make so many mistakes during my speech. I smiled and laughed and cried all at the right times. Okay, I lied. No crying was actually involved in the giving of that speech. I didn't know the word for "zoo" and I said "shupatsu" (departure) instead of "shumatsu (weekend). But they laughed and corrected me and that was that. I finished with five extra minutes, but even that isn't something I'm terribly upset about. They told me even that morning that Otoosan would probably be able to make it and that he would speak for five or ten minutes, so I left him time during my preperations. But he had a huge job thing that prevented him from coming so I had to fill all the time, which I didn't. They spent the time calling my host mother and my last host father up to talk about me and it made me feel all gushy inside. The good gushy, not like the molding, dying gushy. Maybe gushy isn't a good word to use. It kind of sounds gross to me. Gushy. Okay, I felt good. Happy. Successful. Yeah, successful. Like I can actually pull this exchange thing off okay and nobody will even realize that I'm just winging it. My last host father said that I look at everything as an adventure and the only food I don't eat is broccoli. Everyone laughed at that. I didn't.
Kendo was so much fun today. I sparred and lost, but it was terribly close. I still have yet to score a point but I don't feel so in above me head anymore. I can hold my own and I can feel how close I am to my first point. Anyways, these guys are almost all second degree black belts and I'm like a white belt, so I figure I'm doing just fine.
Tomorrow is the Hokkaido trip! I'm going with my Hungarian friend and her old host father and we'll be there until Wednesday. This should be a blast!
Good to be online again.
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
The whole world has been shoved into Tokyo
I went to Tokyo Disney Land and Sea this weekend. It was a blast. Before I went, I stopped in Tokyo and found the first large city that I just don't like. It was a nice visit and I hope I get another chance to tour Tokyo, but not a place I would ever want to live. In New York there is a magnificent skyline where all the proudest buildings of the state (and maybe the nation) stand together against the night sky. It's really something. In Tokyo, you can probably find some kind of skyline if you search, but the tall buildings are literally everywhere. In New York there are streets that are particularly famous for being the life of the city. New York has the beautiful and exciting Time's Square to show off America's ingenuity and creativity. Tokyo has Tokyo to show off their ingenuity and creativity. It's everywhere. Every time I turned down a street, I ran into a whole new Time's Square. Time's Street. Time's Block. Time's City. It was downright intimidating. There were so many people that I felt worn out after just a few hours of walking around. I'm just not a Tokyo kind of person.
Disney Land was a blast. We rode just about everything they offered and barely stood in line at all. We were incredibly lucky. All my friends warned me about two or three hour long lines, but with skillfull timing, promises of bad weather (though actually it was beautiful), and turning down any ride that had more than an hour long wait, we managed to work our way through almost everything. It was a lot of fun and I'm particularly glad I went with my host sister.
I have become such the baby of the family. It's ridiculous. I'm spoiled and loving it and finding myself playing up the cute baby sister role despite myself. Ah well. I've never felt so young before and I feel like the family appreciates it. I run through the halls so I can slide in my slippers. I laugh at everything. It feels like I'm doing a good thing, just by being happy and having a fresh insight on they're life and culture and of course, I have my own culture to offer.
Tomorrow is the infamous Rotary Speech, put off a month and extended from 15 minutes to 30.
How can I actually be looking forward to this?
Disney Land was a blast. We rode just about everything they offered and barely stood in line at all. We were incredibly lucky. All my friends warned me about two or three hour long lines, but with skillfull timing, promises of bad weather (though actually it was beautiful), and turning down any ride that had more than an hour long wait, we managed to work our way through almost everything. It was a lot of fun and I'm particularly glad I went with my host sister.
I have become such the baby of the family. It's ridiculous. I'm spoiled and loving it and finding myself playing up the cute baby sister role despite myself. Ah well. I've never felt so young before and I feel like the family appreciates it. I run through the halls so I can slide in my slippers. I laugh at everything. It feels like I'm doing a good thing, just by being happy and having a fresh insight on they're life and culture and of course, I have my own culture to offer.
Tomorrow is the infamous Rotary Speech, put off a month and extended from 15 minutes to 30.
How can I actually be looking forward to this?
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
Goodness gracious, have I been busy!
I've been absolutely swamped that I'm really looking forward to March, when I'll have more vacations off from school than I will school, due to wonderful school tests. In April, I'll be put in class with everyone else. About time.
Tomorrow in the morning, I hit Tokyo with my big sis. We'll spend the day looking at cross-dressers, national important buildings, tall towers, and whatever else my sister deems important before crashing at our ("Official Disney Land no") Hotel. In the morning, we hit the park. And the next day, and then we'll take the Shinkansen (also known as the "Bullet Train") home. Sunday (the following day) I'll go to kendo practice. Monday is maybe a national holiday (or something), so no school. I'll spend it going out with my friends. And Tues.-Fri. is school again. The following week I try my hand at skiing in Hokkaido, then return for the remainder of the week (maybe two or three days), frantically pack my stuff, and head to Host Family Number Three. I spend the following weekend testing for my shodan in kendo (or maybe that's the same weekend), and then I'll start my Big Break in March. At least I hope. They tell me my shodan test will be three to four hours long. Geez Louise. Three to four hours! I can do that!
Today Sakai Sensei showed me the written test. He explained every kanji in the questions and answers and told me I'll have to know them all. I really like him. He's got a really strict, kinda traditional appearance. He yells at me sometimes when I don't sit in seiza (on my knees) when I'm taking my kendo gear off. He makes me write in the kendo diary and then circles all the slang and misspellings and other inappropriate words I use. He's the only teacher who tells me to straighten my tie or fix my collar, and when I entered the teacher's room and asked for a teacher, all the other teachers beamed at me after I struggled through the introduction and asking, but he scowled and told me how to say it using Japanese: Version 2 (i.e. tediously polite and self-belittling). It seems that every time I talk to him, he tells me something I'm doing wrong or Japanese I shouldn't use to him.
But it's not frustrating and it doesn't bother me. It's what all the teachers expect of the other students, but what they're too "Japanese" and "modest" (and probably appreciative of the effort I'm making - like telling a three year old who just dressed himself that his clothes are on backwards) to tell me I'm wrong. In any case, I appreciate his help. Looking back at some of the mistakes I made in the beginning, adressing anyone as anything and blundering around with whatever Japanese I could (not that there is anything wrong with that), I'm grateful that Sakai Sensei took it upon himself to help me learn Japanese. And I have a confession. I'm not afraid of him. I've been there, done that. I've been taking martial arts lessons from a man maybe three times my size for six years now. I remember when I was in the kids' class and he hollered at us to stand still and be quiet. Man was I scared of him! Now he's a friend and mentor and I silently chuckle when the kids trade terrified looks when Sensei paces the room. "Aww," I want to tell them, "he likes you guys. He thinks you're just the cutest thing." But actually, it makes them be quiet, so I don't say anything. So yeah, at least now I can just pretend I don't understand if things get too rough. I love being a foreigner.
Tomorrow in the morning, I hit Tokyo with my big sis. We'll spend the day looking at cross-dressers, national important buildings, tall towers, and whatever else my sister deems important before crashing at our ("Official Disney Land no") Hotel. In the morning, we hit the park. And the next day, and then we'll take the Shinkansen (also known as the "Bullet Train") home. Sunday (the following day) I'll go to kendo practice. Monday is maybe a national holiday (or something), so no school. I'll spend it going out with my friends. And Tues.-Fri. is school again. The following week I try my hand at skiing in Hokkaido, then return for the remainder of the week (maybe two or three days), frantically pack my stuff, and head to Host Family Number Three. I spend the following weekend testing for my shodan in kendo (or maybe that's the same weekend), and then I'll start my Big Break in March. At least I hope. They tell me my shodan test will be three to four hours long. Geez Louise. Three to four hours! I can do that!
Today Sakai Sensei showed me the written test. He explained every kanji in the questions and answers and told me I'll have to know them all. I really like him. He's got a really strict, kinda traditional appearance. He yells at me sometimes when I don't sit in seiza (on my knees) when I'm taking my kendo gear off. He makes me write in the kendo diary and then circles all the slang and misspellings and other inappropriate words I use. He's the only teacher who tells me to straighten my tie or fix my collar, and when I entered the teacher's room and asked for a teacher, all the other teachers beamed at me after I struggled through the introduction and asking, but he scowled and told me how to say it using Japanese: Version 2 (i.e. tediously polite and self-belittling). It seems that every time I talk to him, he tells me something I'm doing wrong or Japanese I shouldn't use to him.
But it's not frustrating and it doesn't bother me. It's what all the teachers expect of the other students, but what they're too "Japanese" and "modest" (and probably appreciative of the effort I'm making - like telling a three year old who just dressed himself that his clothes are on backwards) to tell me I'm wrong. In any case, I appreciate his help. Looking back at some of the mistakes I made in the beginning, adressing anyone as anything and blundering around with whatever Japanese I could (not that there is anything wrong with that), I'm grateful that Sakai Sensei took it upon himself to help me learn Japanese. And I have a confession. I'm not afraid of him. I've been there, done that. I've been taking martial arts lessons from a man maybe three times my size for six years now. I remember when I was in the kids' class and he hollered at us to stand still and be quiet. Man was I scared of him! Now he's a friend and mentor and I silently chuckle when the kids trade terrified looks when Sensei paces the room. "Aww," I want to tell them, "he likes you guys. He thinks you're just the cutest thing." But actually, it makes them be quiet, so I don't say anything. So yeah, at least now I can just pretend I don't understand if things get too rough. I love being a foreigner.
Monday, February 05, 2007
Rotary Speech in less than two weeks!!
Okay, here it is, in English and beautified for your viewing purposes. Tell me if you think it sounds too boring or if the transitions are so horrible that even a foreigner couldn't get away with them.
Me: Hello everyone!
Everyone: Hello.
Me: This exchange has thus far been really amazing. Thank you very much. I've been all over Japan and done really fun things.
In September, I went to a concert with Watada no Okaasan and Asukachan. That was fun. We like the same kinds of music! At the concert, I actually got a chance to meet Yamazaki Massayoshi! It was so cool! I think I will marry him. His English was good.
Also, because my school is so close to Toji Temple, every month I see it's exciting bazaar (flea market?). Their are many interesting people and things and smells. It's really fun and so crowded!
I've been to many other temples and shrines as well, including Heianjin, Kodaji, Kinkakuji, Byodoin, Todaiji, Zentsuji Temple, Shimogamo, and many more. My favorite was Kinkajuji. I went in the Fall, so the colors of the trees were beautiful.
With the Rotary district, I went on a trip from Kyoto to Hiroshima. During this three day trip, we saw many many things and stopped at many places. The best parts were Miyajima and Kiroshima. At Miyajima, the shrine was actually in the water. It was so cool and beautiful! Hiroshima taught me a lot and it was an important trip. I went with 12 other exchange students, so it was a lot of fun. Poor Rotarians who were in charge of us! We were a little bit noisy.
With this Rotary Club, I went hiking! There was a 70 year old man! Wow! I am only 18 years old, but I was very tired. I was shocked!
I went to Universal Studios Japan with my host family. Because it was raining a little bit, there weren't many people. I rode every ride! We stayed in a hotel and went again the next morning. It was really great.
After that, I changed families. I am now with the Uedas. In December, they took me to see the illuminariare in Kobe. It was really beautiful! Otoosan wouldn't stop taking pictures. I think that's his hobby. I was surprised at how crowded it was. The whole street was closed for pedestrians (actually, I'll take that part out if I can't say it).
I experienced my first Japanese New Years. We ate a lot! I kept finishing, but more would be given to me! In the night, I went to a shrine with my host sister. In my whole life, I've never been to a more crowded place. It took two hours to walk a very short distance. I like Japan's New Year's much better than America's.
And so far, my favorite place has been... Arashiyama's Monkey Park! That is so cool! I am good friends with the monkeys.
But the most shocking things are everyday activities. In my American town, there are no trains. Here, I take a train everyday to school. I eat octopus for dinner sometimes. I wear a school uniform and bow before every class. My school here is so strict! I do Puricura sometimes. I speak Japanese everyday!
My exchange is only halfway over. It's a good thing. I have so much left to do and see. Very soon, I will go to Disney Land. I will also test for my shodan in kendo on March 4th, climb Mt. Fuji in the summer, and go skiing in Hokkaido very soon.
This exchange is incredible. Thank you very much. I've learned so much and I'm not even finished yet.
Finished.
Gosh, I'm so proud of it in Japanese, but it doesn't look like much in English. Ah well, just take my word for it. It's pretty awesome.
It took me 20 minutes to get through this during my practice runs, but I think with more practice and less stopping to think, I'll be fine on time. I have 15 minutes and I'd also like to show pictures.
Sound okay to you guys?
Me: Hello everyone!
Everyone: Hello.
Me: This exchange has thus far been really amazing. Thank you very much. I've been all over Japan and done really fun things.
In September, I went to a concert with Watada no Okaasan and Asukachan. That was fun. We like the same kinds of music! At the concert, I actually got a chance to meet Yamazaki Massayoshi! It was so cool! I think I will marry him. His English was good.
Also, because my school is so close to Toji Temple, every month I see it's exciting bazaar (flea market?). Their are many interesting people and things and smells. It's really fun and so crowded!
I've been to many other temples and shrines as well, including Heianjin, Kodaji, Kinkakuji, Byodoin, Todaiji, Zentsuji Temple, Shimogamo, and many more. My favorite was Kinkajuji. I went in the Fall, so the colors of the trees were beautiful.
With the Rotary district, I went on a trip from Kyoto to Hiroshima. During this three day trip, we saw many many things and stopped at many places. The best parts were Miyajima and Kiroshima. At Miyajima, the shrine was actually in the water. It was so cool and beautiful! Hiroshima taught me a lot and it was an important trip. I went with 12 other exchange students, so it was a lot of fun. Poor Rotarians who were in charge of us! We were a little bit noisy.
With this Rotary Club, I went hiking! There was a 70 year old man! Wow! I am only 18 years old, but I was very tired. I was shocked!
I went to Universal Studios Japan with my host family. Because it was raining a little bit, there weren't many people. I rode every ride! We stayed in a hotel and went again the next morning. It was really great.
After that, I changed families. I am now with the Uedas. In December, they took me to see the illuminariare in Kobe. It was really beautiful! Otoosan wouldn't stop taking pictures. I think that's his hobby. I was surprised at how crowded it was. The whole street was closed for pedestrians (actually, I'll take that part out if I can't say it).
I experienced my first Japanese New Years. We ate a lot! I kept finishing, but more would be given to me! In the night, I went to a shrine with my host sister. In my whole life, I've never been to a more crowded place. It took two hours to walk a very short distance. I like Japan's New Year's much better than America's.
And so far, my favorite place has been... Arashiyama's Monkey Park! That is so cool! I am good friends with the monkeys.
But the most shocking things are everyday activities. In my American town, there are no trains. Here, I take a train everyday to school. I eat octopus for dinner sometimes. I wear a school uniform and bow before every class. My school here is so strict! I do Puricura sometimes. I speak Japanese everyday!
My exchange is only halfway over. It's a good thing. I have so much left to do and see. Very soon, I will go to Disney Land. I will also test for my shodan in kendo on March 4th, climb Mt. Fuji in the summer, and go skiing in Hokkaido very soon.
This exchange is incredible. Thank you very much. I've learned so much and I'm not even finished yet.
Finished.
Gosh, I'm so proud of it in Japanese, but it doesn't look like much in English. Ah well, just take my word for it. It's pretty awesome.
It took me 20 minutes to get through this during my practice runs, but I think with more practice and less stopping to think, I'll be fine on time. I have 15 minutes and I'd also like to show pictures.
Sound okay to you guys?
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