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.