So, yesterday.. I went to 平良中学 and was placed in the third year, third class. In that class was Ogawa Moe, who I had already met before, so it wasn’t that weird for me to be all alone in that class. I had a lot of fun! First was a suuppeerr long assembly in the morning, where most of the time.. I just sat there, doing nothing.. After a while, I was called up in front of the whole school, to make a speech.. like a self introduction. Haha, it was Jitsugyo-koko all over again. The introduction was short and then I sat back down.
After that, I saw Moe going back to class, and the English teacher I was with told me that she would be leading me to my classroom. Score! So, I was totally happy that I could hang with Moe, because she’s just an awesome kid.. and she totally kicks butt at violin. Super prooo. Well, first period was math, and I had already learned it and so I just filled out the rest of the paper and I talked to Moe and Hikari, another girl for most of first period, but then, there were self introductions because the homeroom teacher wanted everyone to practice their English. The kids were so adorable, they stumbled over “Hi, my name is ____. I like ___” It was so cute. xD
Well, after math was a two hour long period of English, and between math and English was a fifteen minute break. Some girls came over and we talked about some things, and I showed them where California was in America. English started and Jeff, the ALT who was working at the school was actually running the lesson, so there was no confusion in communication at all.
The first part we passed around a basketball when music was playing, and after the music stopped, whoever had the ball was supposed to do a self introduction. So, it actually landed on me the last time the ball went around.. which was funny, but anyways, I introduced myself again, in English, told them my name, my favorite food, and my favorite band, -coughTohoshinkicough-. XD Then, we played battle ships with English.. the A,B,C part was the first part of the sentence and then the 1,2,3 was the second part, and you would read a whole sentence to try to hit the other side’s ship. I played with Hikari and won.
After the first hour, we had a short break and Jeff stepped outside along with the English teacher for about ten minutes. When they came back, we all formed five groups and then we started playing Jeopardy. The categories were.. Food, People, Musicians, America, and Japan. Guess which category my group chose? America of course. XD The questions were pretty easy too, so when we got to the twenty-five point question, Jeff wouldn’t let the kids choose it, he told us to pick another category. Our group still won in the end because we stole a couple questions from the other groups.
After English.. we had lunch. Oh yes, lunch was quite.. different. We actually all ate food together. Like.. the school provided lunch, and the kids would bring the lunch to the class and start serving it out. That day was chicken with this daikon stir fry and milk and lychee jelly, topping it all off with a plate of rice. There was natto miso but I opted not to eat that because I hate natto.. Ugh, worse thing on earth next to gyoya. XD
After lunch, we had shouji.. and I helped Moe clean the hall. After we were done cleaning, we stood outside on this short open hall where the breeze felt reaaally nice. And then we saw Jeff come and he started talking to me. It was really funny cause all the kids just sat on the side gaping at our conversation, amazed that we were super fluent in English. Of course! Jeff was from Oregon and he had done a homestay in Tokyo for about a year when he was in college, he also hasn’t been back to the states in three years. We talked about a ton of things like studying abroad and what it’s like.. what Miyako was like, and how it was for me so far. When the short period for shouji was over, I headed back to class and did.. nothing. Haha, I went to sleep, sorta, but I didn’t really because that would have been rude to the teacher, so I nodded off in my seat.
At three-fifty, the English teacher came back and took the class picture with me in it, and I will upload it as soon as I can. At around four, we walked down into the teachers room to meet the principal who wasn’t there at the assembly that morning and then went outside where my dad was waiting for me. We drove back home and there, I waited for Shimoji-san, Karen’s host mom to pick me up. My host family would be going to Naha for the weekend for Kaho’s piano competition, so during that time I would be staying with the Shimojis.
She came to pick me up, I said goodbye and soon after, I arrived at Karen’s house. We hung out for a bit and then went to Max-Valu.. the huge one, where I saw my classmate Takeru at Mister Donuts. We went to Max-Valu to shop for groceries and also to fill up on water. After that, we came back home and ate and then I took a shower and then did Sudoku until I fell asleep. That was my Saturday. Oh yes, I also learned that Michael Jackson passed away that morning.. I was hearing Michael Jackson all day at school, but I had no idea what they were talking about, and it wasn’t until Karen told me that I understood. I think that was the first time I actually learned something that had happened on that same day..
Today, I woke up at about nine and then ate breakfast, watched some t.v. and then got ready to go to the beach. We went.. EVERYWHERE today. Shimoji-san drove us to like.. all the beaches on the east side of the island. I only knew like three of the beaches names though. My favorite would have to be Sunayama beach, Or Sand Mountain.. Omg. It has a little cave thingy.. well, I have pictures I’ll share later, but it’s a beautiful beach, it’s small, but not too small, and the water is so clear and blue.. Just gorgeous.
At three, we headed to the Miyako airport where we would be welcoming a new YFU student who would be staying in Miyako for six weeks. No fair, she gets to experience Natsumatsuri.. Which happens the day after me and Karen leave. Ugh, I haattee that. I totally want to go with my new friends from school.. and I’m sad that I can’t go to school on Monday because they have testing the whole day, so I can’t wait until Tuesday, so that I can go back to school. After we got home from welcoming the new student, Me and Minami, Karen’s host sister, slept in the tatami room, with the cooler and fan going. I woke up like.. half an hour later because it was so cold! And then turned both off. I woke up again when Minami’s mom came in to turn the cooler back on, and then went back to sleep. And then woke up ‘cause it was cold, and threw a sitting pillow over my legs and one over my arms.. and then I saw Minami wake up and grab some blankets. She threw one over me and then had one for herself. After that.. I slept pretty good. We didn’t wake up until about nine, and we went to sleep around.. five I think. It was a reaaallly good nap. After we woke up, it was time to get ready for dinner, and after that, we just watched tv. Nothing much.
Alright, well, I have tons of pictures of beautiful beaches and clear blue water, but I can’t post them up.. When I have time, I’ll definitely try to blog more though. I feel bad for using their electricity as it is to juice my laptop.. I go back to my host family tomorrow night at eight, so we’ll probably have time to go to Max-Valu to see Takeru at Mister Donuts again.. Like I mentioned earlier, he works there part-time, and so I hope to wish him good luck on the test on Monday, which would be from morning until afternoon.. I don’t think I could take that.. so much testing.. Anyways, good night everyone! Oh lol, I thought this post would be so much longer than the rest.. but I guess not. Oh well. Goodnight. :<
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Thursday, June 25, 2009
ぱんつ！
Ah, it’s been awhile.. So, on Monday, the 22nd, I went to school. At lunch, it was pretty interesting. Haha, I had my camera whipped out and I was taking pictures of my friends. They all seem really shy in front of the camera and I can’t really get a proper picture of them. They cover their faces before I get a chance to snap a shot! It’s so unfair, I really want pictures of them so that I can remember them when I go back! Well, anyways, as I was saying… we were at the library, and I was taking pictures.. I decided to record them.. Hirono and Misaki started running around. And what did I do? I chased them of course. In the library. As quiet as I could. Which was kind of hard.. I have the video, and I’ll upload it when I have the chance to, but you might get a bit dizzy from it..
Well, after that, I we went to class, and I was bored, so I drew faces on my fingers and then I started drawing smiley faces one everyone’s pointer finger.. and then I pressed fingers together.. and.. “ちゅう！” All my friends now will forever remember me by that.. ‘cause I practically drew fingers on everyone in my class and did that.. Haha, they kept saying “Gag, gag.” Which is slang for joke.. I’ve learned quiet a few slang words since I’ve been here.. it’s pretty interesting how Miyako-hogen is quite different from mainland Japanese.
Other notable things on Monday.. I went to a calligraphy class.. and practiced writing my name in katakana and hiragana.. both were really hard, but sensei made it seem so easy when she did it.. and as a present, she wrote me the word 夢 or “Dream” It’s reaallyyy pretty, and I totally love the fact that I get to keep it. Also on Monday.. Haha.. really windy, and skirts blowing up everywhere with lots of “Kyaa!~” going around. XD My Misaki’s skirt went up and I went.. “今日のパンツは。。。” And then my friend Nina went.. “ピンク！” Haha, I made fun of Misaki the whole day after that..
Tuesday.. there was a national holiday, “やすみ” I think.. so no school, but there was work, so my host dad did go to work on Tuesday. But, that day, I woke up at around.. ten.. and then I went to Kaito’s baby swimming class at eleven o’clock, with Kaho and my host mom, and we waited until it was over, which was for about an hour. After his swim classes, we returned home and we had lunch, which was Okinawa’s noodle soup kind of thing.. it was really good! At two o’clock, Motoko’s mother came over and picked us up to go to the pool. We headed to Karen’s house and picked her and her host sister up and headed to the pool!
We got there.. and the pool was full of little kids.. and it was really shallow.. and you couldn’t really swim in it.. BUT! Upside was, there was a slide. Haha, I don’t think I got pictures.. I’m really bad at remember to take pictures.. Ugh, it’s terrible, I wish I remembered to take pictures more.. Then everyone could see, but I kind of don’t like to see the world behind the camera’s lens if you know what I mean.. So me and Karen went on the slide.. I almost crashed into her a couple times because she always went first.. The times it almost happened was really funny, because she would be like… “Anna, Anna, stop! Stop!” And I would be like.. “Uh, whut?” and try to slow down. XD
We left the pool at around four thirty because Motoko had violin lessons. So, Motoko’s mother drove us back to my house where Karen used our internet to log onto facebook, to get her friend’s information because facebook is blocked at her house. Motoko ended up not going to her violin lesson and then Amano-sensei, Kaho and Motoko’s violin teacher called our house and told them that both of them needed to come. Lawl, they totally got in trouble for skipping..
Well, after that.. We didn’t really do anything after that.. Wednesday! I went to school, but.. there wasn’t really anything new.. all they did was study from their tests, which was really boring because I couldn’t do anything except watch them.. Oh yes, science is always pretty interesting.. Izumi and this other dude always seem to have a water fight in science class. I told you these guys don’t really care about learning.. Lawl, they would use the faucets to get some water and then throw it at each other.. And the guy usually ends up soaked at the end of the period. That day, Izumi had missed, and actually threw water at Jun, which ended up making his whole desk wet, his papers, his notebook, etc.
Then school ended and I went back home, where I did.. nothing really. XD Fast forward to tomorrow, which is.. actually today.
Well, I went to school, but everyone had tests until about 1:25 p.m., so I had to wait for my classmates to finish their tests before going up to the classroom to go out and play. I.. did nothing in the library. I played my nds.. and slept. Lawl. Oh, Shogoro-san, my Area Representative told me that tomorrow, I will need to go to 平良中学 instead of going to my regular school, so it’s something different. And then.. after school..
Me and my friends went to the convenience to buy lunch, and we went to a nearby spot to eat. I had already eaten my lunch at the library, so I bought just a drink, “Calpis” which is a really yummy drink here. I think.. it’s sweet water.. It looks kind of like watery milk.. Haha. XD And then.. began the long walking.. Me and Misaki were looking at Misaki’s phone for pictures of JaeJoong.. Haha, I love JaeJoong and she loves Yoochun.. XD But we mainly looked at JaeJoong pictures because she knows how much I love him. After that.. we passed by Book Box.. and we kept walking.. apparently, we were going to the very large Max Valu which had a Mister Donuts.. I didn’t get to try their donuts, but all my friends think it’s delicious.. I guess we’ll see about that.. I think on Friday, tomorrow, we’ll be going to Max Valu.. maybe I’ll see my classmate Takeru, who works there sometimes.. Haha, I’ll try to snag a picture of him in his work clothes. XD
It was suuppeerr hot. After we went to Max Valu and bought some drinks, we went to Game Land, where there was Purikura.. I did two, but only got pictures of one.. I’ll need to ask for the other pictures later.. but for now, I’ll try to get pictures of the ones I do have. It’s so tiny though. D: After that, we walked back to Book Box, where we waited until about six ten for my mother to come pick me up. My friend Misaki knew an employee and we asked her if there were any posters of Tohoshinki at the store, and she said she’d look. I think if there is, she’s going to give it to Misaki, who will give it to me! Yay, Tohoshinki posterrrr. :> That would totally make me really happy to have a poster of them!
After my mother came to pick me up she drove me to where Kaho had her English lessons and I met Greg, who runs a small private English class kind of thing.. and we played games in English with Kaho. Greg is actually Canadian, so he has a bit of an accent, but his English makes it seem like I’m not in Japan, and gives me a bit of a break from translating things in my head and having to respond back in Japanese. It’s all really tiring, but it’s a really nice thing to be thrusted into this situation.. it forces me to learn..
After that, me and Kaho walked to Obaa-san’s house where we met up with my mother and then we drove back home. We arrived back around.. maybe seven-thirty? And then at seven-fifty.. Omg, I quickly hopped into the bath and took a shower as fast as I could because Tohoshink would be on at 8.. Ugh, I totally did not want to miss it! So I got in, got out at around seven fifty-eight and then grabbed my camera. Haha, the first fifteen minutes I recorded with my camera.. which turned out to be okay ish.. I kept moving the camera around though.. and then it was time to eat, so my dad recorded it for me.. and I’ll get it later. Haha, I totally want a copy of it.. Can’t you tell I love Tohoshinki? Especially JaeJoong..
So now, it’s after dinner, and I can’t watch the recorded show because my host sister has to practice violin and piano.. ugh, I wish she would hurry up so I can watch the show! But I have plenty of time to type this up and get everyone updated on what’s been going on. Oh yes, the other night I got a chance to watch the last episode of Atashinchi no Danshi which was airing.. and so I can now say I watched a drama! It was totally epic.. not really, I couldn’t really understand what was going on.. XD So I stopped watching it and just went to bed, but now I really want to watch Tohoshinkiiiiii. :< Okay. I think she’s done. I’ll blog the next chance I get to, which will probably be soon.. See ya’ll latterr~
Well, after that, I we went to class, and I was bored, so I drew faces on my fingers and then I started drawing smiley faces one everyone’s pointer finger.. and then I pressed fingers together.. and.. “ちゅう！” All my friends now will forever remember me by that.. ‘cause I practically drew fingers on everyone in my class and did that.. Haha, they kept saying “Gag, gag.” Which is slang for joke.. I’ve learned quiet a few slang words since I’ve been here.. it’s pretty interesting how Miyako-hogen is quite different from mainland Japanese.
Other notable things on Monday.. I went to a calligraphy class.. and practiced writing my name in katakana and hiragana.. both were really hard, but sensei made it seem so easy when she did it.. and as a present, she wrote me the word 夢 or “Dream” It’s reaallyyy pretty, and I totally love the fact that I get to keep it. Also on Monday.. Haha.. really windy, and skirts blowing up everywhere with lots of “Kyaa!~” going around. XD My Misaki’s skirt went up and I went.. “今日のパンツは。。。” And then my friend Nina went.. “ピンク！” Haha, I made fun of Misaki the whole day after that..
Tuesday.. there was a national holiday, “やすみ” I think.. so no school, but there was work, so my host dad did go to work on Tuesday. But, that day, I woke up at around.. ten.. and then I went to Kaito’s baby swimming class at eleven o’clock, with Kaho and my host mom, and we waited until it was over, which was for about an hour. After his swim classes, we returned home and we had lunch, which was Okinawa’s noodle soup kind of thing.. it was really good! At two o’clock, Motoko’s mother came over and picked us up to go to the pool. We headed to Karen’s house and picked her and her host sister up and headed to the pool!
We got there.. and the pool was full of little kids.. and it was really shallow.. and you couldn’t really swim in it.. BUT! Upside was, there was a slide. Haha, I don’t think I got pictures.. I’m really bad at remember to take pictures.. Ugh, it’s terrible, I wish I remembered to take pictures more.. Then everyone could see, but I kind of don’t like to see the world behind the camera’s lens if you know what I mean.. So me and Karen went on the slide.. I almost crashed into her a couple times because she always went first.. The times it almost happened was really funny, because she would be like… “Anna, Anna, stop! Stop!” And I would be like.. “Uh, whut?” and try to slow down. XD
We left the pool at around four thirty because Motoko had violin lessons. So, Motoko’s mother drove us back to my house where Karen used our internet to log onto facebook, to get her friend’s information because facebook is blocked at her house. Motoko ended up not going to her violin lesson and then Amano-sensei, Kaho and Motoko’s violin teacher called our house and told them that both of them needed to come. Lawl, they totally got in trouble for skipping..
Well, after that.. We didn’t really do anything after that.. Wednesday! I went to school, but.. there wasn’t really anything new.. all they did was study from their tests, which was really boring because I couldn’t do anything except watch them.. Oh yes, science is always pretty interesting.. Izumi and this other dude always seem to have a water fight in science class. I told you these guys don’t really care about learning.. Lawl, they would use the faucets to get some water and then throw it at each other.. And the guy usually ends up soaked at the end of the period. That day, Izumi had missed, and actually threw water at Jun, which ended up making his whole desk wet, his papers, his notebook, etc.
Then school ended and I went back home, where I did.. nothing really. XD Fast forward to tomorrow, which is.. actually today.
Well, I went to school, but everyone had tests until about 1:25 p.m., so I had to wait for my classmates to finish their tests before going up to the classroom to go out and play. I.. did nothing in the library. I played my nds.. and slept. Lawl. Oh, Shogoro-san, my Area Representative told me that tomorrow, I will need to go to 平良中学 instead of going to my regular school, so it’s something different. And then.. after school..
Me and my friends went to the convenience to buy lunch, and we went to a nearby spot to eat. I had already eaten my lunch at the library, so I bought just a drink, “Calpis” which is a really yummy drink here. I think.. it’s sweet water.. It looks kind of like watery milk.. Haha. XD And then.. began the long walking.. Me and Misaki were looking at Misaki’s phone for pictures of JaeJoong.. Haha, I love JaeJoong and she loves Yoochun.. XD But we mainly looked at JaeJoong pictures because she knows how much I love him. After that.. we passed by Book Box.. and we kept walking.. apparently, we were going to the very large Max Valu which had a Mister Donuts.. I didn’t get to try their donuts, but all my friends think it’s delicious.. I guess we’ll see about that.. I think on Friday, tomorrow, we’ll be going to Max Valu.. maybe I’ll see my classmate Takeru, who works there sometimes.. Haha, I’ll try to snag a picture of him in his work clothes. XD
It was suuppeerr hot. After we went to Max Valu and bought some drinks, we went to Game Land, where there was Purikura.. I did two, but only got pictures of one.. I’ll need to ask for the other pictures later.. but for now, I’ll try to get pictures of the ones I do have. It’s so tiny though. D: After that, we walked back to Book Box, where we waited until about six ten for my mother to come pick me up. My friend Misaki knew an employee and we asked her if there were any posters of Tohoshinki at the store, and she said she’d look. I think if there is, she’s going to give it to Misaki, who will give it to me! Yay, Tohoshinki posterrrr. :> That would totally make me really happy to have a poster of them!
After my mother came to pick me up she drove me to where Kaho had her English lessons and I met Greg, who runs a small private English class kind of thing.. and we played games in English with Kaho. Greg is actually Canadian, so he has a bit of an accent, but his English makes it seem like I’m not in Japan, and gives me a bit of a break from translating things in my head and having to respond back in Japanese. It’s all really tiring, but it’s a really nice thing to be thrusted into this situation.. it forces me to learn..
After that, me and Kaho walked to Obaa-san’s house where we met up with my mother and then we drove back home. We arrived back around.. maybe seven-thirty? And then at seven-fifty.. Omg, I quickly hopped into the bath and took a shower as fast as I could because Tohoshink would be on at 8.. Ugh, I totally did not want to miss it! So I got in, got out at around seven fifty-eight and then grabbed my camera. Haha, the first fifteen minutes I recorded with my camera.. which turned out to be okay ish.. I kept moving the camera around though.. and then it was time to eat, so my dad recorded it for me.. and I’ll get it later. Haha, I totally want a copy of it.. Can’t you tell I love Tohoshinki? Especially JaeJoong..
So now, it’s after dinner, and I can’t watch the recorded show because my host sister has to practice violin and piano.. ugh, I wish she would hurry up so I can watch the show! But I have plenty of time to type this up and get everyone updated on what’s been going on. Oh yes, the other night I got a chance to watch the last episode of Atashinchi no Danshi which was airing.. and so I can now say I watched a drama! It was totally epic.. not really, I couldn’t really understand what was going on.. XD So I stopped watching it and just went to bed, but now I really want to watch Tohoshinkiiiiii. :< Okay. I think she’s done. I’ll blog the next chance I get to, which will probably be soon.. See ya’ll latterr~
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Party Time
Okay, so… so many things have happened over the past week, and I’ve just been too tired to blog about it. Sorry guys! Well, on Monday, when I went to the farm, I actually got a couple of bug bites.. that got worse as the week went on. My host dad wanted me to go to the hospital and talked to me about it on Thursday, but we talked it over and decided to head to Shogoro’s house, my area representative. His wife gave my host dad aloe, and we started applying it on my bug bites, and the redness is almost gone now. So, no need to go to the hospital at all! Hurrah. Ugh, but I keep getting new bug bites and it really sucks.
Well, in other news.. after the first day of school, I made friends quickly, and now I know a lot of my classmates names. It’s a lot easier to remember than I thought. My schedule is pretty fun, and I’m excited I have cool classmates wherever I go. I’ve taken some pretty interesting classes, including a nursing/development kind of class, where we took turns holding a baby doll.. that weighed as much as a baby did.. and we also put on this thing that made us look pregnant. Haha, a lot of my classmates complained that it was heavy.. but.. it was only like eight kilograms. Not that bad. I was jumping around with it on until the teacher yelled at another kid. So I stopped. Haha. XD I’m also sewing a yukata in class, and so I totally want to get it finished by the end of next week. I’m super excited and can’t wait for school tomorrow!
On Wednesday.. one of my host parents friends happened to find a uniform I could borrow, and so now, I have a seifuku! It’s so cute! I just wish my hair was shorter.. it’s so hard to manage.. but I must persevere for the sake of cancer patients everywhere! And it would symbolize four years of my life/high school, and would be persevere for the sake of cancer patients everywhere! And it would symbolize four years of my life/high school, and would be pretty cool just to see it cut off.. Yeah..
Anyways, the weekend was actually really fun! Friday started off with school, where I started making my seifuku, it was a pretty chill day at school, but one of my friends Hirono wasn’t there because she was getting ready for a volleyball tournament for after school that day. She came to eat lunch with us but then she had to go back afterwards. After school, I went home around four forty-five and started practicing violin. My host dad had suggested a small ensemble for Friday night because some friends of his were coming over for a small party. I practiced Eine Kleine and Kanon in D and then my host sister was off to her violin lesson. After about half an hour, my host dad had a cello lesson at our house and more people joined in. After the lesson, more people came.. and we set up the house so that there was a large table for food. The kids were in one corner while the adults were eating, etc. We played Jenga, Trump, and ate lots of snacks.
I learned how to play Edelwiess on the cello Friday night, so I can’t wait to get back and impress everyone with my mad cello skills! XD Cello is actually pretty hard though, because my pinky finger really isn’t used to such thick strings, and the cello string is extremely thick and it hurt pushing it down.. But I must endure! I went to sleep pretty late Friday night, but it was alright because everyone woke up late.. sort of. On Saturday, by the time I woke up, my host dad had already left for work and Kaho and Motoko, Kaho’s friend was already playing MarioKart on the Wii. Everyone had also eaten breakfast. It was alright though, I didn’t miss much.
So.. On Saturday.. Oh yes, we drove Kaho to her ballet lesson and then we went for Kaito’s baby swimming thing. It was for an hour, but during that time, I was talking to my host mom’s friend, who actually did an exchange in Seattle for a year, so her English was good enough that I could understand what she wanted to talk about. She also had a three month old baby that was just adorable! His name is Jin, and he’s just.. so cute. I wish I had taken I picture of him.. sadly I didn’t. Well, after the hour was over, we went to pick Kaho up from her ballet lessons and then we went to meet up with my host grandma. We ate lunch together at a restaurant named “Joyfull”.. notice the typo. :< Lawl, I was secretly laughing in my head. Well, after lunch, we came back home and.. I fell asleep.. I didn’t wake up until like.. six, and at seven, we were having a barbeque at the Ogawa’s house, a family that was over for Friday night.
I got ready for the barbeque and I had promised the night before that I would play with Ogawa-san’s daughters on the violin, because all four of them play violin. So, we got to his house and my host dad started barbequing the steak and vegetables and it was all very delicious. Especially the mushrooms, they were so good! I especially loved Miyako’s beef because it was super tender.. And I’ve also grown to love the Japanese drink Calpis. Lawl, it sounds like something else when they read the name.. but, it’s delicious none the less. I met Ogawa san’s daughters, but I only remember like.. two names.. Ayane and Moe.. I think.. Ayane is the oldest, and her birthday is actually tomorrow! She’s turning sixteen tomorrow, so she’s about a year younger than me. His other daughters were 13, 10, and 8 I think.. I don’t really remember..
After we ate and drank a couple things, I went inside and started playing Othello, which is super easy on a board game because it actually makes sense. On Brandon’s iPhone.. I didn’t understand how the chips were being flipped at all.. Lawl, I think I lost too.. Oh well. After the game, my host mom ask everyone to set up and so we did, and it turned out.. there were seven violins out! Haha, there were like.. three or four stands, seven violins, one piano, and one cello, and we busted out playing Kanon. I wish I had it recorded, but sadly, my host dad only took pictures of us playing, and didn’t record us.
After that, I played Spring, Summer, and Autumn with Ayane and Moe on the violin. It sounded really nice, but I got lost on some parts because I had never seen the music before, but man, they were really good! I’m so jealous, I wish I had taken violin lessons before, but oh well, I just gotta practice harder! I asked for the sheet music and we went to go get the music printed for me, so I could try to practice the songs..
Yeah, and then I got home around midnight, or well, I got home exactly at midnight, so I went to sleep right away and then in the morning I got a phone call from my parents, and then we were off to Kaho’s piano competition sorta thing. We left the house at ten thirty and signed in and Kaho changed. When I went to sit down to watch Kaho’s duet, I saw Irin, the other transfer student who came to Miyako about three months ago, and we sat down together and talked about how school was like for us so far, and what we had planned. After her duet with another girl, we went back home to eat lunch and then headed back to the music building around one fifteen. Motoko was there, she’s just such an adorable kid.. Well, I sat next to Motoko until she was called up to accept an award. After that, I watched kids go up to the piano and play.. Kaho was the last of her group.. but the tempo she took for her song.. way too slow in my opinion.. the other kids were playing it really fast, but the tempo she took it at.. made it sound like she didn’t really practice or know what she was doing..
Well, whatever, after that, we went back home and got ready to go to the beach! We went to Maeyama beach.. I think.. and we swam in the ocean for two hours and then when we got back, it was about seven. I took a shower with my host sister, got out and watched a little tv and then it was about eight, so we ate dinner together as a family. After dinner, I played with Kaito for a little bit and then started getting ready for bed. At around nine, I went up to my room, and here I am, typing out this blog of my weekend! I’m super pumped to finish my yukata tomorrow!
Alright, well, here’s to hoping no more bugs think I smell yummy and that tomorrow comes here quicker. Good night everyone~
Well, in other news.. after the first day of school, I made friends quickly, and now I know a lot of my classmates names. It’s a lot easier to remember than I thought. My schedule is pretty fun, and I’m excited I have cool classmates wherever I go. I’ve taken some pretty interesting classes, including a nursing/development kind of class, where we took turns holding a baby doll.. that weighed as much as a baby did.. and we also put on this thing that made us look pregnant. Haha, a lot of my classmates complained that it was heavy.. but.. it was only like eight kilograms. Not that bad. I was jumping around with it on until the teacher yelled at another kid. So I stopped. Haha. XD I’m also sewing a yukata in class, and so I totally want to get it finished by the end of next week. I’m super excited and can’t wait for school tomorrow!
On Wednesday.. one of my host parents friends happened to find a uniform I could borrow, and so now, I have a seifuku! It’s so cute! I just wish my hair was shorter.. it’s so hard to manage.. but I must persevere for the sake of cancer patients everywhere! And it would symbolize four years of my life/high school, and would be persevere for the sake of cancer patients everywhere! And it would symbolize four years of my life/high school, and would be pretty cool just to see it cut off.. Yeah..
Anyways, the weekend was actually really fun! Friday started off with school, where I started making my seifuku, it was a pretty chill day at school, but one of my friends Hirono wasn’t there because she was getting ready for a volleyball tournament for after school that day. She came to eat lunch with us but then she had to go back afterwards. After school, I went home around four forty-five and started practicing violin. My host dad had suggested a small ensemble for Friday night because some friends of his were coming over for a small party. I practiced Eine Kleine and Kanon in D and then my host sister was off to her violin lesson. After about half an hour, my host dad had a cello lesson at our house and more people joined in. After the lesson, more people came.. and we set up the house so that there was a large table for food. The kids were in one corner while the adults were eating, etc. We played Jenga, Trump, and ate lots of snacks.
I learned how to play Edelwiess on the cello Friday night, so I can’t wait to get back and impress everyone with my mad cello skills! XD Cello is actually pretty hard though, because my pinky finger really isn’t used to such thick strings, and the cello string is extremely thick and it hurt pushing it down.. But I must endure! I went to sleep pretty late Friday night, but it was alright because everyone woke up late.. sort of. On Saturday, by the time I woke up, my host dad had already left for work and Kaho and Motoko, Kaho’s friend was already playing MarioKart on the Wii. Everyone had also eaten breakfast. It was alright though, I didn’t miss much.
So.. On Saturday.. Oh yes, we drove Kaho to her ballet lesson and then we went for Kaito’s baby swimming thing. It was for an hour, but during that time, I was talking to my host mom’s friend, who actually did an exchange in Seattle for a year, so her English was good enough that I could understand what she wanted to talk about. She also had a three month old baby that was just adorable! His name is Jin, and he’s just.. so cute. I wish I had taken I picture of him.. sadly I didn’t. Well, after the hour was over, we went to pick Kaho up from her ballet lessons and then we went to meet up with my host grandma. We ate lunch together at a restaurant named “Joyfull”.. notice the typo. :< Lawl, I was secretly laughing in my head. Well, after lunch, we came back home and.. I fell asleep.. I didn’t wake up until like.. six, and at seven, we were having a barbeque at the Ogawa’s house, a family that was over for Friday night.
I got ready for the barbeque and I had promised the night before that I would play with Ogawa-san’s daughters on the violin, because all four of them play violin. So, we got to his house and my host dad started barbequing the steak and vegetables and it was all very delicious. Especially the mushrooms, they were so good! I especially loved Miyako’s beef because it was super tender.. And I’ve also grown to love the Japanese drink Calpis. Lawl, it sounds like something else when they read the name.. but, it’s delicious none the less. I met Ogawa san’s daughters, but I only remember like.. two names.. Ayane and Moe.. I think.. Ayane is the oldest, and her birthday is actually tomorrow! She’s turning sixteen tomorrow, so she’s about a year younger than me. His other daughters were 13, 10, and 8 I think.. I don’t really remember..
After we ate and drank a couple things, I went inside and started playing Othello, which is super easy on a board game because it actually makes sense. On Brandon’s iPhone.. I didn’t understand how the chips were being flipped at all.. Lawl, I think I lost too.. Oh well. After the game, my host mom ask everyone to set up and so we did, and it turned out.. there were seven violins out! Haha, there were like.. three or four stands, seven violins, one piano, and one cello, and we busted out playing Kanon. I wish I had it recorded, but sadly, my host dad only took pictures of us playing, and didn’t record us.
After that, I played Spring, Summer, and Autumn with Ayane and Moe on the violin. It sounded really nice, but I got lost on some parts because I had never seen the music before, but man, they were really good! I’m so jealous, I wish I had taken violin lessons before, but oh well, I just gotta practice harder! I asked for the sheet music and we went to go get the music printed for me, so I could try to practice the songs..
Yeah, and then I got home around midnight, or well, I got home exactly at midnight, so I went to sleep right away and then in the morning I got a phone call from my parents, and then we were off to Kaho’s piano competition sorta thing. We left the house at ten thirty and signed in and Kaho changed. When I went to sit down to watch Kaho’s duet, I saw Irin, the other transfer student who came to Miyako about three months ago, and we sat down together and talked about how school was like for us so far, and what we had planned. After her duet with another girl, we went back home to eat lunch and then headed back to the music building around one fifteen. Motoko was there, she’s just such an adorable kid.. Well, I sat next to Motoko until she was called up to accept an award. After that, I watched kids go up to the piano and play.. Kaho was the last of her group.. but the tempo she took for her song.. way too slow in my opinion.. the other kids were playing it really fast, but the tempo she took it at.. made it sound like she didn’t really practice or know what she was doing..
Well, whatever, after that, we went back home and got ready to go to the beach! We went to Maeyama beach.. I think.. and we swam in the ocean for two hours and then when we got back, it was about seven. I took a shower with my host sister, got out and watched a little tv and then it was about eight, so we ate dinner together as a family. After dinner, I played with Kaito for a little bit and then started getting ready for bed. At around nine, I went up to my room, and here I am, typing out this blog of my weekend! I’m super pumped to finish my yukata tomorrow!
Alright, well, here’s to hoping no more bugs think I smell yummy and that tomorrow comes here quicker. Good night everyone~
Saturday, June 20, 2009
First Day of School
Ah, so this morning, I woke up at six-thirty to get ready for school. Went downstairs to brush my teeth and hair and to eat breakfast. My host mother had prepared my bento for today, and so I packed that into my bag and then after we finished eating, we discussed what would happen, or what we were about to do. So, I got to the school and was herded to the teachers room. There, I was asked to do a self-introduction in front of.. many teachers..
Yeah, my heart was really doki doki during that moment, but I’m okay now. Haha, it’s really interesting, Japanese school. After the self-introduction in front of the teachers, me and Karen were asked to make a short self-introduction of ourselves to the student body. A student body of 500 students.. omg.. so many kids. Yeah, after that speech, I went to sit down with my class.
So, after the dude in the middle stopped talking, the teachers had a uniform check, and I went to grab my bag. My homeroom teacher pointed me to a girl who would show me the way to class. Eventually her friends caught up and they kept pushing each other to introduce themselves to me. They’re all super cute, and I’m really glad they were picked to guide me to my class. So yeah, the first period was self-study for the upcoming tests, and I didn’t do anything.. I talked to a girl named Haruka, who was trying really hard to talk to me and practice her English. She’s super pretty, and really outgoing, it seems. After that, we went to the nojo, farm. It was.. quite interesting. One of the sensei’s gave me a tour of the farm, showing me the pigs, the cows, the horses, and the goats. My favorite was the goats because there were some really small ones, and they’re just so adorable! Yeah, so after we finished the tour, we sat around and did nothing until the sensei called us over and we drove to the farmer’s market.. sorta thing where my classmates helped unload the van of bananas the students had picked earlier. I helped by carrying the bananas to where they were supposed to be and even put on a price tag .
After that, our sensei just drove us back to the school, where it was time for lunch. Yay! Yay! I was so hungry, you have no idea. So after that, I ate lunch with my new friends and I just had a ton of fun with them. After lunch was math, and then after math was this sorta calligraphy.. not really kind of thing. It was very very interesting. My new friends are super cool and I’m getting sleepy, so I’ll end this here. Good night~
It's actually June 20, and I know I haven't been blogging recently about my homestay. I've been coming home really tired, and so this one is especially short. I have tons of pictures I want to share with everyone, but I don't want to be using the computer for a long time, so I will save the pictures until after I come back, I hope what I blog is enough though.
Recently, I've been down in the dumps because I've been having to deal with bug bites.. and look terrible. But after slapping on some aloe for a night, it's gotten better, so there's no need to go to a doctor or anything. Alright, I think that should be it. I'll try to contact everyone later!
Yeah, my heart was really doki doki during that moment, but I’m okay now. Haha, it’s really interesting, Japanese school. After the self-introduction in front of the teachers, me and Karen were asked to make a short self-introduction of ourselves to the student body. A student body of 500 students.. omg.. so many kids. Yeah, after that speech, I went to sit down with my class.
So, after the dude in the middle stopped talking, the teachers had a uniform check, and I went to grab my bag. My homeroom teacher pointed me to a girl who would show me the way to class. Eventually her friends caught up and they kept pushing each other to introduce themselves to me. They’re all super cute, and I’m really glad they were picked to guide me to my class. So yeah, the first period was self-study for the upcoming tests, and I didn’t do anything.. I talked to a girl named Haruka, who was trying really hard to talk to me and practice her English. She’s super pretty, and really outgoing, it seems. After that, we went to the nojo, farm. It was.. quite interesting. One of the sensei’s gave me a tour of the farm, showing me the pigs, the cows, the horses, and the goats. My favorite was the goats because there were some really small ones, and they’re just so adorable! Yeah, so after we finished the tour, we sat around and did nothing until the sensei called us over and we drove to the farmer’s market.. sorta thing where my classmates helped unload the van of bananas the students had picked earlier. I helped by carrying the bananas to where they were supposed to be and even put on a price tag .
After that, our sensei just drove us back to the school, where it was time for lunch. Yay! Yay! I was so hungry, you have no idea. So after that, I ate lunch with my new friends and I just had a ton of fun with them. After lunch was math, and then after math was this sorta calligraphy.. not really kind of thing. It was very very interesting. My new friends are super cool and I’m getting sleepy, so I’ll end this here. Good night~
It's actually June 20, and I know I haven't been blogging recently about my homestay. I've been coming home really tired, and so this one is especially short. I have tons of pictures I want to share with everyone, but I don't want to be using the computer for a long time, so I will save the pictures until after I come back, I hope what I blog is enough though.
Recently, I've been down in the dumps because I've been having to deal with bug bites.. and look terrible. But after slapping on some aloe for a night, it's gotten better, so there's no need to go to a doctor or anything. Alright, I think that should be it. I'll try to contact everyone later!
Sunday, June 14, 2009
The Weekend
Okay, so, I’ve spent a whooolleee day at my host parent’s house. They’re really nice, and I’m ‘specially loving my little host brother, whose birthday is actually in one week! Well, after me and Karen got to Miyako’s airport, we met with our host parents and.. split. I went back to my host family, and I spoke.. really bad Japanese to them.. but they kept saying “Jyozu!” Which was really funny, because my Japanese is terrible. Haha, well, after that, their neighbor came to visit and I found out.. I’d be only going to school for two weeks.. what the heck? Dude. I just got really bummed out, and really sleepy after that.
After our neighbor left, my host sister and I went to take a bath. Lawl. Together. She just started taking off her clothes and I was like.. What do I do? What do I do? I was freaking out inside, but like.. she’s only eight, so I figured.. Eh, what the heck. And we washed our hair and rinsed ourselves off and got into the ofuro. Omg, that thing is so hot, but sooo nice. After you get out too, it feels really good. Haha, my sister, Kaho, is so adorable. She plays violin, piano, and she does ballet too!
Well, after that, I went to sleep and woke up around.. ten? My sister came to wake me up. We ate breakfast and then I got a visit from Karen! And another host student.. Irin? And Karen’s host sister Minami. So, they came by and they convinced my host dad to let me go explore Miyako for a bit, he agreed, asking that I be home by.. three, because Kaho gets home from ballet at that time. So, I was off to Karen’s house!
After arriving at Karen’s house I got a short tour and we all chilled in Karen’s room. We flipped through some magazines and talked about some actors.. and about Miura Haruma(?) Who is the main actor in the movie Koizora. He’s super cute btw. And it turns out, Minami has tons of pictures of him on her keitai (cellphone) and she showed all of us. That time we spent together just made me feel like I bonded more with Karen, Minami, and Irin. Oh yes, Irin also convinced my host dad to let me hang out with her after school tomorrow, which will be super exciting.. given that it doesn’t rain.. I had lunch at the Shimoji’s and we had soumen. Suupperrr good! Soumen is like.. cold noodles. Like.. well, I don’t really know how to describe it..
So we left, and then on our way to see my new school, (I won’t be going to Miyako High btw, I’ll be going to another high school.. for only two weeks. What the heck. D:), me, Irin, Karen, and Minami went to Purikura! It was tons of fun, I really want to take more. Like.. posing is really hard though. XD The fun part is decorating though. <3
Anyways, after that I returned back to my host family and we went grocery shopping. At dinner time, I actually made dessert. It’s my favorite Vietnamese dessert, and even though it was really spontaneous, I did okay. I had told them about a tofu dessert that I loved to eat, and so they wanted to try, and they bought ginger to make it. Haha, I really love my host family, they’re just so awesome. Yeah, so after I finished making it, our neighbors came over and we ate it together, along with a Japanese bean dessert which tasted like another Chinese dessert that I had. Then, I went to sleep!
Yeah, Sunday wasn’t very interesting, but I’m going to school tomorrow!
After our neighbor left, my host sister and I went to take a bath. Lawl. Together. She just started taking off her clothes and I was like.. What do I do? What do I do? I was freaking out inside, but like.. she’s only eight, so I figured.. Eh, what the heck. And we washed our hair and rinsed ourselves off and got into the ofuro. Omg, that thing is so hot, but sooo nice. After you get out too, it feels really good. Haha, my sister, Kaho, is so adorable. She plays violin, piano, and she does ballet too!
Well, after that, I went to sleep and woke up around.. ten? My sister came to wake me up. We ate breakfast and then I got a visit from Karen! And another host student.. Irin? And Karen’s host sister Minami. So, they came by and they convinced my host dad to let me go explore Miyako for a bit, he agreed, asking that I be home by.. three, because Kaho gets home from ballet at that time. So, I was off to Karen’s house!
After arriving at Karen’s house I got a short tour and we all chilled in Karen’s room. We flipped through some magazines and talked about some actors.. and about Miura Haruma(?) Who is the main actor in the movie Koizora. He’s super cute btw. And it turns out, Minami has tons of pictures of him on her keitai (cellphone) and she showed all of us. That time we spent together just made me feel like I bonded more with Karen, Minami, and Irin. Oh yes, Irin also convinced my host dad to let me hang out with her after school tomorrow, which will be super exciting.. given that it doesn’t rain.. I had lunch at the Shimoji’s and we had soumen. Suupperrr good! Soumen is like.. cold noodles. Like.. well, I don’t really know how to describe it..
So we left, and then on our way to see my new school, (I won’t be going to Miyako High btw, I’ll be going to another high school.. for only two weeks. What the heck. D:), me, Irin, Karen, and Minami went to Purikura! It was tons of fun, I really want to take more. Like.. posing is really hard though. XD The fun part is decorating though. <3
Anyways, after that I returned back to my host family and we went grocery shopping. At dinner time, I actually made dessert. It’s my favorite Vietnamese dessert, and even though it was really spontaneous, I did okay. I had told them about a tofu dessert that I loved to eat, and so they wanted to try, and they bought ginger to make it. Haha, I really love my host family, they’re just so awesome. Yeah, so after I finished making it, our neighbors came over and we ate it together, along with a Japanese bean dessert which tasted like another Chinese dessert that I had. Then, I went to sleep!
Yeah, Sunday wasn’t very interesting, but I’m going to school tomorrow!
Saturday, June 13, 2009
The Wait
So, yesterday, I went out to.. KARAOKE! Haha, it was extremely fun, we had about fourteen people in our room. I picked out the song “A Whole New World” and got everyone to sing a long, getting into the karaoke-ing mood. We only had the room for about an hour, and after that, we had to split the costs. It was about.. nine dollars each person, but some people were retarded and didn’t have exact change, which made it really confusing.. Okay, well, anyways, after that, I went to buy my host sister, who’s eight a hello kitty cup. YFU totally screwed up my host family info. My host sister is eight and my host brother is like.. eleven months old. Well, anyways, after I bought her the cup, I went back to the hotel room and started wrapping the gifts for my family.
I packed everything and headed to bed at around eleven o’clock. At about three-thirty, I woke up and noticed the sky getting lighter. The sun was rising! But, oh no, where was Karen, my roommate? All the lights in the room were still on because I had left them on hoping that Karen would come back to turn them off, but I woke up around three and apparently, her sheets were untouched and she hadn’t returned to our room. I stayed up till about five because I couldn’t go back to sleep. Well, after I fell.. kind of asleep, I woke up at six because of the alarm and turned it off, going back to sleep. I woke up around.. seven.. nine? And then rushed to the bathroom, to get ready to eat. The meeting time was at eight, and I didn’t want to be late!
Headed downstairs and went to eat at Jyurin, the coffee shop downstairs, and then I went back up. Apparently, the meeting time was eight fourty-five.. and so I had about.. well, nothing to do for about an hour. Ugh. How boring. After that, we all met downstairs, and I checked out, turning my key card back in. I sat down.. and realized I had left my toothbrush and my toothpaste back in the room! Oh no! BUT, luckily, Karen hadn’t come down yet¸ meaning she had not checked out yet. I caught her while she was adding her luggage to the pile of Blue tags.
I raced upstairs, grabbed my toothpaste and toothbrush and double checked our room and then headed back downstairs. The guy with an Australian accent seemed really stressed, and it was all really chaotic. After we got everything sorted out, we headed onto the bus towards Haneda airport. Got off at Haneda airport and we were in the airport getting our boarding passes etc. Karen and I were heading to Miyakojima, so we weren’t going to be alone. The YFU Japan staff who was helping us get to our flights was so adorable! I got a picture of her. I swear, she’s so freaking cute, she’s what you expect of a Japanese girl. XD
Anyways, after that, me and Karen boarded our plane with little to no trouble at all, and we were headed to Naha after take-off. The plane ride was.. boring. It was going to be two hours long, and god, did those two hours stretch.. and stretch. During this time, I just kept thinking about my host family and what they would look like, and how I would greet them. And then.. me and Karen find out the plane won’t land until 2:50.. our freaking plane to Miyakojima departs at 2:55. It made me really impatient, because the plane experienced so much turbulence in the last twenty minutes of the flight.. We landed at 2:55, but by that time the plane had already departed. Ugh. That sucks. We just missed our stupid flight.
So, we went to the baggage area and we talked to the people.. with some confusing looks, and some very poorly spoken Japanese on our part, and some English on ANA’s staff’s part, we were scheduled on the next flight to Miyakojima.. which isn’t going to depart until 5:45. Imagine that. God, so, after we found that out, we had to call our Area Representative and tell them our flight was moved to a later time, so that they could contact our host family.
And now, I just found out that our flight would be delayed, and we’re actually departing at 6:05 now. Ahhhgg, I hate this guys. I really do. But by the time I put this up, I’d probably be at my host family’s house. So, me and Karen are tired, sleepy, hungry but have no appetites.. and I have a piercing headache. I hope we can get to our host families house soon because I feel really sick. Alright, this is just really frustrating and I just needed to vent. :< I’ll talk to everyone later probably. Bye~
I packed everything and headed to bed at around eleven o’clock. At about three-thirty, I woke up and noticed the sky getting lighter. The sun was rising! But, oh no, where was Karen, my roommate? All the lights in the room were still on because I had left them on hoping that Karen would come back to turn them off, but I woke up around three and apparently, her sheets were untouched and she hadn’t returned to our room. I stayed up till about five because I couldn’t go back to sleep. Well, after I fell.. kind of asleep, I woke up at six because of the alarm and turned it off, going back to sleep. I woke up around.. seven.. nine? And then rushed to the bathroom, to get ready to eat. The meeting time was at eight, and I didn’t want to be late!
Headed downstairs and went to eat at Jyurin, the coffee shop downstairs, and then I went back up. Apparently, the meeting time was eight fourty-five.. and so I had about.. well, nothing to do for about an hour. Ugh. How boring. After that, we all met downstairs, and I checked out, turning my key card back in. I sat down.. and realized I had left my toothbrush and my toothpaste back in the room! Oh no! BUT, luckily, Karen hadn’t come down yet¸ meaning she had not checked out yet. I caught her while she was adding her luggage to the pile of Blue tags.
I raced upstairs, grabbed my toothpaste and toothbrush and double checked our room and then headed back downstairs. The guy with an Australian accent seemed really stressed, and it was all really chaotic. After we got everything sorted out, we headed onto the bus towards Haneda airport. Got off at Haneda airport and we were in the airport getting our boarding passes etc. Karen and I were heading to Miyakojima, so we weren’t going to be alone. The YFU Japan staff who was helping us get to our flights was so adorable! I got a picture of her. I swear, she’s so freaking cute, she’s what you expect of a Japanese girl. XD
Anyways, after that, me and Karen boarded our plane with little to no trouble at all, and we were headed to Naha after take-off. The plane ride was.. boring. It was going to be two hours long, and god, did those two hours stretch.. and stretch. During this time, I just kept thinking about my host family and what they would look like, and how I would greet them. And then.. me and Karen find out the plane won’t land until 2:50.. our freaking plane to Miyakojima departs at 2:55. It made me really impatient, because the plane experienced so much turbulence in the last twenty minutes of the flight.. We landed at 2:55, but by that time the plane had already departed. Ugh. That sucks. We just missed our stupid flight.
So, we went to the baggage area and we talked to the people.. with some confusing looks, and some very poorly spoken Japanese on our part, and some English on ANA’s staff’s part, we were scheduled on the next flight to Miyakojima.. which isn’t going to depart until 5:45. Imagine that. God, so, after we found that out, we had to call our Area Representative and tell them our flight was moved to a later time, so that they could contact our host family.
And now, I just found out that our flight would be delayed, and we’re actually departing at 6:05 now. Ahhhgg, I hate this guys. I really do. But by the time I put this up, I’d probably be at my host family’s house. So, me and Karen are tired, sleepy, hungry but have no appetites.. and I have a piercing headache. I hope we can get to our host families house soon because I feel really sick. Alright, this is just really frustrating and I just needed to vent. :< I’ll talk to everyone later probably. Bye~
Friday, June 12, 2009
Narita Airport and Tokyo
So yesterday, we finally arrived in the Narita Tokyo Airport and the minute I got off the plane, I immediately noticed just how heavy and damp the air was. It was really humid! The weather was about.. seventy degrees Fahrenheit, but dangit, humidity makes it feel so much more hotter. On the plane, I was sitting next to a really nice lady who happened to be returning home from a year studying abroad in Nevada. She actually helped me with my speech a little, advising me when I should pause and when I shouldn’t. The flight was quite long, and they didn’t really feed us a lot. It was really cramped, which I probably mentioned in my earlier post. I should be able to have my blog entries up by tonight, so yeah..
So, I got into Tokyo, and we walked through to our baggage claim, went through customs and then we were directed to stay in an area by YFU Japan staff. It. Was. Terribly hot. Yeah, just standing around in the weather was unbearable. We got split up into buses and were driven from Narita to Tokyo, the bus ride was great, and I got a lot of pictures, especially of Tokyo Tower, gorgeous tower. Driving to our hotel, I got to see a lot of Tokyo, and the city is absolutely amazing. Tall sky scrapers, very crowded, cars driving on the left side of the rode.. Yeah. There is a lot of Japanese written on buildings, cars, everywhere!
Ah, I just got back from our meeting with YFU Japan’s Chairperson. I think his name was Mr. Owakara.. Well, he gave us a really short speech and after that, we took lots of pictures. I really wanted a picture of him.. Oh well. Well, after that we had lunch at the YFU office.. and oh my goodness, their pudding is so delicious! I didn’t take a picture, I should have, but oh man, it was all really pretty. They also had fruits out, and the fruits were so sweet! There was watermelon, honeydew, melon, pineapple, strawberry, and a piece of pineapple, and it was arranged in a really cute way. Ah, I wish I took pictures, they tasted exactly how they look. Soo good.
After we ate, we had about an hour of free time, so me and a group of friends walked around in Tokyo. During our walk, we walked across a bridge that went across the street, and some vending machines, along with with a small shrine. Ah, it was really fun! The small park that we came across was absolutely beautiful, and lots and lots of foliage. It really felt like you were away from the hustle and bustle of the city, really quiet and peaceful. I got to take a lot of pictures, but man, I really felt like a foreigner, taking a picture of every little thing. Haha, well, it was quite interesting. While we were out, a lot of people were eating their lunch, and Japan just has a lot of people in business suits walking around! It’s so hot though, I don’t understand how they can wear all those layers.. or maybe it’s just a really lightweight fabric.. Oh, just saw four men in suits walk by.. Yeah, as you can see, they’re everywhere!
Outside entrance of the shrine.
A tree outside of the shrine.
Here, you wash your hands and rinse your mouth with the water and then you enter the shrine. You're supposed to "cleanse" yourself. :>
Inside entrance into the shrine; after cleansing ourselves we went through here.
Well, now that I’ve talked about what happened just now, I’ll talk about earlier this morning. Earlier, we met up with some members of the U.S. Embassy here in Japan, and they talked about what they did as part of the Foreign Services. They talked about their section and highly encouraged us to try for it, or it was what was implied anyways. I did my speech, messed up like twice.. but apparently they were impressed because the other two girls who did their speech didn’t do it in Japanese. Oh my goodness, so scary. Well, I’ll actually type my speech here, because I went through so much pain and agony to memorize it.
おはようござます。
YFUとおきなわへいわしょうがくきんをいただいたがくせいのだいひょうとして、わたくしはアメリカたいしかんにかんしゃのきもちをもしあけたいとおもいます。
わたくしたちとってこれわ、とってもりっぱなけいけんになるとおもいます。
このりゅがくで日本のぶんかをおしえていただくだけでわなく、アメリカのぶんかもおしえたいとおもいます。
このりゅがくはわたくしたちのしょうがいわすれないけいけんになるでしょう。
たいしかんのみなさまにたいへんかんしゃしております。
ありがとうございました。
So, to break it down, basically: On behalf of YFU and Okinawa Scholarship recipients, I would like to thank the U.S. Embassy. This is a great opportunity for us. The reason for us going to Japan is not only to learn a new culture, but to teach others of American culture as well. This is something we will never forget. To the U.S. Embassy of Japan, I give my thanks. Thank you very much.
Yeah, memorized all that on the plane ride to Japan, and rehearsed over and over again. I can’t believe I still messed up my speech though.. Ah, I’m so glad I got to walk around Tokyo a bit, it’s such a beautiful city, but man, is it hot! Well, I guess that’s it..
Oh yes! Goodness, vending machines! I even saw a vending machine for cigarettes.. but, that's not the point! While we were out walking around Tokyo, I saw a vending machine with this advertisement:
and I was totally wondering why the guy in the ad looked so familiar. And then it hit me. He's the actor for L in the Death Note movies. He looks so strange being kind of tan, but it's actually cool that I recognized him!
Oh yes, I never mentioned the hotel I'm staying at. I'm staying at the Keio Hotel in Tokyo and the view from my room is absolutely gorgeous. I can see Tokyo Tower from my room. Haha, well yesterday when we checked in, the YFU Japan staff gave us obento and we brought it up to our room to drink. The hotel is really nice, the minute we walked in.. everything seemed so shiny and sparkly!
Obento.
Tokyo Tower from my window. (Zoomed up a lot!) I lied. It's just a random radio tower. XD GAIJIN POWER AT WORK. Dx
Japanese toilets have lots of options.. The butt spray is especially really funny. Haha, I actually tried it and it really tickles. XD
So, I got into Tokyo, and we walked through to our baggage claim, went through customs and then we were directed to stay in an area by YFU Japan staff. It. Was. Terribly hot. Yeah, just standing around in the weather was unbearable. We got split up into buses and were driven from Narita to Tokyo, the bus ride was great, and I got a lot of pictures, especially of Tokyo Tower, gorgeous tower. Driving to our hotel, I got to see a lot of Tokyo, and the city is absolutely amazing. Tall sky scrapers, very crowded, cars driving on the left side of the rode.. Yeah. There is a lot of Japanese written on buildings, cars, everywhere!
Ah, I just got back from our meeting with YFU Japan’s Chairperson. I think his name was Mr. Owakara.. Well, he gave us a really short speech and after that, we took lots of pictures. I really wanted a picture of him.. Oh well. Well, after that we had lunch at the YFU office.. and oh my goodness, their pudding is so delicious! I didn’t take a picture, I should have, but oh man, it was all really pretty. They also had fruits out, and the fruits were so sweet! There was watermelon, honeydew, melon, pineapple, strawberry, and a piece of pineapple, and it was arranged in a really cute way. Ah, I wish I took pictures, they tasted exactly how they look. Soo good.
After we ate, we had about an hour of free time, so me and a group of friends walked around in Tokyo. During our walk, we walked across a bridge that went across the street, and some vending machines, along with with a small shrine. Ah, it was really fun! The small park that we came across was absolutely beautiful, and lots and lots of foliage. It really felt like you were away from the hustle and bustle of the city, really quiet and peaceful. I got to take a lot of pictures, but man, I really felt like a foreigner, taking a picture of every little thing. Haha, well, it was quite interesting. While we were out, a lot of people were eating their lunch, and Japan just has a lot of people in business suits walking around! It’s so hot though, I don’t understand how they can wear all those layers.. or maybe it’s just a really lightweight fabric.. Oh, just saw four men in suits walk by.. Yeah, as you can see, they’re everywhere!
Outside entrance of the shrine.
A tree outside of the shrine.
Here, you wash your hands and rinse your mouth with the water and then you enter the shrine. You're supposed to "cleanse" yourself. :>
Inside entrance into the shrine; after cleansing ourselves we went through here.
Well, now that I’ve talked about what happened just now, I’ll talk about earlier this morning. Earlier, we met up with some members of the U.S. Embassy here in Japan, and they talked about what they did as part of the Foreign Services. They talked about their section and highly encouraged us to try for it, or it was what was implied anyways. I did my speech, messed up like twice.. but apparently they were impressed because the other two girls who did their speech didn’t do it in Japanese. Oh my goodness, so scary. Well, I’ll actually type my speech here, because I went through so much pain and agony to memorize it.
おはようござます。
YFUとおきなわへいわしょうがくきんをいただいたがくせいのだいひょうとして、わたくしはアメリカたいしかんにかんしゃのきもちをもしあけたいとおもいます。
わたくしたちとってこれわ、とってもりっぱなけいけんになるとおもいます。
このりゅがくで日本のぶんかをおしえていただくだけでわなく、アメリカのぶんかもおしえたいとおもいます。
このりゅがくはわたくしたちのしょうがいわすれないけいけんになるでしょう。
たいしかんのみなさまにたいへんかんしゃしております。
ありがとうございました。
So, to break it down, basically: On behalf of YFU and Okinawa Scholarship recipients, I would like to thank the U.S. Embassy. This is a great opportunity for us. The reason for us going to Japan is not only to learn a new culture, but to teach others of American culture as well. This is something we will never forget. To the U.S. Embassy of Japan, I give my thanks. Thank you very much.
Yeah, memorized all that on the plane ride to Japan, and rehearsed over and over again. I can’t believe I still messed up my speech though.. Ah, I’m so glad I got to walk around Tokyo a bit, it’s such a beautiful city, but man, is it hot! Well, I guess that’s it..
Oh yes! Goodness, vending machines! I even saw a vending machine for cigarettes.. but, that's not the point! While we were out walking around Tokyo, I saw a vending machine with this advertisement:
and I was totally wondering why the guy in the ad looked so familiar. And then it hit me. He's the actor for L in the Death Note movies. He looks so strange being kind of tan, but it's actually cool that I recognized him!
Oh yes, I never mentioned the hotel I'm staying at. I'm staying at the Keio Hotel in Tokyo and the view from my room is absolutely gorgeous. I can see Tokyo Tower from my room. Haha, well yesterday when we checked in, the YFU Japan staff gave us obento and we brought it up to our room to drink. The hotel is really nice, the minute we walked in.. everything seemed so shiny and sparkly!
Obento.
Japanese toilets have lots of options.. The butt spray is especially really funny. Haha, I actually tried it and it really tickles. XD
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Airplane/Aiport!
So, I’m on the airplane! Yay. It’s really crowded, but it’s awesome because I’m really close to the window (second seat in), and I saw the plane take off, which was really cool. It was super loud at first, but now I’m used the noise, it’s background noise now. I think it’s been about two to three hours since the plane took off? So, about nine to eight more hours on this plane, and then we’ll be out. We already had our snack and lunch/dinner, so we won’t be having food for a while. I hope this plane ride will pass quickly; I’m ready to meet my host family and start going to school. It’s hard to believe that only a couple of days ago I was at school taking my finals. I feel so far away now..
Well, I’ve gotten about.. half of my speech down, and like, the guy behind me just won’t let me move my chair back.. He keeps pushing my chair back up.. that’s so not cool, can’t he understand that I want to relax? Damn economy class seats. Anyways, turbulence on planes are kind of scary.. the plane shakes around and like.. it’s no fun at all, especially when you’re about 30,000 feet(?) in the air and there’s nothing but water and water for miles on end. I’m currently listening to Sung Si Kyung singing “I Believe I Can Fly.” He amazingly has a very soothing voice, and his English sounds flawless when he sings. It’s the song I listen to when I’m feeling stressed out or down. (I listened to this song when I sat down to type my long post only hours ago. (June 10 in the U.S.; June 11 in Japan).
When the captain let us unbuckle our seat beats it felt like all the YFU students were getting up and moving around, and I thought it was really rude to the other people who were sitting on the plane. But, now they’re all sitting together.. which makes me feel kind of sad that I didn’t take the chance to move. I really should be memorizing my speech, but it just so long..
So apparently the plane is going 520 mph and the altitude is 33,000 ft. I’m trying to stay awake because I want to get on Tokyo time as soon as possible, and right now, it is… 6:05 AM in Tokyo, so I’m going to crash at maybe.. nine tonight? The forms on the airplane are so confusing.. I really need someone to help me fill it out, but I’m not sitting next to anyone I know.. Ugh, it’s not that bad, but I think too much stress would like make me really upset and make me start crying.. even though that’s not really a good thing..
I can’t wait to wrap my host parent’s gifts and stuff.. it’s going to be so much fun to see what they think of the gifts I got them.. and I want to see what kind of host brother I have. The YFU paper said I had only one host sibling, but when I called my host mom, she mentioned two names, not one, one boy name and one girl name, and I got nothing for the little girl.. I really want to clear up who’s in my host family so I can buy the last family member a gift. Ugh, I really want to sleep, but I think that’d just throw me off. I really want to sit Mabs, Jess, and Anna, but I don’t want to frustrate the other people around the plane.. Yeah..
Well, I’ve gotten about.. half of my speech down, and like, the guy behind me just won’t let me move my chair back.. He keeps pushing my chair back up.. that’s so not cool, can’t he understand that I want to relax? Damn economy class seats. Anyways, turbulence on planes are kind of scary.. the plane shakes around and like.. it’s no fun at all, especially when you’re about 30,000 feet(?) in the air and there’s nothing but water and water for miles on end. I’m currently listening to Sung Si Kyung singing “I Believe I Can Fly.” He amazingly has a very soothing voice, and his English sounds flawless when he sings. It’s the song I listen to when I’m feeling stressed out or down. (I listened to this song when I sat down to type my long post only hours ago. (June 10 in the U.S.; June 11 in Japan).
When the captain let us unbuckle our seat beats it felt like all the YFU students were getting up and moving around, and I thought it was really rude to the other people who were sitting on the plane. But, now they’re all sitting together.. which makes me feel kind of sad that I didn’t take the chance to move. I really should be memorizing my speech, but it just so long..
So apparently the plane is going 520 mph and the altitude is 33,000 ft. I’m trying to stay awake because I want to get on Tokyo time as soon as possible, and right now, it is… 6:05 AM in Tokyo, so I’m going to crash at maybe.. nine tonight? The forms on the airplane are so confusing.. I really need someone to help me fill it out, but I’m not sitting next to anyone I know.. Ugh, it’s not that bad, but I think too much stress would like make me really upset and make me start crying.. even though that’s not really a good thing..
I can’t wait to wrap my host parent’s gifts and stuff.. it’s going to be so much fun to see what they think of the gifts I got them.. and I want to see what kind of host brother I have. The YFU paper said I had only one host sibling, but when I called my host mom, she mentioned two names, not one, one boy name and one girl name, and I got nothing for the little girl.. I really want to clear up who’s in my host family so I can buy the last family member a gift. Ugh, I really want to sleep, but I think that’d just throw me off. I really want to sit Mabs, Jess, and Anna, but I don’t want to frustrate the other people around the plane.. Yeah..
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
SJSU PDO
On the left, holding the pink flag is my friend Anna, who hails from Wisconsin, she's really funny, and her laugh is just the most adorable thing ever. To the right of me would be my new friend Jess, who's the most artistic person I know!
So, at night, I met my second roomie Lily, and my third roomie Jess. They’re both really awesome people who have been the most greatest and understanding roomies ever. It honestly, must have been fate that they were assigned my roomies. Haha, Jess and me just talk about.. stuff all night while Lily is the responsible one out of the three of us. I had a blast sharing my room with them. The second day.. a really busy day.. I woke up and had breakfast with my kumi (Pink kumi btw) and then we went out to the lawn in front of the dorms and did some radio exercises. Then we went into our classes to discuss our homestay experience and I was placed in an intermediate Japanese class. I learned a lot, like how to say “I come from ____. This is a gift, please accept it.” and etc. Well, after my language class we did current Japanese news and then had lunch. Bafa Bafa was a fun activity and then we did
Yesterday, I woke up at seven and went to eat breakfast, then do radio exercises and we had our Japanese class. Then we learned Japanese etiquette and had a break. We played Barnga which was the most frustrating game ever. So, basically, it was a card game that we were to play, which eight tables and four people. Each table got a set of instructions on how to play the game. The winners moved up a table, losers moved down a table. BUT, there was a twist to this. The rules given to each table was actually different. People were expected to adjust, some tables, Aces were the highest while others they were the lowest, some tables trump cards were spades and others were diamonds, etc. Lunch happened after and then Japanese class. We had a Not with Me! Session that talked about personal space and stuff. Then we had an alumni/gender specific alumni panel. We had departure info and then free time for packing. After that, we went down to learn a Japanese Bon dance and then we had to make up a dance for our own kumis. I only have the other kumis’ dances, but it was all good. We actually won second places and was the second group to get our obento. They were delicious! I didn’t finish because it was so large, but I really did want to keep eating. So yummy, I swear.
So, I may not have mentioned this, but between all the activities YFU set up, I actually made a lot of cool friends. Jess, my roomie is an amazing artist and we hung out and drew a lot. She has inspired me to start a manga, or well, create a character at least. And I also met a girl named Mary-Anne Bowen, Mabs for short. Haha, I also met a girl named Anna who’s as great as I am. We had a blast drawing together, it’s all so fun to hang with them. A lot of the time I hung with Jess because we really have similar interests while reading manga and she’s just a really great person to talk to.
Last night was terrible. I got a call from my parents and they were all like.. “Oh, you’re staying in
This morning, I woke up at six and got ready with my luggage, went through all the steps for checking out of the dorms and then went to have my speech that I worked on the night before translated. Now I have to remember the speech, I’m so scared. Got on the bus, tried to memorize my speech.. right now, I have like.. one sentence memorized. I hope that I do well, I’m so scared.. Honestly, I don’t know what I’m going to do if I mess up in front of a lot of people. Auuugghhh. Yeah, well we got to the airport, and I checked in my luggage. Guess what? My luggage was 51.8 lbs. 51.8 pounds. Goodness gracious! The lady let me go through anyways, and I was so glad for that, she didn’t even say anything! I’m so happy that she let me pass through.
Well, after that, I went to get my stuff scanned and like. Holy crap. I forgot shampoo was liquid. And I had stuck it onto my carry-on. So I had to run back out and tell the YFU staff about it. It was all a big mess, I got really upset and had to get out of line and go back out and then after giving them my shampoo I went to get back in line, which got longer already. God, at this point, I felt really upset, stressed out, felt like crying. I went through the scanner things had to go through the electric scan thing and then I walked off to my gate. I almost forgot my carry-on. What the heck. At this point my day was terrible, and it was only like.. maybe 9:30 A.M. Terrible. Disaster. I was just really upset! Yeah, so I walked to gate 99 where we were supposed to be for our airplane and then met up with Jess, Anna, and Mabs.
And then I decided I would want to type up my blog here and post it later. After maybe.. two paragraphs..? Pato-sensei called me over and OMG. A girl named Nicole had not checked in and my shampoo is with her now! I’m so happy that I won’t be all dirty and stinky and smelly at my hotel. I’m so glad Nicole had checked in at a later time, I’m so thankful for being here.. And well, I’m just getting ready to board my plane. This must be a really long post.. but it covers a lot! I can’t possibly explain the kind of feelings that I’ve been experiencing but I can try to convey my frustration, my irritation, my excitement, my stress. Alright, well, I guess that’s it, unless I think of something else. Time to memorize my speech.
Sunday, June 7, 2009
The Family
I actually got my host family information yesterday, but I've been really busy these past two days and I haven't been able to update this blog. Well, nothing much has happened since I recieved my scholarship.. I mean, I went to the Pre-Departure Orientationa t the Berkeley Tilden Regional Park, but it wasn't that great. It was so-so, I would say. Well, in approximately tweleve to thirteen hours, I will be at San Jose State University, to start my Japan exchange, but you guys are probably wondering about my host family, right?
Well, I'm staying with the Shimizu family, and my host-father's name is Satoshi and my host-mother's name is Takako. I have a little brother who is eight years old, but I have no idea what his name was, it wasn't included in the paper they sent home. Well, as you can guess, I was really excited when I got my host family information yesterday. Apparently, I'll be staying in Miyakojima-shi in Okinawa, the same place Jimmy Ly (another recipient of the Okinawa Peace Prize last year) stayed last summer. I can't wait to meet my host family, but I'm going to have to wait at least a week before I see them, because apparently, I'll be staying three days at San Jose State and then another three days in Tokyo where I would be thanking sponsors and visiting some places.
So, today, I actually went out to buy some gifts for my host family. At Costco, my mom told me to bring some dried fruit for them.. blegh, and then we headed to the Great Mall to grab some gifts for my family. Well, I bought two shirts from Nautica for my little host brother, and my mom had some jewelry that was brand new, that she never even touched, and that is going to my host mother. My dad recently got some new socks from his co-worker and he never opened them, so I'll also be giving those socks to my host father. Oh, I also went to Target and bought four Pringles tubes for my little host brother and Jenga. I'm pretty sure that'll be a fun ice breaker between me and him, so I got it so he could play with me, but not only that, he could play with his friends too!
This afternoon, I actually called my host parents, but at the time, only my host mother was at home. It was really awkward because I didn't really know how to speak it, so I kept flipping through my Japanese-English dictionary to try to get the words right, and I think I exchanged my e-mail with her, but she might have copied it down wrong when I gave her the address, I don't know how Japanese people read out their address for people to copy down but yeah.. Anyways, as awkward as the call was, my host mother was very kind and patient, and so I can't wait to meet her at all!
Well, I leave for San Jose State tomorrow, and some of the things I'll need to bring with me that I haven't packed are: nice/formal shoes, black and white converses, eyebrow plucker, pads(! xD), money, and laptop. I also need to fold my clothes from all the baskets downstairs and bring them up and arrange them in my closet all nice and neat. And, if you haven't figured out by now, this is just kind of a section to remind me what still needs to be done.
I'm so ready to go!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)