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!

The Stage is Set

Hey everybody! So, the reason for this blog is glaringly obvious. Or not? My name's Anna, and I'm from San Jose, California. Currently, I am a Junior at Independence High School, and I am seeing.. about a month of school left. Of course, that's only the start. This summer I won't be in the Bay Area. Oh where, oh where can this teenage girl be instead? Why, Okinawa, Japan of course! Well, why you may ask? Last year, summer of '08, my friend, Jimmy Ly, applied and received a scholarship to study abroad in Japan. After he came back, he encouraged me to apply for the program, which I did.

Re-cap of the last five months!:

I sent my application in around January. At that point, I was feeling pretty down. The moment I dropped my application in.. let's just say I was having second thoughts. I constantly started worrying about how I could've made a section "better" so that the people picking scholarship winners would see that I stood out as a candidate. It was just a whole big mess the first week after I sent my application in. To be honest, I was a nervous wreck! I started dreaming about going to Japan, seeing my host family, receiving my long-waited for letter from YFU.. All these things were whirling in my head.

Then came February. In February, I got a call from a YFU volunteer, calling to ask if I had time for an interview. Why of course I had time for an interview. I was pulling my hair out waiting for that fated call! How could I NOT be ready? I was born ready. Not really. I remember my mom dropping me off at Starbucks, at 8'oclock. Right on the dot. I honestly was scared I'd be late.. and lose my credibility as a responsible student! Good thing Starbucks was so close to my home.. Yeah, anyways, I got through the interview, and after, I started talking with Elizabeth (my interviewer) and I learned that she also had studied abroad. It wasn't in Japan though, it was in Germany, and she recently had joined YFU as a volunteer. The interview was really relaxing and Elizabeth was a wonderful interviewer!

So. My application sent in.. my interview over with.. it was only February! What do I do, what do I do? I have to wait until late April/early May to receive my letter! That's three months away! Honestly, this whole period inbetween February and April.. There was a lot of drama going on in my life. Hey, at least I was busy right? After waiting for three months, I received an e-mail from YFU about a Pre-Departure Orientation, which made me start thinking about my application status. (Not like I wasn't already thinking about it day in and day out...)

I came home from school on April 28, and checked my mail. Nothing! It was going to be a long week, I thought. I went to my room and started on homework, but I decided I was thirsty, so I went downstairs.. lo and behold, my sister holding a large white envelope with YFU and my name on it! I literally screamed. Screamed. When I saw the package. I had been awarded the Okinawa Peace Scholarship! Although it is a partial scholarship, only 10 people are awarded the scholarship every year.. 10 people nationwide who applied to YFU. I am one of the 10. I feel so accomplished, right now!

The only thing that needs to be done right now is for me to pay the rest of the tuition ($2000) and to start taking my finals for all my classes. I'm hoping I'll be exempted from most of my finals because.. I JUST WON A SCHOLARSHIP! I don't think so though. Haha, I'm just so excited. I'll update when I get any information on my host family, or where I'll be staying, which will in turn give me information on which school I'll be attending while in Japan. Oh yes, I've also been on a forum for students who are on exchanges and students who are about to go on exchanges. I've made some friends, and I hope to see them all at orientation. I'm so excited, I can hardly wait until May is over!

Well, that's mainly all I can blog about for now. Just a little (coughcough) self-introduction about myself and how I came to find YFU and my terribly terribly long wait for my letter. I cannot fully convey my feelings of anxiety. It is impossible. But now, the wait for that is over, and now, I'm just anticipating when I leave for Japan. It's going to be a fun summer, where I get to explore a new side of me, and you're along for the ride!