What's been going on?

As usual, I've been so busy! Many memories are being made and I can't wait to share all of them in detail when I get back. But for now, this will have to do. Corinne came a while back which was so much fun! It was really cool to get to show her around and have her see how I've been living. We went to a ton of different places such as onsen, going to see cherry blossoms, and various parks. She also got to come and visit my school for a bit which was very... Interesting. People thought that we looked EXACTLY the same and so many, many photos were taken. Saying goodbye was difficult, but I've gotten used to the whole saying goodbye thing. A few weeks ago, I went to go and help out at an orphanage with the other exchange students. I went again today but everyone else was busy so I went alone this time. It was so much fun! There's about 40 kids living there and so you're always running about with kids crawling all over you. All the kids called me their older sister and to my surprise, none of them were shy or nervous to come and talk with me. When I got there, there were group of three little girls hugging me and jumping on my back. They were really excited that I got to come back and I'm so glad that I did too. I was worried that I wouldn't get another chance to go back, and to me it was really important to get to do that. I think it probably means a lot to them that when I said I would come back, I was telling the truth. They have kids from about 3 years old all the way up to 18 year so there's always a lot of things going on there. Games, sports, crafts, dancing, all sorts of things. One thing that I've found from going to the orphanage is that kids are the same in every country. No matter where you go, kids are kids. Today, we had a lot of fun playing around with my camera and so I have a lot of really cute pictures!
So apart from the orphanage, I've been up to lots of other things. Last weekend, I was fortunate enough to be taken to Kyoto! It was absolutely amazing! I got to see lots of different temples, shrines, as well as a different culture from Hokkaido. I went to Kiomizudera (清水寺), Kinkakuji (金閣寺), and my personal favorite, Sanjusangendo (三十三間堂). They were so beautiful! Because Hokkaido wasn't part of Japan for a really long time, it doesn't have a lot of really old temples and shrines and so it was really awesome to get to go to all of this. Sanjusangendo was AMAZING. Hands down, it was the coolest place I've ever been to in my entire life. Sanjusangendo is a temple containing 1001 statues of the Buddhist goddess Kannon. Kannon can be either a woman or a man but in Japan, Kannon is generally depicted as a woman. When I walked into the hall where all 1001 statues were kept, I nearly fainted from how amazing beautiful they all were. I had seen this temple in photos but photos can't really do this temple any justice. I was surprised to find that the 1000 smaller statues surrounding the one larger one in the center, were all life size. Standing in front of all of these statues gave me sense of fear, vulnerability, while at the same time, a sense of safety. Being that there's so many of these gorgeous statues staring right at you, I found myself feeling very intimidated. I never knew something could be so scary yet so beautiful in my entire life. The even crazier thing about the statues is that every single one is a little different. In fact, a lot of people say that you can find your face on one of the statues. So, the smaller statues are amazing but the larger statue is just... Wow. It's wow. I must have stood in front of that statue for at least 30 minutes just looking at it. Unfortunately/fortunately, you weren't allowed to take any photos. I was kind of happy that you couldn't take photos because I feel like I wouldn't have gotten to enjoy it as much if I did take photos. However, I did buy some postcards of the temple so I'll have something to look back at.
Well, I could literally write a book about that temple but I have many other things to talk about! One very lucky thing that happened to me while I was in Kyoto was having the chance to see what the Japanese call "Maiko San". Maiko San isn't just one person, but it's what they call a younger Geisha. It's very rare so see one and I was lucky enough to actually be very close to one. I was eating dinner with my Mom, my mother's friends, as well as their daughter Megumi. I looked over and I saw one walk past the window. Megumi and I instantly ran outside and as creepy as this sounds, fallowed her for a while. They really do put the makeup on their skin that makes them completely white and honestly, it's beautiful. They're so elegant and interesting to look at. They all wear very expensive Kimonos and have their hair up. I asked my Mom if it was difficult to become a Maiko San, and she said that once you finish middle school, you go into training and practice everyday. That means no going to high school. I was really sad to come back to Hokkaido, but there are exciting things coming up here! My school recently started preparing for the school festival! I'm dancing, working in a haunted house, and selling juice with my friend Mariko. In Japan, the students organize everything by themselves so we're starting to have preparations after school everyday. It's difficult for me to make it to all the practices though because I have a HUGE test to study for next month. I'm hoping I'll be okay for both the festival and the test! We got our class t-shirts which are a tad bit funny. They all say "Qatar Foundation" across the front. I asked my friends if they knew what it meant, but surely none of them did. So yes. I've gotten all of this out of my system and I feel like I've told you guys enough of what I've been doing. As for how I'm feeling about going back, I don't know. I hate the idea of going back and I've even had a few meltdowns about it, but I miss you guys so much! It's crazy to think that I only have a little over a month before I go back. But anyway, I have to go and study. Merp. I'll try and update soon again. We all know that probably won't happen, but I will do my best! So until next update (if that ever happens) goodbye!

Officially a senpai!

So unfortunately, my spring break had to come to an end and that means school. Today was my first day being a second year student which so far, is already going really good! All of the kids in my class seem really nice which was a huge relief. They were all a bit shy still because not everyone knew me but once my teacher told them that I spoke Japanese, they all wanted to come and talk to me! I've noticed lately that I've gotten a lot more comfortable with my speaking. It's SO nice to be able to go out in public and be able understand things and be able to communicate with others when I need help. I've gotten to the point of comfort where I can talk on the phone in Japanese and everything goes smoothly! Now that I'm a second year, I get to be a senpai! Senpai means elder or senior. I'm sad to say that I kind of gave up on tea ceremony club because the girls in that club aren't very nice to me, but I'm still in English and photography club! When you're a senpai in a club, you get to help plan things which should be a lot of fun! In the morning, we all had to clean the classrooms and then go to the entrance ceremony. I always like going to school ceremonies because we all have to stand in perfect evenly spaced lines which always looks cool. The teachers just talked for a really long time and then we went back and had homeroom. So yeah, I only had a half day with no real classes which is probably why it was fun. A random little thing that happened yesterday is that I was FORCED to cut my hair! I don't know why my host mom wanted me to cut my hair so bad, but she mad me cut it and it's very short now. :( Oh well, it'll be a weird little memory! My family's taking me on a lot of trips soon so I bet I'll have a lot to talk about in a bit! Well, that's about all I have to talk about. I love and miss all of you back home! :)

Being an older sister

So a few weeks ago, I changed to my last host family. I absolutely love them! But before I talk about them, I want to talk about the family I had before that. My third host family I only got to stay with for three weeks because my host mom was pregnant with her fourth child. For the first time in my life I got to be an older sister! Having there be two boys of 5 and 9 and a girl of 7 was quite the experience! The oldest boy's name is Reo, the girl's name is Sena, and the youngest boy's name is Rei. Rotary was thinking about putting me in a different house but I'm SO glad they didn't. The time I spent in that house was some of the best I've had on exchange. Because I don't have to do any work at school, I have a lot of free time and I think the kids really enjoyed taking advantage of that. We were ALWAYS playing. Crafts, card games, tickle fights, and hide and seek for hours. It was really fun being able to be with children so young because I don't get very many chances to do that. I was also very fortunate to have a family that wanted to take me out to other towns and places so I ended up going to Otaru which is famous for glass work and later to Noboribetsu which is famous for onsen. Noboribetsu was pretty far and so we stayed there for the weekend! It was really nice to have a weekend only for relaxing. We spent the whole time in yukatas (Japanese robes) and sitting in hot springs. The onsens in Noboribetsu are amazing! The hotel we stayed at had about 30 different baths you could soak in. Some are really hot, lukewarm, and some are even outside. Besides trips and playing all the time, another thing I really got to benefit from was the fact that everything spoken in that house was in Japanese. Every once in a while I wouldn't understand what the kids were saying to me and whenever that would happen, I'd most likely learn a new word or phrase. My mom and dad were the sweetest people and were always there to make me feel like one of their own! On my last night there, my mom and dad prepared this huge sushi platter themselves which was SO sweet of them. So I've been with my current family for a few weeks now and during that time, they had the baby! Today I was fortunate enough to go visit all of them and it was so much fun! It's a boy and his name is Kei! When I got to their house, all of the kids ran downstairs and started attacking me like I never had even left. For some reason, 3 other families came over (all with kids) and had dinner. It was actually really fun because hey, who wouldn't want about 500 kids tackling them? When everyone left I got to hold the baby and help give him a bath which was really fun! Currently, I'm on my spring break which is REALLY nice. It's giving me some time to get to know my family as well as relax a bit. In my current family, I have two sisters and a brother. My oldest sister lives in Tokyo and her name is Miho, my other sister's name is Miyu, and my brother who's close to my age is named Yodai. It's fun being able to joke around with them and do things we all want to do because we're all relatively close age wise. A few days ago, we got lost in this bowling alley and couldn't get out so that was something funny I won't forget. The school year ended so when I go back to school I'll be a second year. I'm really not that excited because I had to be put in the science classes instead of art because there weren't enough girls for the science classes. The one cool thing is that I have the same homeroom teacher! Tomorrow I'm hanging out with an exchange student from Australia and have to get up early so I'm off to bed! I'll update again as soon as I can! 

6 months... Gone?

So my half way point is coming up in a couple days and so much has happened since I last updated! Next Saturday, I'm moving to my next family and it's crazy to think that I'm already moving again! It turns out my next family is going to be having a baby so I can only stay there for one month, but I'm still really excited! Two boys from Australia came a few weeks ago and they're both awesome! Alicia and I went to one of their houses for the weekend and it was so much fun! I went on my school ski trip and it was very... Interesting. The snow, mountain, and weather was amazing! However, we had to stay in the same group the ENTIRE time we were skiing and everyone had different levels of skiing ability. One girl in my group had to walk down the mountain four separate times. The one good think that came out of this was that I had to be a translator! A girl in my group had one of her ski bindings fall off and some Australians came and helped her! She was scared and didn't know what to do so I translated everything! Everything turned out fine and we were back on our merry way. On Saturday, my family and I went to the snow festival and it was AMAZING. I had the opportunity to go and watch them build the sculptures so it was really cool to see the final product. They had all sorts of lights to color the snow and ice and it looked absolutely gorgeous. There were so many people and so it was really crazy getting around the city. After that, we went to tempura and it was delicious! Yesterday, Alicia and I went shopping and I got a shirt and dress for super cheap! For some reason, everything's on super sale and so it was a good day to go shopping. I loved yesterday because while I was on the subway, a old women next to me asked me if my hands were cold and gave me a hand warmer! We talked the entire time I was on the subway and it made me feel really good because she talked really fast but I understood everything she said. She also said my Japanese was really good which made me so happy! Today I got some photos developed and they turned out really cool! So that's what I have to say for now. Love and miss all of you! Also, I just wanted to say that I'm soooooooooooo excited for Corinne to come! Can't wait to see you, Corndog. Okay, I'm done. Bye!

Winter Vacation Update!

So, I haven't updated in a LONG time and for that, I apologize. I started winter vacation about two weeks ago and it's been really nice but not at all what I expected. I was really looking forward to learning a lot of Japanese over winter vacation because I would be home. I've spent a lot of time at home but I haven't learned any Japanese at all because there's another exchange student living with us because she didn't like her family. She doesn't speak any Japanese and so it's really hard to learn. We also have to share a room which normally I would be fine with, but I just wish she would speak Japanese. New Years was AWESOME! In Japan, New Years is very important and there are many traditions that you do. In the morning, we went to a shrine and prayed. It was really fun going to a temple because it was so beautiful and peaceful. I got to pick a piece of paper out of a box and that was supposed to be what 2013 will be like for me. According to the paper, it should be a good year! You were supposed to tie the paper on a rope, but I didn't have time to tie it and I just wanted to keep it. My host dad bought me a charm that's supposed to keep you safe and bring you good luck so I now keep that in my purse. Once we got home, my family gave me New Years cards that I got in the mail from all of my classmates. I feel bad that I didn't send any out but I'm going to make them all thank you cards. A little later, the rest of my family came over and that's when New Years got really fun and crazy! We ate traditional Japanese food which was really good and we ate on the ground. In Japan, people drink a lot and unfortunately, my dad and brother didn't last long. My dad was sleeping on the ground and my brother was sleeping in the office. I showed everyone my yearbook and they thought it was really interesting. I talked to my grandmother for a while and she told me the sweetest thing! She said "I'M your Japanese grandmother!" She is the sweetest little lady and I love her. After a while, things calmed down and people started to leave. It was such a fun day eating all the food and going to the Temple. My host sister from Tokyo is visiting us right now and so it's been really fun having her around. Today, I went shopping with my host mom and sister which was really fun. I bought a little photo album for about $2.00 which I was happy about because I've accumulated so many photos! Yesterday, my family and I went out to dinner and it was really funny because we had to walk through a department store to get to the restaurant and all the shop owners new my family. We constantly had to stop to talk to people. The food was really good and it was fun because it was one of the restaurants where they have a grill in front of you and you get to watch them make the food. In a few days, I'm going to go out with some friends which I'm of course excited for. It's so beautiful here with all the snow and I can't wait to go skiing with my school. So that's what's been going on. I'll update later!

Update!

So, this is going to be a really big update. Two weeks ago, I went on a trip to Kanazawa which is a city near Kyoto with my next host family and Alicia. It was crazy fun! We got to meet my next host brother, his wife, and his wife's family. They were SO cute. They're all really crazy and so it was just a blast. We got to go to castles, gardens, and ancient Japanese towns. Unfortunately, it was raining the entire time and so I wasn't able to get pictures because we were outside all day and I didn't want to ruin my camera. It was really fun because Alicia and I got to wear kimonos. We got to go in a little room and have a lady dress us. It was crazy to see how many layers there are to a kimono. In fact, it took about a half hour to put on the kimono but I really enjoyed it. The obi (the belt around the kimono) is really tight and so it felt like someone was hugging you! After that, we went to a market and looked at all the fish.  At the market, we found a conveyor belt sushi restaurant. It was really yummy and fairly cheap, too. However, the rest of our meals were not so cheap. While we were in Kanazawa, we had two $500 dinners. How crazy is that? Eating with all of the family was so much fun because again, they're all mad crazy. It was really sad leaving my host brother's family and I really wish that we could have stayed longer. When we got back to Hokkaido, it was snowing! This was a really nice surprise to come home to. Last weekend, was super busy! On Friday, I didn't have school because it was Labor Day as well as Thanksgiving in America as well as my host mother's father's 1 year death anniversary. The entire family went to go visit his shrine which was actually really interesting. Basically, you go to a special building that's filled with people's shrines. They're like little cupboards all in a line and you can go and unlock it to put flowers, snacks, and money in. We all sat in front of the shrine while a Buddhist monk sat and did one of those singing/talking prayers. It was really interesting to listen to even though I couldn't understand. After that, we all did a prayer with this powder. You had to put it to your forehead and sprinkle it three times. Then, you had to do a short prayer. I thought it was really cool that they let Alicia and I do the prayer because it was cool to try. After that, we all went out to dinner for yet another $500 dinner. Bah. Craziness. I stayed over at Alicia's that night because it was our last night being host cousins. :( I helped her pack and get ready to leave and boy was it horrible. Even though we still get to see each other, we cried a ton. On Sunday, we went to my Grandma's house where we Skyped Yuri for a while. It was so fun to hear how she's doing! After that, we went shopping. In Japan, there's this really cheap face wash that works amazing for me! We picked up some of that and then went to the outlet mall to go "window shopping". We looked for a while until my host mom decided that everyone was allowed to spend 5,000 yen. I said I didn't need anything but she INSISTED I got something. I chose a really cute cardigan which I absolutely LOVE. It's all warm and fuzzy. ^_^ After that, we went out to sushi. Today, I did the modeling for my art teacher and it was mad awkward. Like, really awkward. Luckily, he just took pictures of me wearing different clothes and doing different poses so it's only a one time thing. Also, we had testing so I had interviews with teachers and school was only a half day. So that was pretty cool. However, on the way home, my iPod broke! I'm so mad because it's not like I dropped it or anything, it just stopped working. Lately, it's just been shutting off and closing out of programs but now, it straight up won't turn on. It's in perfect condition and I could have kept using it for so much longer but I guess not. -_- No more parties on the way to school for me. So yeah, that's what's been going on lately. I'm so sorry about how badly written this is. I'm losing all my English! Ahhhhh! Anyway, I miss all of you and love you so much! <3

A very scary Halloween!

So today is Halloween and so far, it's been a very scary one! Last night, I was getting pain right in the place where my appendix is. I told my host mom and she said that we'd keep an eye on it. I went to bed and when I woke up, it felt better but soon after I got up and walking around the pain came back. I told my host mom that it was still hurting and she said that I should go to the hospital. Now, in Japan it's completely normal to go to the hospital even if you just have a head ache, but it was a big deal for me. I got to the hospital and I took my temperature. That's right, I took my temperature. In Japan, they give you a thermometer to measure your temperature while you're waiting and then once you're done you just walk into the treatment area and give it to a nurse. It's weird how you can just walk into any treatment area. Also, they take their temperature under your arm instead of under your tongue so that's different. It turned out that I had a little bit of a fever and so they started getting afraid that I had appendicitis. I went into the doctor's office where he pushed on my stomach a bit and he thought, too, that it might be appendicitis. After that, I went and got blood drawn. That wasn't bad but I don't think they even tested it or anything. Once that was over, I had to go and get an ultrasound. This wasn't very fun because it took about an hour to do and it hurt when they had to press on my stomach. Although, it was cool getting to see the inside of my stomach even though I didn't know what I was looking at. When that was finally over, I went back to the doctor and he said that I didn't have appendicitis but that my intestine was inflamed. I couldn't really understand why it was inflamed but they said it's okay and that I should get pretty soon. They gave me a ton of medicine to take which kind of sucks, though. In Japan, medicine only takes care of one symptom and so I have to take four different medications three of which I have to take three times a day. So that's been my day so far. I also want to talk about what I did on the weekend. On Saturday, I went with my family and Alicia's host family to go and eat ramen and go shopping. The ramen was really good although it was a bit difficult to eat. On Sunday, I had to go with my Japanese tea ceremony club to a special tea ceremony event. All of the women there were dressed in beautiful kimonos and it was really fun because we got to make tea using all of the traditional pots, spoons, bowls, and chopsticks. At first, we went to one huge tatami room and that's where we had to seeza and bow to a scroll. Seeza is the proper Japanese sitting poster which luckily, I can do. It's considered special if you're able to seeza because it's a little painful. Like I said, I can do it but after about an hour, it starts to hurt real bad. After we were done with looking at the scroll, we moved into a beautiful tatami room. It had beautiful lamps and screens and there was a gorgeous Japanese garden out the window. There, we were served the tea which actually takes quite a while. There are many, many steps in Japanese tea ceremony and so everything takes a long time. After that, we moved to a separate room where we were served snacks. My tea ceremony teacher was in that room and it was really fun to see her all dressed up in her kimono. Once that was over, my friends and I went to karaoke, purikura, lunch, and shopping. It was really fun being able to walk around town with no plans and to be able to do some sightseeing.  When my friends and I were walking back to the subway station, we were crossing the street and the car waiting for us to cross honked its horn, rolled down the window, and asked where I was from. I still feel weird when people that I don't know come up and talk to me but my friends said that it's normal in Japan to do that. So that's all I have to talk about. Happy Halloween everyone!