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!
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!
