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!

Feeling like home

Today was really fun and for some reason, everything circled around home. My host grandmother as a very gifted artist and today, we went to go see her art in a gallery. It was really fun seeing it all on display but it reminded me of home because the shop where her art was on display was filled with ceramics, paintings, and  various things made from wood. Very Oregon. After that, I went to lunch with my host family at a very, very, very Portland-like restaurant. It felt kind of weird but it was really nice at the same time. Once I got home, I posted some pictures on Facebook and then went downstairs. When I went downstairs, I found my host mom reading a book. I asked what kind of mystery book it was and she said that it was a mystery book. I told her that I liked Agatha Christie books and for some reason, she had an Agatha Christie book in English. It was only 88 pages long so I finished it pretty quick, but it was nice just relaxing on the couch. Later, the door bell rang it was my package! It came way early so I was really excited. Although this sparked my first crying session, I was really happy to get the package. Thank you!

Mom:

I miss you so much! Going on exchange has made me realize how much I appreciate you. You're such an amazing, kind, loving, and thoughtful person. I love you so much!

Dad:

Dad, I miss all of your craziness. I miss golfing, going to Bend, and joking around with you. I talk about you to my family a lot and tell them stories about you and they think that you're a very fun person. (They're right.) I love you so much, Dad!

Corinne:

Oh my goodness, I miss you. When I saw you sent me a letter, I took my package to my room because I knew I wouldn't be able to read it without crying. I miss your kindness, shenanigans, jokes, and all of the adventures we have together. I really hope you can make it here someday. I love you Corndog!

Grandma and Pawpaw:

Grandma, I'm sorry, but I had to tell my host family about the time I caught you trying to reach for the blinds with a spaghetti spoon  because my host mom has to do something similar. I miss you guys so much and I want to thank you for the email you sent! I can't remember if I replied to it or not, but if I didn't, I'm sorry! I'm just so busy!

Nana and Opa:

I miss hearing about all of your projects going on in both of your lives! I hope everything is going good for both of you and I love you guys so much! Tell Mocha I say hello!

Aunts, Uncles, Cousins:

I miss having our crazy get-togethers! I miss skiing, eating, and joking around with all of you! Love you guys!

Friends:

I miss all of you so much! I miss going to the grocery store and not knowing what to get, I miss playing ping pong on roller skates, I miss sneaking into football and basketball games, but mostly, I miss talking with all of you! I hope school is going well for all of you and that you're having tons of fun!

I want to thank everyone for their support. I couldn't be here without all of you and I certainly couldn't have gotten here without all of you! Love you!

Two Months!

Well, I've been here for two months. I still absolutely love it here and I'm so glad I came here. My language skills are getting better every single day and it's so exciting. Last weekend, I went to a Rotary seminar for two days with my host brother from my last host family. He's so awesome! The seminar was kind of boring so it was nice to hang out with my host brother. Today was awesome! For some reason, school went by really fast and I didn't feel tired at all. After school, I found out there weren't any clubs so I got to go home early. Once I got home, I cleaned my room, organized my school stuff, and sent my monthly report to my country officer. After that, I had dinner, took a shower, and then talked with my host mom for a few hours. I love her so much. She's the sweetest, nicest, funniest lady. Now, I'm getting ready for bed so I'll update later! Goodnight!

Update!

So, first off I want to apologize for not posting in a while. I've just been busy having so much fun! On Tuesday, I went on my first outing with my Japanese friends! It was so much fun! We went to take purikura, went shopping, and then got some ice cream. Today was insane! I woke up and went to Costco with my parents (Yes, they have Costco in Japan. Although, it's essentially a closet). Once I got home, I had to get ready to go to a Rotary meeting. I got to meet all the outbounds and they're really cool! I talked a lot with one of the outbounds and we're planning to hang out soon. Also, once the meeting was over, his little sister came up to me and gave me a key chain and took her picture with me. She's so adorable! Before the meeting, all of the exchange students went to karaoke and it was so fun. I asked one of the Rotarians if we needed speeches and they said no but they lied to me! They had us do speeches in Japanese and we just had to wing it. I probably sounded like an idiot but a woman came up to me after and told me I spoke very fluently. I'm far from fluent but it still made me happy. Also, during the meeting I finally found out who all of my host families are! My second host family is indeed my host aunt and uncle so I'm super excited about that because they're awesome. I'm really excited about my third host family because I'm going to have a little brother and sister! I didn't know they were my host family, but I've talked to them and they're really sweet. My last host family I'm excited to stay with because I've already become really good friends with my host brother. I'm really happy to finally know all of my host families and I'm really happy that I'm so excited to stay with all of them. Lastly, I found out that I'm going to the beach with Alicia tomorrow. I'll try and take some pictures while I'm there. Lastly, my English is going down the drain so I'm sure approximately none of this makes sense. I just really don't feel like reading all of this again and fixing it. So yeah, goodnight! 

A relaxing weekend with my family!

This weekend has been really fun! Yesterday, we went to the Sapporo art park! The Sapporo art park is a place in the woods that has places to go and watch artisans, museums, as well as a park to sit and relax. It was super fun! We got to go inside a famous novelist's house and it was really cool to see what Japanese houses looked like a long time ago. Today, I went with my family and Alicia's family to the Autumn festival! We got to eat a ton of different types of food and walk around town. Also, I found out that Alicia's host family might be my second family which I'm super excited about! I've been really bummed that I have to leave my host family but if I stay with Alicia's host family, I'll still get to see my family and I love Alicia's family so I'm excited to spend time with them. And oh my goodness, my host mom just screamed because there was a bug in our salad. They freak out about bugs here! This morning, there was tiny little spider on the wall and my host mom flipped out and killed it with a tissue. So that's been my weekend. Art, food, and spiders. Until next time, bye bye!

Update!

Today and last weekend were so much fun! On Saturday, Rotary took all of the exchange students to go harvest fruit, go white water rafting, and go to an onsen. Harvesting fruit was awesome because we were allowed to eat as much fruit as we wanted and it was super beautiful outside. Rafting was awesome because we got to wear wet suits and it felt really cool when we swam. I also got to jump into a river off of a mini cliff so that was legit. We went to the onsen last and it felt amazing. An onsen is a natural hot water spring where people go and relax. You're not allowed to wear anything when you go to an onsen, so some people were a bit nervous to go. But it's normal for Japanese people so I didn't really care. I was all cold from the river water and so it felt really good to sit in some really warm water for a while. Today was fun because I'm starting to enjoy school more and more everyday. I can understand more and now I can joke around with my friends. When I was going home, I was walking past the grocery store and my host grandmother was there! She lives about a block away from the store so she invited me in for ice cream and tea. Until today, I had only been on the 1st floor of her house. I really liked it when she showed me around her house because I got to learn a lot about her. It turns out, she's an amazing artist! All of the hallways upstairs have pictures she's painted propped up against the walls. I also got to learn that my host grandfather was a photographer. I got to look at a lot of the pictures he took and that was really cool. My host brother lives with my grandmother part-time and when he got home, he told me that my host grandma doesn't usually take people upstairs, so it made feel good knowing that I'm very welcome in her home. Once I got to my house, my host mom told me that I might get to go to Honshu with Alicia! I'm so excited because I was upset about not being able to go with my school to Honshu. Also, I'm just excited to hang out with Alicia. So that's my poorly written blog for the day. I can't think of any other way to end this thing, so goodnight! 

Fun times!

Yesterday and today have been really fun! Yesterday, I had to give a presentation to all of the English classes about American high schools. It was really fun to take a break from sitting in a class all day and just tell everyone what my school in America is like. Once school got out, I went to ESS (English Speaking Society) club to help out. It was so much fun! I really liked helping everyone with their English because in return, they helped me with my Japanese. Everyday I understand a little more Japanese and it's so exciting! Unfortunately, I can understand a lot more than I can speak, so it's hard to keep conversations going. But that's okay. Starting this Friday, I'll have a 2 hour-long Japanese lesson at my school. Every exchange student with Rotary gets a private tutor to meet with every week and mine is so nice! Today, was fun because we got to play volleyball in P.E instead of just running for an hour and I noticed that it's getting easier to understand my friends when they talk. Also, when I got home today, my host Mother had cut up a ton of carrots and cucumbers for me because I had told her that I loved carrots and cucumbers. Now, I'm sitting watching the news and getting ready to take a shower. So until next time, じゃね!

Update!

So, a lot has been happening. This week, my school had exams so I got to sit in the library and study. It was kind of nice to just be able to sit and study Japanese for a while. A few days ago, I had a Rotary meeting and my host parents let Alicia and I do whatever we wanted after. We took the subway to Odori and explored! It was so much fun to be able to do whatever we wanted and just walk around for a bit. Amazingly, we made it all the way back to our subway station with no help and boy did that feel good. I feel so independent now and I really like it. Yesterday, I went out to dinner with my host family and Alicia's host family. It was so much fun! We went to a traditional Japanese restaurant and I got to try a ton of awesome food. I ate chicken skin, chicken stomach, chicken gizzards, eel, and an eel heart! The eel heart was actually really good and I felt proud for trying it. So far, I haven't turned down any food they've given me. Everything's so delicious here! Today's been a nice relaxing day and it's nice to have those every once in a while. My host grandma and my host brother's girlfriend came over today and we all played Jenga! It was super intense. Before my grandma left, I gave her some gifts from America and when my host parents got back from taking her to the subway station, they said she cried because she was so happy about the gifts I gave her. It made me so happy that it made her THAT happy! So that was a nice way to end the day. It's raining now, which I'm so happy about. It's finally starting to cool down a little which makes everything a lot easier. Especially sleeping. So I'm going to go sleep right now. Goodnight! 

Japanese living...

I wanted to update a little sooner but I've been really tired so I'm doing it now instead. This weekend was super fun! On Saturday, I went to a movie with other exchange students and after that, we went to our Rotary orientation. We had dinner, gave speeches, and had time with our Japanese tutors. Rotary events are always super fun because we get to eat a ton of awesome food and everyone is super nice. On Sunday, we had a very nice, very Japanese day. In the morning, we went to the grocery store to pick up supplies for a BBQ. Here in Japan, they love to BBQ. When we got home, my host Mom and Dad started making a ton of delicious food and when my host Mom was done, we did origami together! I really like spending time with my host family. They're the sweetest people and it makes me sad when I think about leaving them. About the BBQ, we ate all of the food outside and it was the perfect day to do it because it wasn't very hot. After dinner, they showed me how to use the bath. It. Was. Awesome. Japanese baths are amazing in the way that they're really deep and so you're fully submerged in really warm water. It's super relaxing. Monday was a pretty normal day, but while we were having dinner, our neighbor came over to ask us to come and do fireworks with them. That was such a Japanese thing to do. Everyone is so nice and thoughtful of others which is just so different from America. I never really thought that Americans were rude until I came here. It's amazing how kind people are here. Anyway, the fireworks were really fun. Both of our families were running around in the streets with fireworks. What's not fun about that? It was also really fun because I got to actually meet my neighbors. I met the Mother of the house once, but this time, the whole family was there. It was kind of embarrassing because I had just got out of the shower and I was in my pajamas, but they told me I should be a fashion model so I guess I looked okay. That's another thing about Japan. If you're foreign and you come to Japan, you instantly become the most beautiful person ever. It's really weird and I'm still not used to people yelling and screaming "cute" at me. Gross. Last night was insane, though! I woke up in the middle of the night to rain, rain, rain. I've never seen it rain so hard which is saying a lot considering I'm from Oregon. But because this is Japan, and all weather must me extreme, there had to be thunder and lightening really close to my house to keep me up for an hour. So that was fun. NOT. Because it was raining so hard, it got really humid which made it even more difficult to fall back asleep on top of all that thunder and lightening. Although, two weeks ago, we had an earth quake during the night so that was pretty crazy. It was the first earth quake I've ever experienced so I didn't really know what to do. I got out of bed to go stand under the doorway, but I fell over. It was so weird because I could feel the entire house moving underneath me. In Japan, they build everything to withstand earth quakes, so it was okay. But it was still kind of a shock to me. Today was the first day of final exams at my school and so everyone was studying like mad. Luckily, I just got to sit in the library and study. Also, they had teachers come in to talk to me for a while so I got to meet a lot of the teachers and that was really fun. Because it's exams week, we get out at noon and it's awesome. When I got home, I ate lunch with my host Mom and then went to the store. While we were at the store, we went to an awesome Lego shop! I've never been to a store that was just for Legos and for some reason, I thought it was really cool. It was cute! My host Mom bought me this little Lego key chain with my name engraved on it. On to the Rotary blazer it goes! I hate it when she spends money on me, though. I feel so bad! I can't take how kind people are. It's ridiculous. I really want to cook them something for dinner one night, so hopefully they'll like that. But yeah. So that's what's been going on. I'm sorry that everything on here is so crappily written.  I just don't really have a very good way with words. Anyway, I will update later. Until then,  bye bye!

Mirrors and mirroring 

These days, mirrors and I have a real love-hate relationship. I try to avoid them as much as possible due to the fact that I always look like death. I have circles under my eyes, my hair's one gigantic poof, and I'm always sweaty. This is not something I want to see. Although, mirrors do have one thing I want to see. I was thrown into this country without a clue of what's going on or how to do things. Everyday I'm learning and everyday I'm growing less tired but only because of one thing. Mirrors. I've learned to mirror what everyone else does and so far, this has been a great way of learning. It's also helped me make a lot of friends. I go to school by myself now and everyday, I follow someone to school to make sure I don't get lost. Almost everyday I do this, I make friends with the person I'm mirroring. And these friendships don't just last a day. I go to school, go home, go to the store, and talk with them at school all the time. So as you can see, mirrors have good things as well as bad things about them. Today was insane and really fun at the same time. When I got to school this morning, my homeroom teacher told me that the entire soccer club got food poisoning from some outing they went on and so all the kids were wearing masks and were afraid of getting sick. During my second class, all of the teachers were called to a meeting and when my teacher came back, she told us we had to get out of the school really fast. It turns out, they found a bomb near our school and weren't sure whether it was active or not because it was from during the war so it was really old. I got home at lunch time so I ate my obento and then my Mom and I went to run a few errands. First we went to the book store where I got a magazine! Japanese magazines are crazy different from American magazines. There's always so much going on and the modeling is more fun and quirky versus being more serious. After that, we went to the stationary shop so I could get some pens and notebooks for school. Everything's so adorable here and so it makes it really hard to choose what I want to get. Once we were done at the stationary shop, we went to the grocery store to buy food for dinner. I LOVE JAPANESE GROCERY STORES. They're absolutely amazing. Everything's so neat and clean and the shopping carts have swivel wheels on them which I think is really smart. Once we got home, my Mom and I talked for a bit and that was really fun. Recently, I've been feeling like speaking Japanese is finally starting to click. Every time I have an actual conversation with someone, I feel so happy and proud of myself and makes me feel like I can actually do this. There's nothing like the feeling of accomplishment!

Fun, fun, fun!

I've been having so much fun here! Yesterday, I got done with my first week of school. The first two days, I had regular classes but Wednesday and Thursday we had the sports festival. It was so much fun! Everyone gets together and plays sports for two whole days and at the end, there's a big ceremony. For the ceremony at the end, I had to prepare a speech in Japanese and English to do in front of the entire school. I was so scared, but it ended up being just fine. When I got up on the stage, everyone was screaming, cheering, and of course yelling "kawaii!" which means cute. So embarrassing! But once I was done, I felt awesome and everyone told me I did a really good job. Even my teacher said I did a lot better than she expected! Friday was just a regular day, but it was still really fun. I'm already part of a group of girls and everyone is super nice to me. Although I'm obviously very different from everyone, people have accepted me and have really welcomed me into their school. Another really nice thing is that I've become really good friends with another exchange student from Rotary. Her name is Alicia and she's from New York. We're both VERY similar and so it's really nice to have someone that completely understands what you're going through. Today, I went with Alicia and her host parents to go on a gondola ride up a mountain so you could see all of Sapporo. It was so beautiful! Unfortunately, I didn't know what we were doing so I didn't bring my camera. It's all good, though. I took pictures with my mind! After that, we went to where Olympic ski jumping was held! It was amazing! We got to go on a ski lift up the ski jump and it was crazy to look at just how big those jumps are. They're absolutely massive! After that, we went to this chocolate factory and had lunch. It was delicious! I don't know what I had, but it was really good. Once we were done having lunch, we went to Alicia's house to have dinner with both of our host families. Our host moms are sisters and so Alicia and I are host cousins! How cool is that? I think it's super cool. Tomorrow, Alicia are going to go explore Sapporo by ourselves. I'm really excited because I haven't really had a chance to just walk around and take pictures. And Mom, don't worry. I know what I'm doing. I have a phone and I know how to use the subways so I'll be fine! I really like how I'm usually busy everyday because that means I get to keep experiencing more and more things. Because of this, there isn't a moment where I'm not having fun. I absolutely love it here.

Update!

Well, tomorrow is my first day of school! I'm so nervous but excited at the same time. I know it will be fine especially considering how wonderful Japan is. I love it here. One thing that I get a real kick out of is the background music they play on television shows. I was watching the news and they were playing "Eye of the Tiger" in the background as well as "The Final Countdown" and the main song in the Phantom of the Opera. Japanese television always makes me laugh because it's so fun, quirky, and downright odd. Everything is like that here, so you never get bored because wherever you look, there's some sort of smiley face, cute animal, or funny little pictures on it. Another thing that is really funny is how they put English on everything but it almost always doesn't make any sense. I call it Engrish! For example: I saw a shirt at a store that said "Boy Scouts of America" on it but also had a name tag sewn on it that said "Alexa". Alexa = not a boy's name. There's also a candy here called "Colon Cream". DELICIOUS. It probably is, though. The food here is amazing! So yeah, I really like it here. I want to say more, but I have to go to bed because I have to get up really early. So, oyasuminasai! 

I made it!

Yesterday was my first full day in Japan, it was also the busiest day of my life. That morning, I woke up to pouring rain which made me very happy. It was comforting and relaxing to hear the sound of the rain hitting the roof. My family is very nice and I feel so lucky to be staying with them. Yesterday, I went with my host sister to the American Embassy to get her visa approved, went to go take purikura, went to JR Tower, got lunch, went to my Grandmother's house(she's the cutest thing I've ever seen), went to a Rotarian's office to sign some papers, and went to my school to pick up all of my things. I loved how I was with my host family the entire day, I love spending time with them. I feel bad that my Japanese is so bad, but I'm picking up some new words so hopefully I'll get better. My chopstick skills have already increased due to the fact that we're always eating! The food is very good, but I'm not used to eating during these times of the day so I feel like I'm always full. On Monday, I start school. I'm so nervous! I know everything will be okay, but I wish I could speak better Japanese. Today, I have to go do something with my passport and medical insurance card. I'm not sure what, but that's what my host Mother told me. Also, I think I get to meet another exchange student from New York. This, I am very excited about. This way, I won't feel completely alone. I always new this would be hard, but I had no idea it would be this hard. I know I can stay strong, but this is definitely going to be the most difficult thing I've ever done. 

Leaving and on the way!

Saying goodbye to my family and friends was one of the hardest things I've ever done. So far. Leaving Oregon was such a difficult thing to do. I love Oregon so much and doing this leaves me thinking "What the heck am I doing?". I know that in the end, this will all be worth it, but that doesn't make things any easier. Currently, I'm in Canada waiting out a wonderful 5 hour layover. Yay. Once I leave Canada, I'll head out to Tokyo and there, I will wait to catch my flight to Sapporo. I'm so excited to meet my host family and see where I'll be spending a year of my life. Nothing can explain how I feel sitting up so high in that airplane. With every passing moment I spend in that plane, I get closer and closer to Japan. I'm ready to be there. So close!