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!