Summer Plans: Hiroshima, Camp, and Shopping of course!

Tomorrow is the school closing ceremony! And then it's natsu yasumi  (Summer vacation) until September 1st! Everyone has a ton of homework over the break but I've been studying super hard lately so I almost have all of my homework finished. The only hard part is reading Japanese. Kanji is super super difficult so it takes me like 10 minutes sometimes just to be able to read the sentence in JAPANESE! Hah! At least I have a helpful host family and friends, huh! I've gotten really quite good at translating from Japanese to English, as long as I have a dictionary, I can get the whole sentence right almost all of the time in my schoolwork.

Let's see...I have a lot of plans over Summer vacation, which is awesome! Before, I was pretty lonely but now I have lots and lots of friends and we can get closer by hanging out more. My school is a business school so EVERYONE is busy studying and going to club after school. Some of them still have club 7 days a week during the break. Like my friend Rika; she's the baseball team manager! Baseball club is really strict. As are handball (our school is the prefectural champion), dance, baton twirling, basketball, etc. At least I'm not in a super strict club :D

It's one of my best exchange friend's birthdays this Friday, so we are probably going to hang out next week when we're both free! Now we are very far away from each other, when we used to be neighbors. But, my train pass gets me to all of the major stations and all of the stations in between for free for a whole month! So we can hopefully meet often. Her name is Ingrid and she's from Sweden. She's probably the most positive person I've ever met. Besides my American mom, of course!

August 4th-7th I have Summer camp! It'll be with some AFS exchangers in the area and a lot of regular Japanese students! It's going to be in Gifu, and it's supposed to rain. I hope it'll be fun. At least I'll have the chance to see my friend Bess from New Zealand! And a lot of other students. My friends are from Norway, Sweden, Thailand, France, Italy, Russia, New Zealand, Argentina, Finland, Germany, Switzerland, Australia, Mexico, etc. and America and Japan for sure! So many!!

August 25th-26th I'm going to Hiroshima!! With AFS though. At least Ingrid will be there, and maybe students from other Nagoya chapters, too! :) I'm really excited because I absolutely LOVE Japanese history and before I left America, I wrote and essay on the atomic bomb drops in Hiroshima and Nagasaki and how both America and Japan could have acted differently. I know that it will be somewhat sad and a time for reflection, but I've always wanted to visit the city, ever since 4th grade when my favorite elementary school teacher showed us a movie and read us a book about Hiroshima and Pearl Harbor. It's really important to educate young students about such things and give them a passion for world peace!

Here are some pictures of Hiroshima:

(I don't own these!)

The bomb and blast site in 1945:

Well over 200,000 innocent Japanese people were murdered by the atomic bomb explosions in Hiroshima and Nagasaki combined.

 

The Hiroshima Peace Memorial:

Commonly called the "Atomic Bomb Dome" or "Genbaku Doumu" in Japanese, this memorial is part of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and it's also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was the only building left (at least partially) standing near the A-bomb's hypocenter. Now the building's skeleton is all that remains. The park was created around it, and it is left to commemorate the loss of the tens of thousands of lives of the people killed by the bomb.

 The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum:

 

 

I think it will be very interesting and eye-opening to be so close to the destruction.

One another note, the AISHO school trip is to Nagasaki in October, but it's $600. So I can't go! How depressing. They're always planning for it during class so I just study by myself in the library. Oh well, hopefully I can find other things to do. My entire year will not be at school for a few days! But, they've promised to bring me back some omiyage (souvenirs)!

Tomorrow, I think I am going to a an AISHO baseball game at Komaki stadium. No idea where that is, haha. That's just a little scary! I'm pretty confident in my use of the subways and trains now, though. Although it can get really confusing! I've taken a train going to wrong way several times, but I've gotten much much better ;) Hopefully I wont get lost. I think Rika is finding someone to take me! Japanese people are the nicest people you will ever meet, trust me!

School Life: Uniforms and Classes and Other Fun Stuff!

I figured out how to change the font back to normal, thank goodness for other exchange students that are actually skilled.

So, I feel like I should write about my school life because most people have no idea what Japanese high school is actually like!! (If you've ever watched anime, trust me, it's NOTHING like that hahaha) :D

Well, I go to a commercial business school, so it might be kinda different than some schools. Actually, every school is different..

Uniforms

But, my uniform is very strict. It's kinda like a British school uniform I think! Not very Japanese!

There are two main types of school uniforms (called seifuku or sailor uniforms)

(Disclaimer: most of these pictures do not belong to me)

The first is like mine, usually more business-looking than the other type of uniform but not always since the skirt can vary in length and design and the bow can change size and color. Sometimes the blazer even has gold buttons! My host sister goes to a nicer, newer school, so her uniform is short and  very fashionable.

My winter uniform is similar to this. Mine is navy and the bow is like a black shoelace or something though (weird, I know). The boys at my school wear the male uniform shown in this picture. In summer, there's no blazer and the dress shirt is short-sleeved!


Here's the second version, a true sailor uniform.

Cute, isn't it? My friends Ingrid and Emma both have sailor uniforms like these.

Here's me at school: 

Basically I just do whatever I want in the library hahaha!

(Yes, the high neck and tight ribbon constantly choke me. I actually got a rug burn thing on my neck from the shirt collar)!

My uniform is scratchy and annoying to change in and out of, especially in the super hot weather here. I would give anything to wear pants! But, I think that the summer uniform will be much better :D The long skirt is not so cute, but it's nice to not have to worry about it blowing up so much in the wind (although it does happen a lot, so I wear shorts under my skirt. I'm so glad it's long enough to wear shorts. Oh, and I don't have to shave my legs every day, which is definitely a plus!!)

I see some girls wearing such short skirts here that I can see their underwear!! It's Japanese culture to wear shirts that don't even show a hint of cleavage, so it has turned into leg country here. Interesting, huh!

Also, no makeup or accessories are allowed (this goes for almost all high schools in the country). I secretly wear tinted moisturizer, but no jewelry or eye makeup or anything else. And, no nail polish! Sorry girls! It's actually not so bad at all. Oh, and no dyed hair. Mine has highlights but it's not like anyone can tell ;) Sometimes, at really strict schools, they check the length of your nails, but they don't seem to care at my school!

Classes

Actually, they really don't care at all what I do. I skip a lot of classes (with permission, of course!) and I sit in the library and read books or listen to music or sleep or eat lunch. I skip at least one class a day!

Today I slept all through chemistry (I already took it in America and I still have no idea what's going on here). I also don't do anything during math because I hate math and I can't understand anything so it's fine with my school! I don't need anything except P.E. credit from this year anyway!

Here's a picture of one of the classrooms:

I have three different English classes here. One is English Communication, and the other two are Business English. English Communication is basically reading articles (right now we just finished learning about the history of chopsticks and the knife and fork) and answering questions out loud and on a worksheet. I also had to write a really short essay about my home town in America! Then everyone had to read theirs out loud to the ESL teacher from Jamaica. I got full marks haha! English Communication is taught by my homeroom teacher, who's a nice Japanese man.

Out of the Business English classes, one is basic conversation (taught by a really nice Yale graduate guy from Minnesota) and another is business-related (learning how to answer a telephone for a business, talking about money, etc.) and it is taught by a really funny Japanese man. Usually the teachers ask me for help, which is fine by me because I can actually participate!

Here's　my schedule in English:

And in Japanese:

Also, I have Japanese class. The other students are learning difficult kanji  (Chinese characters) and there's no way I can even begin to comprehend what anyone is talking about, so I fill out a Japanese workbook. It's all in Japanese, and I have to answer each question in Japanese, but it's not so hard for me anymore :D and it really helps to improve my writing skills! I'm a lot faster now than when I first started.

Japanese is taught by a kind Japanese woman, and she also teaches my calligraphy class. Twice a week, on Tuesday and Friday, I go to calligraphy with the first year students. I sit in the back and I work on my own letters, but it's fun nonetheless! Being left-handed, calligraphy is extra hard. The letters are actually purposefully made for right-handed people, so I have to hold the brush in my left hand like a right-handed person would in their right hand. It's super awkward, but apparently I'm actually good at it! :D

Then, I have Home Economics, which is also taught by a really nice Japanese lady. (Okay, can we just assume that everyone is super nice here??) We're making something right now that involves sewing but I can't give it away in case my mom is reading this ;) and then yesterday I joined the third years for cooking! We made spaghetti with meat and vegetable sauce, veggie soup, and strawberry cream jello/jam. I had already eaten my obento, so I was insanely full.　:)

P.E. is really really tiring here!! All we do is run! It's the worst when it's 80 degrees F outside, super humid, and we have to run over a mile on the dusty dirt track. By the end everyone is coughing so hard that we can't even hear the teacher talking. Also, the other day, we ran for 20 minutes straight! I thought I would pass out and die. I was never that great at distance running. But, I get to try soccer soon I think, which sounds good to me :D (I played soccer for seven years, by the way)

Also, one of the (middle aged, male) P.E. teachers said I'm really pretty, which is normal here but it would be creepy in America haha! They're all really nice though. I fell down the stairs at school and he said I didn't have to run, but I did anyway :) I can't let anyone see me sit out! I'm super noticeable. I think it's so great how everyone supports each other here, though. For instance, when we're running and the boys are waiting (we have separate groups), they all yell "Ganbare!! Fight on!!" whenever we pass. They especially yell it at me, and clap and cheer when I pass! It makes me feel so happy. The other day,  I blew a kiss at them when I passed and they went absolutely crazy trying to figure out who it was for. My friends and I had a pretty good laugh about that one. :D

Japanese history is pretty fun, but I don't know what's happening (eh, I don't know what's happening 75% of the time in any situation). The teacher told me (in Japanese) to keep fighting and one day I'll understand everything :D he's really funny and he writes out the reading of kanji for me in the hiragana alphabet so I can follow along in our fill-in-the-blanks worksheet. He doesn't have to do that so that's really kind of him!

Other classes include math (that sensei is like 23 years old and pretty cute actually....everyone is telling me how hot he is), science (no idea what's going on but apparently the teacher is really funny), health (pretty sure it's sex ed and the teacher keeps calling on me to answer awkward questions), and home room.

On Monday, I have an entire extra class (Home Room)!! We meet for an hour in the morning to listen to various teachers give speeches on something or other to the students...while we all have to sit on the gym floor, in skirts. Not good for my back problems at all!

Here's what it looks like in the gym:

Except there are a ton more students on Monday morning, and no chairs!!

I have 4 pairs of shoes for school:  loafers for walking to school in (except they hurt my feet so I wear flats instead), school-issued slippers for inside the school building, indoor gym shoes that are ugly and white, and outdoor gym shoes that are whatever tennis shoes I want.

After school every day, the students clean the whole building. This is called souji and it's at every school in Japan! They never need janitors. I don't take part in it though hahaha! Instead, I talk to one of the English teachers at the school. I meet with her every morning and afternoon to talk about the schedule and my life and anything at all! She is amazingly kind! My host family doesn't give me snacks, so one time when I first met her, she gave me a ton of cookies to take home with me. She always helps me with everything and I'm amazingly lucky to know someone as kind as her :D

Also, I actually don't know what I would do without someone to explain my schedule to me! One time we had school on a Saturday! And once we had no school on a random Tuesday.

My friend Emma in Kyushu doesn't have anyone to help her and one week she biked 40 minutes to school on two separate days and found out that there was no school only because no one was there. That sucks!! But, it makes for a funny story, especially because her bike tire popped in the middle of getting to school on one of the days. If you're reading this, ily Emma and I'm sorry for laughing at your pain :')

School Building

Ok, and I should talk about my school building, too!

My school is in the middle of an urban area, and here are some pictures of the view:

I took these from the 6th story calligraphy room of the main school building! The big building in the previous picture is the gym. 

Yes, we do have a swimming pool, so that's pretty awesome! My school is more business focused, so we sadly do not have a soccer field, though. Our handball team members are national champions though, which is pretty awesome, too!

Under the gym, there is the shoe locker area where we store our slippers and outdoor running shoes and umbrellas and stuff. Since we don't change classrooms really, we don't need lockers for school bags! We just keep everything in our desks. It's quite nice. Breaks are 10 minutes long here and it doesn't take much to prepare for each class, so there's a lot of free time to chat with friends or go to the bathroom or eat lunch in between classes!

Behind the gym and shoe locker building, there is the outdoor dirt track (I hate that track so much oh my gosh). To the side are the tennis courts I think.

There are three grades in Japanese high school (corresponding to 10th, 11th, and 12th grade). I moved up and became a junior (11th grader), despite being 15! That means that I am a second year! So, I'm on the third floor, which means I have to walk up 2 flights of stairs to get to my homeroom class. 

On the first floor, there is the staff room and tatami room for tea ceremony and flower arrangement. The second floor is for the third year classes, third floor for second years, and fourth floor for first years. The fifth floor has a library and various other rooms such as a (really truly awful) computer lab that's so old it's basically unusable and the math classrooms. The sixth floor has the calligraphy room.  Also, on the roof (which you can only get to by elevator) apparently the "AISHO Honey Girls" are raising bees. Freaky! I wish I could see it though!

Well, that's basically all I have right now! I probably should have broken this post up, but it's all connected so oh well :')

Thank you for reading! Drop me a question, any question, in the comments!! <3

Where has the time gone?!

Ｐｌｅａｓｅ　ｅｘｃｕｓｅ　ｍｙ　ａｗｆｕｌ　Ｅｎｇｌｉｓｈ　；）

2 months already? ! Crazy stuff.

I don't know where all the time is going! Some days, it feels like I do everything wrong and the day lasts forever, but when I can get out of the house and hang out with my friends, I never want the day to end. It's hard to explain. I almost feel like I never had a life in a different country, yet I'm so confused here all the time, so it must be so.

Although I seriously hate my school uniform, school is getting to be more fun! It is still incredibly tiring to wake up at 6:00 AM every morning, get ready and eat breakfast, put on my uniform, walk and take 2 subways for 45 minutes to school, listen to and write in Japanese and try to figure out what ' s going on for 8 hours, then get home around 5:00 PM after a 45 minute trip back.

I'm in tea ceremony club, so every Wednesday I get home around 6:15 PM.

Tsukareta! ! つかれた ! I am worn out!

I can feel my Japanese improving, however slowly it may be. I still can't manage full gramatically correct sentences by myself, but I can read much better than I could 2 months ago, and I can understand a lot more.

Using my dictionary, I had a full conversation and gave some relationship advice to a friend during an hour of classtime! (Oh yeah, I don't actually do classwork, unless it's English or P.E.) And the other day I had a conversation without using my dictionary at all with a woman on the train.

Also, I made some exchange student friends, which is awesome! I went shopping once with a big group from all over. There's a girl from Sweden, who's basically my neighbor and the nicest girl I have ever met in my whole life, then there are 2 girls from Japan that are going on exchange this year (one for a year to America and one to Canada for a month) then there are 2 boys from a different exchange program (one from France and one from Italy) and a boy from the Czech Republic, but I haven't talked to him much.

Ａｎｙｗａｙ，　ａ　ｆｅｗ　ｗｅｅｋｓ　ａｇｏ　ｗｅ　ａｌｌ　ｗｅｎｔ　ｓｈｏｐｐｉｎｇ　ｆｏｒ　ａ　ｆｕｌｌ　ｄａｙ　（ｅｘｃｅｐｔ　Ｉｎｇｒｉｄ　ｆｒｏｍ　Ｓｗｅｄｅｎ，　ｓｈｅ　hasn't　ｍｅｔ　ｔｈｅｍ　ｙｅｔ）　ｉｎ　Ｓａｋａｅ　ａｎｄ　Ｏｓｕ！！　Ｓａｋａｅ　ｉｓ　ｔｈｉｓ　ｂｉｇ　ｕｎｄｅｒｇｒｏｕｎｄ　ｓｈｏｐｐｉｎｇ　ｃｅｎｔｅｒ，　ａｎｄ　ｍｙ　ｓｃｈｏｏｌ　ｔｒａｉｎ　ｐａｓｓ　ｇｅｔｓ　ｍｅ　ｔｈｅｒｅ　ｆｏｒ　ｆｒｅｅ，　ｗｈｉｃｈ　ｉｓ　ａｗｅｓｏｍｅ．　Ｉｔ　ａｌｓｏ　ｉｎｃｌｕｄｅｓ　ａ　Ｓｔｕｄｉｏ　Ｇｈｉｂｌｉ　ｓｔｏｒｅ，ｗｈｉｃｈ　ｉｓ　ａｍａｚｉｎｇｌｙ　ａｗｅｓｏｍｅ　ｂｕｔ　ｅｘｐｅｎｓｉｖｅ　ｂｅｃａｕｓｅ　ｉｔ’ｓ　ｂａｓｉｃａｌｌｙ　ｔｈｅ　Ｊａｐａｎｅｓｅ　ｖｅｒｓｉｏｎ　ｏｆ　Ｄｉｓｎｅｙ　（ｗｉｔｈ　ｄｅｅｐｅｒ　ｓｔｏｒｙｌｉｎｅｓ，　ｔｈｏｕｇｈ）．　Ｏｓｕ　ｉｓ　ｗｉｔｈｉｎ　ｗａｌｋｉｎｇ　ｄｉｓｔａｎｃｅ，　ａｎｄ　ｉｔ’ｓ　ｔｈｉｓ　ｈｕｇｅ　ｏｕｔｄｏｏｒ　ｃｏｖｅｒｅｄ　ｓｈｏｐｐｉｎｇ　ｅｎｔｅｒ　ｗｉｔｈ　ｔｏｎｅｓ　ｏｆ　ｒｅｓｔａｕｒａｎｔｓ，　ｓｈｏｐｓ，　ａｎｄ　ｖｅｎｄｏｒｓ　ｆｒｏｍ　ａｌｌ　ａｒｏｕｎｄ　ｔｈｅ　ｗｏｒｌｄ．　Ａｎｄ　ｔｈｅｒｅ’ｓ　ａ　ｈｕｇｅ　Ｂｕｄｄｈｉｓｔ　ｔｅｍｐｌｅ　ａｔ　ｔｈｅ　ｅｎｄ！

Ｉｎ　Ｏｓｕ，　ｗｅ　ｇｏｔ　ｓｏｍｅ　ｍｅｌｏｎ　ｓｏｄａ，　ｔｈｅｎ　ａｕｔｈｅｎｔｉｃ　Ｔｕｒｋｉｓｈ　ｋｅｂａｂｓ　ｆｏｒ　ｌｕｎｃｈ．　Ｔｈｅｎ，　ｗｅ　ｇｏｔ　ｂｕｂｂｌｅ　ｔｅａ　ａｎｄ　ｍｉｎｅ　ｗａｓ　ｍａｔｃｈａ　（ｐｏｗｄｅｒｅｄ　ｇｒｅｅｎ　ｔｅａ）　ｆｌａｖｏｒｅｄ！　Ｉ　ｌｏｖｅ　ｍａｔｃｈａ　ｍｏｒｅ　ｔｈａｎ　ａｎｙｔｈｉｎｇ．　Ｗｅ　ｆｏｕｎｄ　ｏｕｔ　ｔｈａｔ　ｅｖｅｒｙｏｎｅ　ｉｎ　ｏｕｒ　ｇｒｏｕｐ　ｌｉｋｅｓ　ｍａｔｃｈａ，　ｓｏ　Ｉ　ｄｅｃｉｄｅｄ　ｔｏ　ｃａｌｌ　ｕｓ　”Ｔｅａｍ　Ｍａｔｃｈａ”　ａｎｄ　ｔｈｅ　ｎａｍｅ　ｓｔｕｃｋ．　Ｗｅ　ａｌｓｏ　ａｌｌ　ｈａｔｅ　Ｊｕｓｔｉｎ　Ｂｉｅｂｅｒ．　Ｈｕｈ，　ｗｈｏ　would've　ｋｎｏｗｎ　ｗｅ’ｄ　ｈａｖｅ　ｓｏ　ｍｕｃｈ　ｉｎ　ｃｏｍｍｏｎ！

Ｔｈｅｎ　ｗｅ　ｔｏｏｋ　ｐｕｒｉｋｕｒａ，　ｗｈｉｃｈ　ｉｓ　ｏｎｅ　ｏｆ　ｍｙ　ｆａｖｏｒｉｔｅ　ｔｈｉｎｇｓ　ｔｏ　ｄｏ　ｈｅｒｅ　：Ｄ　Ｉ’ｌｌ　ｉｎｃｌｕｄｅ　ｐｉｃｔｕｒｅｓ　ｌａｔｅｒ，　ｍｙ　ｐｈｏｎｅ　ｉｓ　ｄｅａｄ　ａｎｄ　ｔｈｅ　ｃｈａｒｇｅｒ　ｉｓ　ｂｒｏｋｅｎ　ａｔ　ｔｈｅ　ｍｏｍｅｎｔ，　ｗｈｉｃｈ　ｉｓ　ａ　ｈｕｇｅ　ｉｎｃｏｎｖｅｎｉｅｎｃｅ　ｆｏｒ　ｍｅ．

One creepy frame of our purikura:

Ａｎｄ　ｌａｓｔｌｙ，　ｂｅｆｏｒｅ　Ｉ　ｈａｄ　ｔｏ　ｍｅｅｔ　ｍｙ　ｉｎｓａｎｅｌｙ　ｅａｒｌｙ　５：３０ＰＭ　ｃｕｒｆｅｗ，　ｗｅ　ｈａｄ　ｍａｔｃｈａ　ｌａｔｔｅｓ．Ｄｅｌｉｃｉｏｕｓ！

Ｔｈｉｓ　ｌａｓｔ　ｗｅｅｋｅｎｄ，　Ｉｎｇｒｉｄ　ａｎｄ　Ｉ　ｗｅｎｔ　ｓｈｏｐｐｉｎｇ　ｂｙ　ｏｕｒｓｅｌｖｅｓ　ｉｎ　Ｓａｋａｅ　ａｎｄ　ｉｔ　ｗａｓ　ａｍａｚｉｎｇｌｙ　ｆｕｎ！　Ｗｅ　ａｔｅ　ｓｏｏｏｏ　ｍｕｃｈ　ｆｏｏｄ．　Ｔｈｅｒｅ’ｓ　ａ　ｆｏｒｅｉｇｎ　ｆｏｏｄ　ｓｔｏｒｅ　ａｎｄ　ａ　ｂａｋｅｒｙ　ｔｈｅｒｅ！　Ｉ　ｃｏｕｌｄｎ’ｔ　ｈｅｌｐ　ｉｔ．　Ｉ’ｍ　ｇｏｉｎｇ　ｔｏ　ｇｅｔ　ｓｏ　ｆａｔ！　；）

Hanging out with Ingrid:

Worst picture of my face EVER but who cares :D

We also found this rad mask in Tokyu Hands:

Japan has a crazy obsession with Obama! I couldn't stop laughing at this mask. I'm still laughing about it a week later. Someone please buy it for my birthday! Only ¥2800 haha!!　

Well, time for me to sleep!! Drop me a question in the comments! Oyasumi!

ONE MONTH

This is crazy, It's already been a month since I left my home in America! And, I haven't updated out of busyness and fatigue. Living in a foreign country really drains you! Especially when you're listening to and seeing nothing but a really difficult language such as Japanese all day.

I'm changing into a new person. I'm excited when I get to "sleep in" until 8:00 AM on the weekends, and I'm even happier if I can manage to get home from school by 5:00 PM. It takes 45 minutes each way; I have to walk, take a subway, walk, take another subway, and walk for another 15 minutes. At least I brought my iPod!

City life is new, too. I come from a very small town, so I'm feeling a little claustrophobic here, but I'm sure I'll get used to it!

Also, I just started school last Tuesday! It's very different than in America. obviously, but all of the students and staff are super nice. I'm basically a celebrity. People are yelling "KAWAIIII METCHA KAWAII" (cuteee!! hella cute!!!) when I pass in the hallways, and my many nicknames include: Elsa, Emma Watson, Angel, and Hermione (that one is particularly popular).

Also, I have a ton of English conversation and ESL classes, which is fun. My ESL class is actually taught by a man from Minnesota and he's pretty cool! He calls me Sardine (Sardean), which is my nickname at home in America. :) No one else gets it (Japanese people have a notoriously hard time understanding English)　ｂｕｔ　ｈｅ　ｔｈｉｎｋｓ　ｉｔ’ｓ　ｈｉｌａｒｉｏｕｓ．　

Ｓｏｍｅｈｏｗ　Ｉ　ｄｉｄ　ｓｏｍｅｔｈｉｎｇ　ｔｏ　ｔｈｅ　ｋｅｙｂｏａｒｄ　ａｇａｉｎ，　ｓｏ　Ｉ’ｌｌ　ｈａｖｅ　ｔｏ　ｕｐｄａｔｅ　ａｇａｉｎ　ｗｈｅｎ　ｍｙ　ｈｏｓｔ　ｄａｄ　ｃａｎ　ｆｉｘ　ｉｔ　ｈａｈａｈａ！　Ａｓｋ　ｍｅ　ａｎｙ　ｑｕｅｓｔｉｏｎｓ　ｉｎ　ｔｈｅ　ｃｏｍｍｅｎｔｓ，　ｐｌｅａｓｅ！

First Week!

I was really sick at the first orientation in Tokyo, so I sadly couldn't talk to the other students so much. But then we had a seven hour bus ride to the Nagoya orientation, and I met a girl from New Zealand. Her name is Bess and she's the greatest!!  Her accent is awesome, too. (Sadly, I can't see her anymore since she now lives an hour away by bullet train, but we still message each other!)

The orientation was not so much fun. Unlike the other two groups (Osaka and Tokyo) who got hotels and their own rooms or at least beds, ours had 15 girls in the same small room on tatami mats. The facilities were okay, but they forced us to use the sento (public bath) and I hated it so much, and there were about a million different rules...but, it's over now!! I was so happy to be able to spend time with my exchange friends, no matter how many rules there were.

I made friends with Krizel Ann and Mina from Norway (they are both so nice and cute oh my gosh and their accents are great too) and also Ingrid from Sweden (which is in my top 5 favorite countries). Ingrid is actually in my district in Nishi-ku, and hopefully tonight I'll figure out where exactly she lives so we can hang out. She reminds me of a girl I know from home named Lynna! and Lynna is the nicest person I know so that's a plus hahaha! It's pretty funny because I've seen Ingrid twice around the city already, even though there there are about 2.27 million people here! Pretty much no foreigners. I've seen maybe 2. Weird.

I was refraining from writing because 1. this computer is so hard to type on and 2. I'm kinda homesick but I won't go into detail because I don't know who reads this blog! Japan and AFS have so many rules and I've been taking some time to adjust. School starts on April 8th! I'll update when I can find time :) 

IM IN JAPAN!!!

I'm still on mobile hahaha

BUT IM IN JAPAN!!! At last!

The plane ride was 12 hours and then we had an extra 5 hours of waiting time. And I'm sick so it was awful. Now it's  4:30am and I  am awake  with my roommates Zoe and Lizzy! We have to get up around 6:00am to eat and then get on a bus and go to Nagoya.

There are so many people here!!! From everywhere around the world! I think there's are probably  over 200  students.  :)  And they are all so nice ! I'm sad that we have to separate tomorrow morning, but we will all have an amazing time.

Last night there was dinner but I skipped it because I'm really sick. :(

But we were given a speech from the awesome national director of AFS JPN, and then we talked about scheduled and then we took a huge group picture and THEN we went to bed. My roommates are Lizzy and Zoe, both going to the Nagoya orientation with me. They're so cool!

Now I have to go to bed, we ａｒｅ　ｇｅｔｔｉｎｇ　ｕｐ　ａｔ　６ａｍ　ｔｏ　ｓｅｅ　ｔｈｅ　ｏｔｈｅｒ　ｓｔｕｄｅｎｔｓ　ｏｆｆ．

（ｅｖｅｒｙｏｎｅ　ｉｓ　ｇｏｉｎｇ　ｏｎ　ａ　ｂｕｓ　ｔｏ　ｇｅｔ　ｔｏ　ｔｈｅｉｒ　ｏｒｉｅｎｔａｔｉｏｎ　ｓｉｔｅｓ！）

Taking off Tomorrow

THIS IS CRAZY IM ACTUALLY LEAVING. Nothing feels real!

I just got done going to Disneyland for a few days with my parents! So much fun, but I'm a little sick now and it sucks. And I'm super tired.

I got to spend some time with Emma, a student going to Kyūshū and one if my best friends! She's super cool and I wish she was in my area :(

I'll put in a picture of us when I'm not on mobile. It's really hard to blog on here! But anyway her and I are really similar and she's the cutest person ever and  she also has a blog: www.emma-desu.tumblr.com

We went on a lot of rides  together and I beat her at Astro Blasters!!! (Take that Emma!!)

When we were in line for Indiana Jones, we ended up behind a Japanese couple and they heard us speaking Japanese and were very surprised, so they turned around and started speaking Japanese with us! It was great! They  that what we're doing is super cool. :)

I said goodbye to my parents today and it sucked, but I'll see them in less than a year.

Right now I'm at the Gateway orientation which is super long and I should be sleeping! At least I'm all packed and my bags are under the weight limit  surprisingly.  It's weird seeing everyone in person!!  Well, I have to get up around 6:00 am tomorrow so おやすみなさい！！(*^_^*)

Final Thoughts...

I got my hair highlighted and cut for Japan:

I'm leaving this week!! Holy cow, where the heck has all the time gone?

I remember when it was 250 days until my first trip to Japan. And now I've come this far. This is seriously crazy, and it doesn't even feel like real life! I'm still a little short on money for living expenses, but I know I'll get there. Also, my sister Anna wants to get me an iPad or give me the money for Japan, so I'm gonna go there first and see if I think I'd like to have one. She's so nice.

My host family seems seriously perfect, and I can't wait to meet them. Kyoko-san, my host sister talks to me a lot over Skype IM and I love hearing from her. We even have a lot in common!! I hope my Japanese will be good enough to have a basic conversation soon. But, in the meanwhile, her English is very good compared to many Japanese people I know, so it's very easy to keep up a conversation with her.

I have not had time to study Japanese lately because of all the American homework I have. In the next 3 days I have to finish a 50+ paragraph research essay, a study guide, 2-3 tests, a Socratic seminar (research forms I have to fill out and then I have to give the comments out loud) and shopping, packing, saying goodbye to everyone, etc. It's unbelievably stressful. I don't even know how I'm finding time to write this! :')

But, I can relax once I'm in Disneyland! I leave the night of the 12th/morning of the 13th at 2am, get on an airplane at Sea-Tac at 7am, fly to LAX and spend the night there, then go to Disneyland for 3 days after that! Then, on the 17th, I have an orientation at the Hacienda Hotel in LA and I spend the night there, leave on the 18th for Tokyo-Narita at 12:05pm, get into Japan at 4:00pm on the 19th (Americans are the latest group that day!). After that, I spend the night in an airport hotel along with all the other students and then get to Nagoya somehow for an orientation with the kids in that area! On the 22nd I meet my host family!

     My Schedule (all dates are for March 2014)

     12th/13th     -     Fly to L.A.
     14th             -     Disneyland
     15th             -     Disneyland
     16th             -     Disneyland
     17th             -     Gateway Orientation in L.A. (say goodbye to parents)
     18th             -     Fly to Japan
     19th             -     Arrive in Tokyo, Japan
     20th             -     Go to Nagoya  for Arrival Orientation
     21st             -     Nagoya Orientation
     22nd            -     Meet Host Family

My schedule is packed even if I'm not! (groan).

I don't want to say goodbye to more people! But I know it's only for 11 months. I'll come back.

I already had two going away parties (three if I count my last night at youth group and the little party we had there!) so I've said sayounara to quite a few people. Wednesday is my last day of school so I'll say bye to my school friends then. I'm definitely going to miss my best friend Payton, but we can Skype every once in a while or send each other pictures so it'll be ok. I've gotten to the point where I have quite a lot of friends so It'll be draining to have lengthy goodbyes with everyone, but it's worth it!

Just a few of the many friends that came to eat Thai food and ice cream with me:

(My dad took this picture so it's really bad)

I'll also miss my dogs and my cat. My dad is a vet so I'm very close with my pets, especially my golden retriever, Pipe. I've had her for nine years, since I was in first grade!

She's too cute for words:

I just hope nothing happens to my pets or family members while I'm gone! My grandma had a stroke but she's doing so much better now, and Pipe is having hip problems but I hear that's normal for goldens so I'm not too worried. I still hate goodbyes though.

Oh well, while I say goodbye to my life in America for a while, I'll be saying kon'nichiwa to a whole new life in Japan!

Here's to the spirit of adventure! :)

I may type another little something up if I can find the time, but I'll see you on the other side if I don't!!

Fundraising, Shmundraising..

(Update: Just got a $250 donation! WOW! And a $27, $50 and a $20 one. If it continues like this, I won't have any trouble paying off the tuition!) Here is my Go Fund Me account (it's a way to donate completely safely and securely online, it even has an anonymous option if you want!!):

Please click here to help send Sarah to Japan!

I'm working so hard but the tuition is $14,000 and I need a few thousand to cover my living expenses, so I'm not yet to my goal, which needs to happen in less than six weeks! I appreciate and need all the funds I receive! Please click the link or contact me if you wish to donate. Thank you thank you thank you so much for helping me follow my dreams to make the world a better place. You're amazing.

My Japanese High School

At long last, you will know what my school is!

So, the school is called: Aichi Prefectural Commercial High School (Shortened to AISHO)

Here's the website: http://www.aichi-ch.aichi-c.ed.jp/ (Use the built in Google translate extension if you have it to decipher some of the Japanese!)

What a long name for a high school, huh? Anyway, I'm not sure how much I'll like it but I'm keeping my mind open for sure.

Here's what I know about it:

• It's run by the prefectural government (there are international, national, municipal, prefectural and private schools to my knowledge, and there are probably more!)
• 80% of the school is female (and apparently the number is increasing every year)
• I don't know the total population though
• It's a commercial school so it's all centered around business. Eww.
• They have weird uniforms
• They don't have the clubs I wanted to do BUT I AM DETERMINED TO FIND ONE.
• It's not the same high school my host sister goes to. We don't know why! It's kinda sad. Oh well!
• The sophomores go on a school trip to Nagasaki in October says the website!! Probably too much money for me, though. Am I even a sophomore? Still waiting for my information sheets...

Clubs they offer:

          Sports-Type Clubs

• Baseball
• Archery (kyudo)
• Sword fighting (kendo)
• Fencing
• Athletics (pretty sure this is track)
• Swimming
• Volleyball
• Handball
• Women's Basketball
• Men's Basketball
• Ping Pong
• Hard Tennis
• Soft Tennis
• Dance
• Baton (this was in the cultural section but I'm putting it here!!)

Some pictures of a few of the sports clubs at AISHO:

Dance:

Aren't they so cute!!?

Baton:

It reminds me of cheer leading! I wish I had full range of motion in my arm. This club looks like fun!

Kendo:

Japanese sword fighting!!

Kyudo:

Apparently, my school has really nice archery grounds.

It takes months of training before you're allowed to even hold the bow, though.

So, no archery for me!! 

Athletics: 

Yeah, this is track!

 Tennis:

I've never played it but a lot of my friends in America do.

Baseball:

Which is of course a boys-only club.

         Cultural-Type Clubs

• Accounting Research Department
• Word Processor Unit (typing)
• English-Language Word Processor Unit 
• Information Processing Unit 
• Shorthand
• Calligraphy
• Abacus
• Brass Band (which includes woodwinds, it's not all brass)
• Music (it looks like a band with a singer and drums/guitar/bass, etc...so cool!)
• Drama
• Debate
• Commercial Art (seems like regular art!)
• ESS (English language something club, looks like fun actually!)
• Literature
• Tea/Flower Arrangement
• Photography
• Broadcasting (looks like radio)
• Volunteer Group

Some pictures of a few of the cultural clubs at AISHO:

Volunteer Group:

This would seem like a good choice for me, but they are primarily focused on learning sign language.

They sell bread and cookies for charity, help disabled people, and just generally do great things.

Who knows, this could be the club for me!!

ESS:

English Speaking Society I think! 

They learn English and speak with each other and write an English school newspaper,

and they even have Christmas parties and stuff for the foreign teachers. So cute.

Accounting Research Department:

Yawn. I'd be staring out the window at the pretty view the whole time!

But, these are the classes you get at a commercial high school!

Music:

So cool! If only I could sing or play one of these instruments.

Tea/Flower Arrangement:

The picture is really bad, but oh well! 

This class looks like flower arrangement and tea ceremony bundled up into one!

Kyoko takes tea ceremony at her school! It would not be good for my poor back, though..

Commercial Art:

Or, just "Art." Such cute drawings!

Word Processor Unit:

Basically, who can type the best and the fastest? YUCK.

I'm pretty sad because this school doesn't have cooking for some reason...or soccer??? Pretty much all schools have them and those were the two I was choosing between. I mean, of course I can play flute but I don't want to do what I've always done and they practice too much in Japan. If someone chooses an instrument there, they practice every single day for at least 3-4 hours usually, unless the school is not that serious! 

I'm looking at: volunteer, ESS (I want to teach ESL or be an ambassador when I'm older), dance (depends on if they want my awful skills), and some others but nothing is really catching my eye yet.

So, what club would you join? Ask me any questions you have about Japan!! I might edit in the rest of the club pictures later, too!