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!

So you want to be an Exchange Student?

Here's the link to the countries/programs offered by AFS: 
http://www.afsusa.org/study-abroad/high-school-abroad/

Also, you can call 1-800-AFS-INFO !!

It'll talk about the program, requirements, families, location, prices, etc. on the website, but I'll give you a list of the countries.

Africa: 

(Egypt,Ghana, South Africa)

Asia/Pacific Rim: 

(China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan♥, Malaysia, New Zealand, Thailand)

Europe:

(Austria, Belgium Flanders, Belgium French, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia,

Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, 

Italy, Latvia, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Russia, Serbia, 

Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey)

Latin America:

(Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru)

Comment or message me if you have extra questions!!

Other notable exchange programs include Rotary, YFU, and several more. Rotary is good and quite inexpensive, but you can't really pick your host country specifically. You pick a few and they place you. That's why I chose AFS, because if you get in your application on time you'll most likely get the specific country you ask for if you qualify :) The Rotary community is great, though, so please check them out, too! I have a lot of friends going with them. No matter what you do, it's the cultural exchange experience that matters the most.

What is AFS?

Ｉ　ａｍ　ｎｏｔ　ａ　ｐａｒｔ　ｏｆ　ＡＦＳ，　Ｉ’ｍ　ｊｕｓｔ　ａ　ｓｔｕｄｅｎｔ　ｏｎ　ｏｎｅ　ｏｆ　ｔｈｅｉｒ　ｐｒｏｇｒａｍｓ．　Ｓｏ，　Ｉ　ｈａｄ　ｔｏ　ｔａｋｅ　ｔｈｅｉｒ　ｌｏｇｏ　ｄｏｗｎ．　Ｒｅｍｅｍｂｅｒ　ｔｈａｔ　Ｉ　ｃａｎ’ｔ　ｓｐｅａｋ　ｆｏｒ　ｔｈｅｍ，　ｐｌｅａｓｅ！

Wow, why have I not made a post on this yet?

So, you want to be an exchange student? You want to learn about the company I'm going through? You've come to the right place! I'm going to Japan through AFS so I'll tell you a little bit about it.

If you are in any way interested in hosting an exchange student or studying abroad yourself please read through these facts and go to the AFS website here to apply or read more: http://www.afsusa.org/

(Sorry, for some reason you have to copy and paste the link or right click and press "go to" the address. I'll figure out what's f=wrong later)

Some history and facts about AFS-USA:

• AFS-USA was formerly the American Field Service.
• It started as an ambulance driving operation in WWII
• It's a nonprofit organization.
• It offers international exchange to more than 40 different countries through independent, nonprofit AFS organizations in each country.
• It's mostly run by a network of volunteers.
• They've been doing student exchange for 65 years.

AFS-USA today:

• Sends approximately 1,100 participants abroad per year.
• Welcomes 2,300 international high school exchange students into the U.S.
• Is supported by more than 5,000 volunteers in the U.S. who make the work of AFS-USA possible.
• Partners with 2,100 U.S. schools through hosting and sending.

AFS International Network:

• Exchanges 13,000 individuals each year.

• Has more than 50 partner organizations including AFS-USA.

• Maintains an alumni network of more than 424,000 individuals who have studied abroad on an AFS Program.

• Is supported by more than 44,000 AFS Volunteers worldwide.

Hosting an Exchange Student with AFS-USA:

• AFS-USA staff and volunteers work with 1,500 US schools to provide them with outstanding students from abroad who contribute greatly to academic and community life.
• Volunteers work with students, families, schools, and community organizations to illustrate the benefits of an intercultural educational opportunity.
• Host families provide students with a bed, meals, and the same care they give to their own family members.
•  Host families and students receive ongoing support during the process from AFS-USA staff and volunteers.

Studying Abroad with AFS-USA:

• AFS-USA has year, semester, and summer programs abroad for high school students ages 15-18.
• Gap Year Programs are geared specifically for high school graduates and individuals over 18 who are interested in making a difference through international community service or university programs.
• A language requirement is not necessary for most AFS-USA programs.

Usually grades are not a huge deal, but you should have a 2.8 or above I believe. Tons of scholarships are offered, too! Get started right away, the application process and preparation is lengthy for both host families and exchange students in any program.

Japanese Culture: Purikura!

My host sister Kyoko and I already have plans to go shopping in the fashion district near our house, and we will do purikura! I can't wait!

Purikura is a type of photo that comes out of a booth that photoshops your pictures for you and makes you look like a model with big eyes and perfect skin. There's also a green screen behind you that puts in any background you want and then later you can edit the pictures and add little symbols/virtual stickers or words. The pictures print in any template you pick and then you can peel them off the backing and stick them anywhere or keep them just the way they are, and it's a huge craze in Japan. My last host sister Miu, took my friend Paulina and I to purikura in Tokyo. We were so surprised at how advanced it all was and how many booths there were.  It's so much better than the crappy photo booths in America!

Here are some pictures of purikura booths and photos:

(Disclaimer: these pictures don't belong to me)

Pretty interesting! It's really fun, and quite an adventure.

I was talking to my host sister on Skype IM and she is super excited that I want to get clothes in Japan and that I like fashion, too! She even wants to lend me clothes, which is so kind of her although I'm definitely not as thin as her! It's something in the water...most Japanese girls eat whatever they want (chocolate, bread, etc.) and stay thin as a board! I wish I had those genetics. Meh. I'm still cute. ;)

The fun thing is that, since I'm a foreigner and I look really different and I'm blonde with blue eyes, pretty much everyone thinks I'm cute/pretty in Japan. It's nice! People took pictures of me and wanted my autograph and literally screamed "kawaii~!!!" (cuteeeee!!!) at me there. It seems like an exaggeration but it's not. Literal screaming! Haha!! It really boosts one's self esteem. They'll do it for anybody. I felt a lot better about myself when I came home from my February trip.