Hannah in Japan

Mt.Inasa

2010-05-10T04:46:00.000-07:00

On Sunday night I went to Mt.Inasa with my host family. We went at night so we got to see the night view of Nagasaki.We ate at the restaurant at the top of the mountain and sat right by the window that looked out over everything. It was a really amazing view!

More Photos From Golden Week

2010-05-10T04:37:00.000-07:00

At the inn we stayed at in the mountains.

Eating an apple American style.

(Usually in Japan they peel of the skin and cut the apples into slices.)

At the volcano.

This is also at the little inn in the mountains.

Golden Week

2010-05-06T20:15:00.000-07:00

The Volcano

They had really good corn!

Golden Week in Japan is a week with many holidays so everyone has vacation. The first holiday was April 29th. This was the former emperor's birthday. I then went back to school on Friday but was off again from Saturday to Wednesday. The next holiday was May 3rd which is the Constitution Memorial Day. May 4th is a holiday for the environment and nature. May 5th is the last holiday of Golden Week and it is Children's day. During this time I went on a short home stay to next year's St.Paul Rotary exchange student's house. I taught her and her family many things about Minnesota and St.Paul. On Saturday night and Sunday night we stayed at her house. We had so much fun staying up late, playing games, talking, and watching movies. On Monday we left for our trip. On the first day we went to Fukuoka. In Fukuoka we went shopping for a little bit. After shopping we went out to eat with my host grandmother. We went to a restaurant that had foods from Hokkaido. It was very delicious. We stayed overnight in Fukuoka and the next morning started to drive to Kumamoto prefecture. There was a lot of traffic. Usually the highways in Japan are not very crowded. In Japan you have to pay to use the highways. In Kumamoto we went to visit Aso Mountain. We went to visit the volcano. It was really cool to see and it was my first time seeing a volcano. Inside the volcano was some green liquid. We also stopped many times along the way see the various sights. It was very pretty. At night we stayed at a little inn in the mountains. It was really cute. In the morning we went on a little walk around the inn. The family who ran the inn were really nice. On Wednesday we returned home and that night I returned back to my 3rd host family's house. I really enjoyed getting to see another part of Japan.

Spring Break Trip

2010-04-07T00:48:00.000-07:00

Osaka

Kyoto Tower

Kyoto

This is a famous sakura tree in Kyoto. It lights up at night.

Himeji

On Monday my host family and I got up really early and went to the train station at 5:30. We rode the train to Himeji and arrived at 10:00 at night. We had to change trains about 6 times. On the train I listened to books on tape. By the end of the trip I listened to four books on tape. On Tuesday we got up and ate breakfast at the hotel before going to the castle in Himeji. I found that one of the coolest parts of the castle was the part of the castle where the princess lived. It was just interesting to learn about the princess's life. There were so many tourists there. Afterward we took the train to Kobe where we stayed overnight. At night we ate at one of the hotel restaurants with my host family's friends. It was an Indonesian food buffet. Then next day we got up early and took the train to Kyoto. In Kyoto we went and saw many temples and shrines. We walked so much. I liked Kyoto a lot. It was so pretty especially because it was the time of year where you can see so many sakura. After Kyoto we took the train to Osaka where we stayed overnight. We took one of the hotel shuttle buses from the train station to the hotel. I got to see outside and Osaka looked so cool! It looked very modern. I hope I can go back to Osaka one day and spend more time there. Then on Thursday we once again took the train back to Nagasaki and changed trains many times. We finally arrived back home at 11 o clock at night. It was a fun trip but I was really exhausted and was so glad to be home!

Hanami

2010-03-28T05:40:00.000-07:00

Purikura

Sakura

Today I went with my friend to go look at the beautiful cherry blossoms which in Japanese are called sakura in Japanese. Hanami is when people go sit under the beautiful sakura and have a picnic with their friends and family. Well we didn't have a picnic because we went out for lunch before then but we went and took a walk through the park and took many pictures of the cherry blossoms. The cherry blossoms that we saw were white. I am going to Kyoto soon and many people say there are really beautiful cherry blossoms there so I will take many pictures and update my blog again after my trip! Right now is a very beautiful time in Japan with the cherry blossom season and I am enjoying it so much! And of course with every outing we have to take purikura pictures. I think I explained in one of my previous blog entries that the young people love to take these purikura photos when they go out with friends. Then after you can decorate the photos however you would like! I am sure I will come home with hundreds of purikura pictures but I think it is one the best way to remember an experience!

The Biggest Temple in Nagasaki

2010-03-07T04:10:00.000-08:00

Today I went with my host family to the biggest temple in Nagasaki. The inside was beautiful and everything inside was so detailed. My host father had a friend who does taiko drumming at the temple so we got to go and play the huge taiko drums which are really cool but really expensive! The drums were really loud but really fun to play on. He also showed us around the temples. It was very neat to see. I think it was my first time going to a big temple like this one.

Chinese Lantern Festival

2010-02-28T18:45:00.000-08:00

At the Ryoma museum.

This statue was really cool it was all made of dishes!

One of the temples.

The balloons everyone let go to celebrate the New Year.

On the 14th of February was the Chinese New Year. This is the day the Chinese Lantern Festival started. I went with my host mother and host brother to look at the lanterns that weren't lit yet. It was raining out so before the lanterns were lit we went to the new museum of Sakamoto Ryoma who is a very famous figure here in Japan. It was mostly all in Japanese and so I mostly just looked at the pictures. Then we returned back to the lantern festival in time for the countdown to the New Year and the time when the lanterns were lit. To celebrate the New Year everybody let go of balloons too. I went two more times to the Lantern Festival. One time I went with my host mother to have a tour of some of the Chinese temples. The temples were really cool to see but I didn't understand much of what the tour guide was saying. Yesterday was the last day of the festival and once again I went with the host family and so I got to see the pretty lanterns lit up one last time. Here are some of the pictures I took.

Huis Ten Bosch

2010-02-04T18:50:00.000-08:00

Nawael and I at the super trick art museum.

Christmas illuminations.

This was at the super trick art attraction.

At the super trick art museum.

Hot chocolate with almond cream.

Beyond the windmills are the cute houses that I like so much.

On one of my last days of winter break Nawael, Chelsea, and I went to Sasebo to go visit Huis Ten Bosch. The tickets are usually very expensive but Nawael received three tickets as a present and chose to take Chelsea and I to go with her! Huis Ten Bosch is a Holland themed theme park. The buildings are so pretty. I didn't feel like I was in Japan anymore beccause I felt like I was in Europe. There were attractions like a boat ride down the river, going inside to see how a windmill works, a teddy bear museum, a trick art museum, some small rides, 3D movies, shows, and there was even a parade. Only the parade was more for little kids. When we first arrived we ate lunch at the Chocolate House. The restaurant was also connected a chocolate shop. The chocolate shop had a huge chocolate fountain. I drank some hot chocolate with some almond cream in it! It was delicious. The almond cream tasted just like the almond butter that I put on toast at home. We went and had fun at many of the attractions after lunch. We went and rode the river boat 3 times! I liked the boat because there was this one area that I liked and got to see a little bit more of it. It was either a residential area or rental houses. It was separated from the park by the river and all the houses were so cute! Chelsea, Nawael, and I also had fun shopping for souvenirs. Nawael and Chelsea bought cheese. The cheese at Huis Ten Bosch is really good. At night we got to stay and see the pretty illuminations. Most of the park was lit up with Christmas lights. After dinner we headed home. The day was so much fun but really cold because Huis Ten Bosch is right by the sea. There were not many people at Huis Ten Bosch because of the weather so it was nice not to have to wait in line for anything. Here are some pictures that will show you more of what we did at Huis Ten Bosch.

Rotary New Years Party

2010-02-04T06:09:00.000-08:00

Everything that went on for the kimono.

Me with one of the geishas.

On the day of the Rotary New Years party I was very busy. First I went to the weekly Rotary meeting where they had a small party. Instead of a sit down meal it was a buffet and after we took a picture of the whole club. After the Rotary meeting my host mother picked me up and we went to the hair salon to get my hair done. The detail in my hair was amazing. I wish I got a closer picture of my hair. We arrived to the party early so that someone could help me put on my kimono. It took so long for all the layers to be put on me. After the party was over and I took everything off my host mother helped me fold the pieces and we put them in piles. I was so surprised how much I had on. One of the pictures I posted is a picture of the pile. For the New Years party we went to a old and expensive Japanese restaurant. We sat on tatami mats on the floor. I sat on a little chair. Everyone else at my table sat in seiza. Seiza is first kneeling on the floor and then folding your legs under. I have to sit in seiza for tea ceremony club but I can only do it for a short period of time before my legs fall asleep. We listened to some speeches at the start of the party and toasted to the New Year. During dinner we were entertained by geishas. They danced for us, played music, and sat at the tables with us talking and serving us food. One of the geishas was so nice and we had a lot to talk about. She is the one in the pink kimono above. The geishas even had us go up and dance with them sometimes. It was very entertaining. I also participated by picking out names from the box for the prizes as well. I had a lot of fun and learned a lot about Japanese culture. Once the party was over I was very happy to take off my kimono. It is so pretty but very tight and tiring.

Pictures From New Year's Day and Winter Break

2010-01-03T21:13:00.000-08:00

A traditional New Years decoration.

The New Year decorations on my host family's door.

The pile of clothing that came inside of my fukubukoros.

My New Year's money came inside of these envelopes.

This soup includes mochi and many people eat mochi on New Year's.

I think this is sake and they drink a little bit of it on New Year's day inside of those little red bowls.

A closer look at what is inside the boxes.

The expensive boxes filled with food that people eat on New Year's day.

Christmas cake that had real gold flakes on top.

Bowling on Christmas.

Winter Break and New Year's

2010-01-01T23:41:00.000-08:00

My winter break officially started on the 20th of December. The day before winter break Saturday the 19th, everyone went to school and they held a ceremony just saying it was time for break and we had a little Christmas service as well. We then cleaned our classroom and had to take everything home! I did not realize how many books I had and I am now dreading bringing everything back once school starts up once again. On my first day of winter break I went to the Rotary Christmas party. Everyone packed into one bus to head up to Unzen because there was snow there and people couldn't go in cars. However there was not as much snow at all compared to Minnesota. At this onsen in Unzen we had a buffet listened to some speeches and all of the exchange students performed a dance called Bon Dori and we also sang the song "Silent Night." We all had to bring one gift to exchange. The party ended with playing a game of bingo and getting to choose what present we wanted. Then after everyone received a present we were able to open them. I received a cup from Starbucks that can hold coffee and tea to go. I was happy that my present went to a girl I thought that only the exchange students were exchanging presents. I bought a Christmas Minne Mouse bow from Disneyland while I was there. It ended working out perfectly and the girl who will be an exchange student next year ended up loving it. We ended up going home early so a couple of the other exchange students and I went to karaoke in Isahaya. I didn't end up singing that much because my throat hurt. Chelsea and I then took the train back to Nagasaki. I rested a lot on the 21st, 22nd, and 23rd. On the evening on the 23rd though I had a Christmas party to go to and I enjoyed it very much. On Christmas I woke up and ate breakfast. Then I was able to talk to my cousins on Skype. It was so nice to visit with my family on Skype . I then opened up my packages that I got. I had three packages to open. I read one of my magazines I received and snacked on some of the treats that I received. It was a very peaceful Christmas morning. When my host parents were finished with work my host father took me bowling. I lost every game that we played but that was ok because my score got better every time. We also played air hockey. When we returned home we had a piece of Christmas cake. Christmas in Japan is very quiet and not much happens. People mostly celebrate by eating Christmas cake. My host mother explained that Christmas in Japan is mostly a holiday for couples. For Christmas dinner we went to my favorite Indian restaurant. On the 26th of December I went with Chelsea to the movie "Up" in Japanese, shopping, and out for Italian food. The movie "Up" here is only in Japanese right now. We didn't mind though because we had both seen it previously and it was a chance for us to study Japanese. On Sunday the 27th I met up with a few of my classmates and we went ice skating. It made me miss Minnesota. One of my friends had never been ice skating before so I taught her how to ice skate. By the end of our time ice skating she was doing so well. The next day I was also once again busy with my friends. We went to karaoke and was there for about four hours! I can't believe how long kids in Japan go to karaoke for. I get bored after an hour or two. On Tuesday I once again went out with Chelsea and we saw the movie "2012" in English. I was a little scared but ended up enjoying it. The next two days people were busy running around preparing for the new year. I went to go get a haircut and my host mother said that many people in Japan go to get haircuts for the new year so I was happy that I could participate in that tradition! On New Year's Eve we ate soba (long buckwheat noodles). It is traditional to eat soba on New Year's Eve because it symbolizes longevity. I did not stay up late on New Year's Eve. However I did watch the New Year's music program on the t.v. for a little while with my host family. It is the last concert of the year and all the famous bands and singers get together and have one last concert. The costumes and performances were amazing. I did not get to see my favorite band though because they came on too late and I already went to bed. On the morning of New Years day my host mother and I woke up early to go buy fukubukoros. Fukubukoros are boxes at stores and they put random items in them and you can buy them for $50 or $100. There are various prices. The $100 have around $300 to $500 of merchandise inside of them. At least the two that I bought were like that. The thing is there are only a limited number of fukubukors and you don't know what is in the fukubukors. People were lined up outside of the mall a while before the mall opened and when the doors finally opened people ran to their favorite stores to get a fukubukoro. I bought the last $100 fukubukoro at my favorite store. There were only ten and then buy the time I finished buying my fukubukoro at my favorite store they were all gone and so was the other store's fukubukoro that I wanted. However I did find another store that I liked and bought one more fukubukoro. There were so many people you could get swallowed in the crowd. When I got home I was so anxious to see what I got inside the bags. One of the fukubukoros that I got was really good and I liked everything inside. The one that I was expecting to like the most was quite a disappointment. It was from my favorite store so and I like everything in the store but I did not like many things inside the fukubukoro so I gave some of it to my host mother. When we returned home it was almost lunch time so we headed over to my host mother's parents house. They live only a little ways up the street. They are so nice and my host grandfather is very funny. They had these boxes filled with various foods and it cost around $200. I was so surprised. In between lunch and dinner I studied for a bit and my host father went through all their New Year cards. People send new year cards here out to almost everyone they know wishing them a happy new year. I received one New Year card from my school teacher. It looks like so much work. My host mother said she sent out around 200! We then went to my host fathers parents house which is right next to my host family's home. We once again ate one of the expensive New Year's food boxes. On New Year's day I received money from both my host parents and my host mothers parents. It is called otoshidama. Children receive this money from their grand parents and parents up until they are grown up and have a job. New Year's in Japan usually lasts for three days. So there is a lot of celebrating going on. The day after New Year's we went to the shrine to pray. Most people in Japan go to the shrine to pray around New Year's so there was a huge crowd. After we were finished praying we went to go get our fortune. We went to my host mother's parents house again for dinner because her brother was in town with his wife and his son. They lived in the United States for two years so they spoke English very well. I had a fun time talking to them and we also played a couple of games. It was nice to have that little family gathering because it made New Year's feel more like Christmas in the United States. On Sunday the 4th my host mother and I went shopping because there were many New Year's sales going on. Every store had a sale and so many things were marked down very low. We also went to go see the movie "Public Enemies." I enjoyed it a lot. This next week is my last week of break and I am a little bit excited to go back to school once again. Akemashite Omedetou gozaimasu! Happy New Year!

Tokyo

2009-12-13T21:08:00.000-08:00

I watch the show "Sazae san" sometimes on Sunday's to help me with my Japanese. At Fuji Television there is a whole store dedicated to the show. I bought a pin for my Rotary blazer there.

Fuji Television

Venus Fort. The beautiful outlet mall in Odaiba.

The view from one of the top floors at Fuji Television.

Harijuku

Ichi Mara Kyu. This is where many of the young girl fashions are.

The view from our hotel room in Tokyo.

Our hotel room in Tokyo.

The night electrical light parade at Disney Land.

At Minne's house.

Me with my honey popcorn and Pooh bucket.

The Candle Light show. You can't see very well but that is Mickey and Minnie.

Our room at the Tokyo Disney Land Hotel.

Night at the Tokyo Disney Land Hotel.

Fuji san

Early on Tuesday morning my host parents and I drove to the Nagasaki airport in the town of Omura. At the airport my host mother and I caught the plane to the Haneda Airport in Tokyo. On the airplane ride I was anxiously awaiting for my Rotary trip to Tokyo to begin! The airplane ride though was quite an experience because I got to see Fuji san! It was so beautiful! From the Haneda Airport we took a shuttle bus to Tokyo Disney Resort. The trip was supposed to take an hour but the first sight of our first destination was of this huge castle like building. At first we didn't realize it because the trip was supposed to take longer but it was our hotel! The lobby was decorated so fancy and there was Disney things everywhere. Once we left our bags at the desk we headed for the Disney tram to take us to Disney Sea. Disney Sea was so lovely the entrance part of the park was decorated like Venice Italy. Inside of the amazing buildings that made it look like Italy was Disney Sea's hotel. For lunch we kept walking straight over to the part of Disney Sea that was built like America's water front. We stopped for lunch at the New York part of the water front and ate at the New York Deli. We proceeded to do some shopping and went to the other part of the American water front which was Cape Cod. We then watched the show the Legend of Mythica. It was performed in the water right in the middle of the whole park. It was a pretty amazing show. One thing I really wanted to do was ride the Venetian Gondolas. So we rushed right after the show to take a place in the long line for the gondolas. I thought it was worth the wait. I really felt like I was in Italy riding a Gondola with the scenery. I think the people who were paddling the gondola were giving a tour of the Italy part of Disney Sea but I didn't quite understand what was going on. Later that night many people had returned home so I was able to enjoy many of the rides because the lines were so short. I was too scared to go on the big rides by myself though. At the end of the night we watched Disney Sea's Christmas show. It was so pretty. The name of the show was Candle Light Reflections and it was the last year that they were doing it. All the Disney characters came out on these boats with tons of candles and the candles were the only light in the park until a big glowing Christmas tree emerged from the sea. It was such a pretty show. Finally at the very end came fireworks and the fireworks were so amazing! I enjoyed Disney Sea so much because it was more of a grown up version of Disney Land. Also the scenery was so amazing and in some parts of the park I really felt like I was in Italy and then in others I really felt like I was in America. The next day my host mother and I got up early and began our day at Disney Land. We walked straight out of our hotel to the entrance of Disney Land because it was so close. Earlier we could see people lining up at Disney Land from our hotel room before it opened. First we went out to breakfast and I had a Mickey Mouse pancake. Then right away I went on many of the rides I wanted to go on. It was early enough in the morning where many of the lines were pretty short. It was so cool because many of the rides were changed for Christmas. The Haunted Mansion was changed to be like the movie "The Night Before Christmas" and the ride It's a Small World was changed to have many Christmas decorations and the music was Christmas music in different languages. While I waited in line I got to munch on some honey popcorn. Everyone in Disney Land and Disney Sea had these buckets filled with popcorn that they put around their neck. I didn't buy one at Disney Sea because I wanted the Pooh bucket at Disney Land and inside of the bucket came honey popcorn it was so good! They had so many other flavors of popcorn at both parks because it was the main snack to have. There was soy sauce popcorn, honey popcorn, curry popcorn, chocolate popcorn, strawberry popcorn, black pepper popcorn, and caramel popcorn. We met my host mother's friend at Disney Land because she did not live to far away and she had been to Disney Land many times so she was our guide for the day.We went on more rides and ate lunch. At night there was this amazing parade that consisted of lights. It was so pretty and I was surprised how many floats they had. Once again the night ended with an amazing display of fireworks. My host mother and I returned back to our hotel exhausted but before we went to bed we stopped by the hotel store one last time to pick up some more souvenirs for people. I have noticed in Japan it is very import to give gifts to people and my host mother got so many souvenirs to give to many people she knew! It was so nice. In the morning we woke up early to get all of our stuff packed up. We had two boxes of souvenirs that we sent back to Nagasaki! We then went and had breakfast at this restaurant in the hotel with an amazing buffet. It was delicious. After breakfast we left and went to the train station where we took the train to Shinagawa in Tokyo. The train had so many people on it and many people had to stand for such a long time. After arriving in Shinagawa we once again gave our bags to the front desk and headed out to go visit Shibuya and Harijuku. I loved the energy of Tokyo and the fashions in Tokyo. The trains however seemed very confusing and it seemed to take a long time to get from place to place. My host mother told me that you had to be really careful about what train you get on because you could be in real trouble if you got on the wrong one. I really loved Harijuku because there were so many shops with such cool fashions! One thing I noticed about the fashions in Japan is that many of the stores especially in Tokyo carry the same clothing or the same fabric but different pieces of clothing. For example, I bought a dress in Fukuoka and then later in Nagasaki I went to a store where there was a skirt and it was the same pattern as my dress! In Harijuku there was an H&M, a Forever 21, and a Kitson. There were so many people there especially in Forever 21. The Forever 21 in Tokyo seemed more upscale than the other ones that I have seen and I was really amazed. The next day it rained so much so we couldn't do much sight seeing. We went to Odaiba. In Odaiba there was an outlet mall called Venus Fort. It was the reopening day so it was supposed to have really good sales. The inside of the mall was so cool. I will post a picture of it. We didn't stay very long because I was tired of shopping so we went to Fuji Television where most of the stuff I watch on TV takes place. We were able to see the studio where all of the talents come to perform. At the time however there were no talents performing they were only preparing the stage for the show that night. We also went up to one of the top floors and we saw Tokyo's skyline. It was so pretty but the view was a little bit blurred because of the rain. I was even able to see a little bit of the Tokyo tower. That was our last stop before we took the train back to the Haneda Airtport and then left Tokyo for Nagasaki. It was a wonderful Rotary trip to Tokyo!

Birthday Celebration

2009-12-06T01:14:00.000-08:00

Nawael came to Nagaski with her friend from school the day before her birthday so since we had the day off we all decided to get together and celebrate. Both Chelsea and Yuka came too. First we all went out to eat. We went to a soba restaurant and my meal was soba and tempura. Then we went and spent the rest of the day doing karaoke. Here is the picture that we took at the mall where they have tons of Christmas decorations up. This mall is also where the train station was so this is where we all said goodbye.

Sasebo

2009-12-06T00:29:00.000-08:00

Here we are at the Huis Ten Bosch train station.

The Huis Ten Bosch hotel.

Yesterday I took the train to Sasebo with the other exchange students Nawael and Chelsea. Chelsea and I got on the train at around 10 in the morning and then Nawael got on 30 minutes later from her town that she currently lives in. On the way to Sasebo it was nice to be able to chat with them about our exchanges and stuff that we were experiencing or having a hard time with so far. About an hour later we then arrived in a town called Haiki where our friend Yuka from ROTEX picked us up to go teach us a traditional Japanese fan dance. We are supposed to be performing this dance on the 20th of December at the Rotary Christmas party/orientation. There was another girl there too learning the dance with us. She is going to be an exchange student next year. We practiced the dance for about 40 minutes. It was fairly easy because the movements in the dance repeated over and over again. It was a good thing that it did not take very long to learn because we were all so hungry. We took the bus to the mall in the town I think we were still in Haiki. Both Haiki and Sasebo are smaller towns than Nagasaki. We ate at a restaurant which had many options for everyone. I ate an omelet with shrimp and spinach in it. After lunch we were able to shop around for a bit and then we walked to catch a shuttle to the onsen in Sasebo. The onsen a Japanese hot spring. We all took a nice long hot bath. There was both an outside one and an inside one. I preferred the outside one because we could see the view of Huis Ten Bosch which is a residential style resort modeled after a Dutch town. We could mostly only see the hotel of Huis Ten Bosch but the hotel building is amazing! I asked my host father today if we could go and he said yes! I can't wait to see more of Huis Ten Bosch. We also enjoyed the dry sauna and the steam room. However after a while it got too hot and my head started to hurt. By the time we were finished though it was almost time to catch our train back home. After the train arrived back at the station my host mother was there to pick me up and we went out to eat at this restaurant called Afternoon Tea. It was a cute little restaurant and in a way it kind of reminded me of a restaurant in New York City, which was nice. I ordered the pasta set so I received pasta and a roll. The set also came with a piece of cake of your choice and tea of your choice. They had so many options. I chose chamomile apple tea with a small piece of banana bread. It was nice to sit there and enjoy my dessert and tea while listening to Christmas music. It seems as though these days any place with Christmas music I find myself feeling more at home and finding comfort in it. This week I was at Starbucks twice and it was so nice to sit there drinking chamomile tea and listening to the christmas music!

Omura

2009-12-06T00:04:00.000-08:00

Making soba.

Making mochi.

This picture was taken on the restaurants deck. The sea is in the background, it is a little hard to see in the picture.

My host family took me to a town called Omura a while ago. The town is right by the sea and the Nagasaki airport. In Omura we went to this restaurant and ate the buffet they had. We got to sit out on the deck and there was a great view of the sea. After lunch we wandered over to the ice cream shop where they had homemade ice cream. I had sweet potatoe ice cream it was so delicious. The flavors of ice cream here are all so unique. One kind of ice cream they have every where in Japan is green tea. There was also a homemade bread shop we went to as well. They had sweet potatoe bread so my host family bought some and it tasted so good! There were so many people gathered there at this place in Omura. It had a green house, ice cream shop, bread shop, restaurant, vegetable shop, some stands for various foods, and a small petting zoo. After enjoying our ice cream we watched some people make mochi and soba. Soba is a noodle made from buckwheat flour. Soba is served differently chilled and hot. When it is chilled it is generally served on a bamboo tray with a type of soy sauce that you dip it into. Hot soba is often served as a soup. I have only eaten chilled soba so far. The way to eat your soba is to slurp the noodles! Next my host family stopped in to buy some fresh vegetables and then we drove home.

Oden Party

2009-11-22T00:26:00.000-08:00

Two weeks ago my host family and I went to one of their friends houses for an oden party. Oden is a Japanese dish that the Japanese like to eat to warm up in the winter. Inside oden is usually konnyaku, boiled eggs, radish, tofu, mochi, and fish cakes mixed in with a soy broth. It is really hot broth so it warms you up quickly. People like to eat oden with hot mustard. A big pot sat over a hot plate with all the ingredients boiling and we could take out whatever we wanted to eat. They also had pizza delivered for me but I really like oden so I didn't eat much of the pizza. The apartment was downtown. People in Japan call those apartments "mansions." The view was so beautiful because of all the lights in Nagasaki.

Kimono Show

2009-11-21T23:52:00.000-08:00

Second group of contestants.

Turning around so the judges can judge the tie in the back.

Tying the back and putting it all together.

Getting there kimono ready to put on.

Most of the contestants. My camera couldn't fit everyone in.

The kimono show I went to was more of a contest. From what I could tell it was based on who put on the kimono that fastest and who had tied it the best in the back. The show started out very boring with long speeches and then we stayed for two rounds of the competition. There were so many people competing I will put a picture up of all of the people who were competing. I don't have much to say about it because we only stayed for a little while so instead I will put pictures up to show everyone.

Shimabara

2009-11-14T15:37:00.000-08:00

At the Rotary meeting doing my speech.

The view from the top of Shimabara Castle.

Shimabara Castle

On Halloween I spent the day heading up to Shimabara where the Rotary district was having a huge meeting. The drive was very long it took two hours. However it was very pretty most of the time because we drove right by the sea and then in the mountains we drove under these trees that made a green tunnel. I drove up with my first host father and the other exchange student who was going to go to St.Paul next year. When we first arrived we quickly checked in and then left to eat lunch and do some sight seeing. They thought that we would be bored just sitting through speeches at the meeting. First we went out to lunch. We ate Shimabara's famous dish called Guzoni. It had stewed vegetables, mochi, and chicken in it. I didn't really like it but the mochi was good! After lunch we went to see the Shimabara Castle. Inside the castle it was like a museum with old stuff displayed that people use to use. There was a rule of no pictures allowed so I wasn't able to take a picture of the old dishes, money, and samurai wear. The top of the castle though had an amazing view which I was able to take a picture of. Next we headed over to the volcanoe museum where we learned about the eruption of Mt.Fugen in 1990. We went to the virtual theater where we experienced tremors and hot blasts. After the museum we went back to the district Rotary meeting and waited a long time and then finally I got to do my speech! I was so nervous. I have to say though I missed Halloween and was a little homesick.

Nagasaki International Festival

2009-11-13T19:11:00.000-08:00

One of the performers at the park by the bay.

Learning the song on the koto.

On October 25th I went to the Nagasaki International Festival it was small but I enjoyed it. I went with my two friends who are also exchange students. One is from Canada and one is from Mexico. However only the girl from Canada is a Rotary exchange student. Outside and inside there was a small flee market selling things such as clothing and dishes. There was also many food stands. I had some Indian chai tea. It was delicious. I also tried some more borscht but this time it wasn't very good so I threw it out. There was a St.Paul and Nagasaki sister city booth and much to my surprise there was a poster with a few pictures of me on it! I found it amusing. One lady came up to me and my friend and said "please come play the koto." So we followed her over to the Japanese instrument. It was so hard because it has so many strings and a couple of nice ladies taught us how to play a famous Japanese song on the koto. We were at the festival to watch a Mexican dance so while we were waiting for the dance we went to the nearby park which is my favorite spot in Nagaski because it is right by the water and there are palm trees. It is beautiful. At the park there was another event going on and there were performers doing amazing stunts and there was also a couple of clowns that we watched. When we returned to the Nagasaki International Festival we watched some Kendo, Japanese traditional dance, a group playing kotos, and the Mexican dance. I really enjoyed the Mexican dance and it was to one of my favorite songs that I learned at Spanish camp!

Cosmos

2009-11-01T21:57:00.000-08:00

This field of flowers is only like this in the fall. This picture was taken a while ago.

Random Pictures

2009-10-15T06:13:00.000-07:00

Persimmon is my new favorite fruit. In Japanese it is called kaki.

The heart stone at Glover Garden. It is supposed to bring you happiness if you find it.

Temple

Chinese Temple

The heart stone by the river.

The first time I made tamago yaki all by myself.

My tea ceremony set case.

My tea ceremony set.

Teaching my host family how to make a burrito!

Takengei

2009-10-14T18:33:00.000-07:00

This is part of the Wakamiya Inari jinji.

(The shrine where the bamboo festival was held.)

This is the mochi that I caught. The red and white represent happiness.

These are the three sticks of bamboo they were performing on.

The two year old climbing the first stick of bamboo.

Last night I went to a bamboo festival. The festivals name is Takengei. At the festival there were three long sticks of bamboo. The first person to climb up one of the sticks of bamboo was a two year old followed by a forth grader! The next person to climb up was an adult and he hung on the bamboo and did crazy things on them like hanging upside down. Then another person came up and they did a duo act. This time they used two pieces of bamboo. It is hard to explain so I put some pictures up for you to see. The performers were wearing fox costumes. Once at the top of the bamboo sticks they threw mochi (rice cakes) out into the crowd. The last performer threw a live chicken out into the crowd! I caught some mochi and when I got home from the festival I ate it. Out of all the foods that I have eaten in Japan mochi has come to be my favorite!

Nagasaki Kunchi

2009-10-13T21:45:00.000-07:00

Some of the gifts that were displayed on the Saturday night before the festival.

One of the kasabokos.

(Dragon Dance)

The Ship of the Seven Gods of Fortune being turned.

(Seven Gods of Fortune)

(Lion Dance)

(Tounsen-matsuri)

Hon-odori the dance of Uwa-machi.

Montakoi Montakoi!

(Encore)

(Kawafune)

Last week was the Kunchi festival. It is Nagasaki's biggest festival and it only takes place in Nagasaki. The towns in Nagasaki alternate hosting the festival every seven years. The performances they give are an offering to the deity of the Suwa Shrine. The town that is in charge of the festival start practicing and organizing in June. The festivities started the Saturday before. For three hours people could walk around the shops and see the presents that were going to be given to the performers and organizers and they could see the costumes. On Wednesday early in the morning the people organizing got up uand decided at three in the morning if they were going to hold the event that day. If it was raining the festival would just be extended. On Wednesday they did decide to hold the event and everyone knew because the sound of the fireworks going off at five in the morning. On Wednesday morning I got up and watched the first performance at the Suwa Shrine with my host family. Even though it was early in the morning everyone was so excited and energetic. Each day the performers had multiple performances until late at night. As I sat and watched my host parents went through all the acts for me and told me about them. My host mom also pulled out a couple of photo albums that contained photos of when their town was hosting the festival. On Wednesday night I saw the performance live with the other two Rotary exchange students. The first act was Hon-odori dance of Uwa -machi which was a traditional Japanese dance. It was also the first dance to be offered up to the Suwa Shrine. The next act was Kawafune which means river boat. A boy cast a net to catch some fish on a boat. Inside the boat were 12 children playing drums. After the boy catches the fish 16 people pull and turned the boat around. It is supposed to show how the boat goes in the waves. The third act was Tounsen-matsuri. Children played their instruments on a ship which looks like a ship from the Chinese dynasty Tang. The sixteen men dragged the boat around and turned it to the rhythm of the music. The forth act was the lion dance. The fifth act was Shichi-fuku-jin. They are the seven gods of fortune. The band and the gods rode in on the biggest ship and on the flag on the top the kanji said treasure. The gods did a dance and then the men once again turned the boat multiple times. The last act was Ja-odori which is the dragon dance. Ten men moved the dragon while one held a gold ball which represented the moon or the sun. The dragon danced while following the golden ball. This year there were three dragons dancing which is unusual many people told me. While the dragon was dancing there were people playing the trumpet, a gong, and a drum. In between the performances there was a dance of the kasaboko. Each town has their own kasaboko. On the kasaboko it has the towns name, decorations representing the town, and cloth draped on the sides of it. Every kasaboko is really heavy and there was only one person underneath carrying it. Since the people underneath couldn't see another person had to guide the others underneath with a flag. The festival lasted until Friday. On the last day my host family took me to where some of the acts were walking around such as the boats being carried and the children playing their instruments and then occasionally they stopped and did their performance. The seven gods of fortune came around to each store and blessed it. It was so cool to see their costumes up close. I couldn't believe how extravagant the festival was and can't wait to attend more festivals. The people of Nagasaki love festivals.

My Birthday

2009-10-02T04:29:00.000-07:00

Me in my new boots at the Russian restaurant.

(In the background is my host grandmother.)

My birthday did not really feel like it was my birthday. When I got to school many of my classmates wished me a happy birthday and one of them gave me a little present which was some chocolate. At lunch my classmates sang happy birthday to me. The day ended with my host family taking me out for Russian food. It was very interesting. I had bread, borscht, buckwheat porridge, mushroom salad, Russian tea with jelly in it, and pasta with peppers and garlic. It was very delicious. Then for dessert I did not have cake and instead I had a dark cherry tart which was still really good. However I did not get to blow out any candles! My host grandmother gave me some money to buy myself a present and my host parents bought me some boots. They were both wonderful presents!

Silver Week

2009-09-28T23:16:00.000-07:00

At the arcade playing the drums.

Purikura

From Saturday September 19th to Wednesday September 23rd I had no school because of a holiday and it was called silver week. On Saturday I got to rest. I did go out to lunch though for soba with my host family and then I went to the DVD and bookstore to get my own card so I could rent DVDs whenever I want to. On Sunday I got up quite early in order to pack for Fukuoka. We left at 10 o'clock in the morning and drove to Fukuoka which is another big city about two hours from Nagasaki. On the way we stopped at a rest stop. The rest stops in Japan are so much nicer than the ones in the United States. It had many street vendors selling delicious food and people playing the drums. At one of the street vendors I got my favorite food in Japan which is mochi. It is a rice cake and is really chewy. We finally arrived in Fukuoka and had to rush to get lunch because I was supposed to meet my friend at one o'clock. We went to a restaurant that served curry and it was delicious but we had to eat it fast so it was a little hard to enjoy. When my host parents dropped me off at Tenjin station my friend took me to another shopping area called Marinoa. At the Marinoa there was a huge Ferris wheel but I did not go on one. After having little luck finding things to buy at the Marinoa we returned back to the Tenjin area and went to an underground shopping mall. It was very cool. The Tenjin area had some of the best shopping. For dinner we went to an Italian chain restaurant and I took the opportunity to order pizza. After a little bit more shopping we returned to my friend's family's apartment. We rented a DVD in Japanese and watched it. Although I had no idea what they were saying I did understand the plot. The movie was based on the TV show that I had been watching so I knew all the characters. My friend's mom was a tea ceremony teacher so she made us some matcha and we had a little tea ceremony. Next we set off for the day first returning to the Tenjin area to go to a couple of stores where I had good luck buying some dresses and a hat. We then headed off to Canal City where we did some more shopping and went to see a movie. The movie was "The Ugly Truth." The movie was in English with Japanese subtitles. At the movie I had caramel corn which was delicious. They also sold french fries, juice, green tea, and hot dogs at the concession stand. When the movie was done we went to dinner at an Indian restaurant. With our movie ticket we got free drinks so I had a lassi. It was delicious. I ordered naan and alu gobi for dinner. It reminded me of home. When we left canal city we were very full and tired. The next day we visited my friend's grandma who was very eager to meet me. She served us tea and some sweets from Italy. We then returned again to the Tenjin area to go shopping again before I was to be picked up. During my time in Fukuoka I took advantage of eating familiar foods! For lunch we went to Starbucks and I a sandwich and had a chai latte. At three o'clock my host family picked me up and we headed back home. I had so much fun in Fukuoka and I have many Purikura pictures to remember it by. Purikura is like photo booth pictures only better! Purikura is very popular in Japan. On Wednesday I had to go get my supplies for tea ceremony club. I met three of my classmates from school to help me get them in the morning. Unfortunately the shop was closed so we went and did karaoke instead. We first stopped by a convenient store to get food to eat while we were doing karaoke. At the karaoke place we rented our own room. It had a table, couches, and a karaoke machine. It was so much fun and a great way to help me with my reading Hiragana and Katikana. I sang a couple of songs in English as well. My other classmates knew the song "Girlfriend" by Avril Lavigne so we all sang it twice and danced around. After I sang that song my throat hurt! We then went to McDonald's for a snack and I had mini pancakes they were really gross. Many teenagers like to go to McDonald's in Japan. We then went shopping, however, I did not buy anything. I had a great last day of break with my classmates!

Kwassui Sports Day

2009-09-19T00:42:00.000-07:00

This is me with some of the girls in my math class.

The Eye of the Typhoon

Marching

The class flags. My class flag is the American flag.

Yesterday was my school sports day. I practiced for sports day almost every day at school for four weeks and the other girls at the school started practicing before I started school! The day started out with an opening ceremony. The only thing I understood from the opening ceremony was that they had worship during the opening ceremony. After a quick warm up the games began. My first event was jumping and I must say that I will not be going to the Olympics for it anytime soon. I only jumped 30 cm. After jumping I was able to relax for a little while and watched the other events that were going on. There was a big pants race, a 100 meter race, many club relays, races where they had to blow up a balloon while running and then pop it, and some dances from the junior high. After those events were finished the 3rd year high school students which are the seniors had a costume race and then put on a performance. The costumes were all very amazing and the performances were very funny. The first part of the first performance I did not really understand what was going on but in the end Michael Jackson came by and made everything all better. Then they danced to thriller. The second performance they danced to music and dressed up like people from the roaring twenties. In the third performance there was a wedding and people weren't really getting along. Then President Obama arrived with Michelle Obama in a limo and said "Yes we can!" He made it all better and then they danced. Everyone really loves Obama here. Many of the class flags that they made said "Yes we can!" After lunch with our families the events began once again and were kicked of by marching. My next event was the eye of the typhoon and all of the second year high school students competed against each other. We ran with this huge bamboo stick and before we passed it of to the next line our class had to jump over the bamboo stick. It is a really difficult event to explain. My last event was the dance that we practiced for so long. It was a dance to four different songs. The songs were "Rock Around the Clock", "Fly on the Wall" by Miley Cyrus, "London Bridge" by Fergie, and "Best of Both Worlds by Hannah Montana. The events wrapped up with another dance with the first year high school students and some other grade events such as jump roping. The teachers also had one event which was trying to through balls into a basket that was on a bamboo stick. To close sports day there was a closing ceremony and a few awards were given out. When the ending ceremony came to a close we had to clean up by taking down the tent and taking our chairs back to the classroom. I was so exhausted by the end of the day and really ready to go home and relax. I had spent the previous night up late sewing on my zeken which is the thing on my shirt that says my class and my name. It me a little over a hour to sew and my classmates said it only took them a half hour!

Ashura

2009-09-18T23:01:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday I went with my host family to Fukuoka. There we picked up my host mothers mom and we went out to lunch. Lunch was at an Italian restaurants with pizza and pasta. The pizza tasted so good because I hadn't had it in such a long time! Although I have to say if I was back in the United States it would not have been on my list of favorite pizza restaurants. After lunch we dropped off my host mom at cooking school and continued to drive on to the Kyushu National Museum where there was a special exhibition gallery "The National Treasure Ashura and Masterpieces from Kohfukuji." When we got to the museum there were 180 people waiting in line. So after we got in line my host father bought my host grandmother and I both some ice cream. It helped pass the time and cool us off. finally after an hour and a half of waiting in line we began the ride up the escalator into the exhibition hall where the treasures were kept. Many people were packed inside the room. The statue Ashura has three faces and six hands. It is one of the Devas of the eight classes. It is one of the most famous statues in Japan. As we got closer to the statue we were herded around it by other viewers trying to get a look at the masterpiece. The national treasure the Ashura and the other masterpieces are usually in Nara and people can go see them behind the glass however this special exhibit was to commemorate the 1,300 anniversary of Kohfukuji temple.

Meeting the Mayor of Nagasaki

2009-09-18T18:38:00.000-07:00

On August 31st I met the Mayor of Nagasaki. He was very kind. Many people from the Nagasaki Rotary Club came who were involved in the exchange program. The Nagasaki Rotary Club talked about there exchange program with the St.Paul Rotary Club. They talked mostly in Japanese so I did not understand a lot of what they said. When it came my turn to talk to the Mayor I told him about my hopes for my year in Japan. He said he hoped that I would make friends everywhere I go in Japan because that is how we begin to create peace. He also said he hoped I would learn some of the dialect from Nagasaki as well. The Mayor gave me a scarf with penguins on it and it said Nagasaki. It was so kind of him. One of the local newspapers was there during the meeting and covered the story. The next day the story and and a picture was in the newspaper.

My School Schedule

2009-09-18T18:01:00.000-07:00

Monday

1st : Math

2nd : English

3rd : Japanese literature

4th : Sports

Lunch

5th: Free

6th: Free

7th: Homeroom

Tuesday

1st: English

2nd:Math

3rd: Tutor for Japanese

4th:Tutor for Japanese

Lunch

5th:Japanese literature

6th: Computer

7th:Free

Wednesday

1st: Free

2nd: Free

3rd: Sports

4th: English

Lunch

5th:Free

6th World History

7th: Math

Thursday

1st: Japanese

2nd: Free

3rd: Free

Rotary Meeting

Tea Ceremony Club

Friday

1st: Tutor for Japanese

2nd: Tutor for Japanese

3rd: English

4th: Free

Lunch

5th: Free

6th: Math

7th: E Learning

Kwassui Cultural Fair

2009-09-09T17:34:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday was my schools cultural fair. My class had been preparing their games for weeks for the fair. During the day of the fair I mostly spent helping out my classmates with the games but I also had a chance to watch some of the programs on the chapel stage. The first show that I watched was the chorus singing and some people played the piano. The piano playing was absolutely amazing I had never seen anything like it before. The girls fingers just flew across the keys on the piano. After the first show we went to one of the classrooms where they were giving out juice and snacks. They decorated the room to look like Hawaii. A few of my classmates and I then had to return again to help out with the games. Many people came. I think more than one hundred and fifty people came and played the games. There was rarely any down time. After lunch I went to see one of the classes perform a short version of high school musical. They did a few scenes from it in Japanese and then they danced to various songs from all three movies but did not do the singing. Next I went to do tea ceremony which the tea ceremony club was conducting. This was my second time doing tea ceremony. The first time was last Thursday. My host mom's aunt taught tea ceremony and she showed me how what to do. I really enjoyed it. It was very peaceful. I really liked the tea which is called Matcha but did not really like the sweet thing with it. Both times it was really hard to sit with my knees tucked under. This way of sitting is called sesa. After the tea ceremony my legs were so numb! I got up anyway and walked back to the chapel stage where the dance club was performing some dances which were really good. The next show was the one that I wanted to see the most and that was the Rhythmic gymnastics club. They put on a really great show and were very talented. Kwassui's Rhythmic gymnastic club has won many awards and are very respected in Nagasaki. I was very tired when the fair was over and was happy to rest on Sunday!

My Five Pairs of Shoes

2009-09-02T01:45:00.000-07:00

For school I have five pairs of shoes. One pair is to walk to school in. They hurt really bad and are very unattractive. My second pair of shoes is to wear inside during the school day. They are not that bad and at least they are comfortable! My third pair of shoes is for gym class inside. They are not that bad either. My fourth pair of shoes is for dancing inside. And my fifth pair of shoes is for gym class outside. They are very big and clunky and not at all fun wear. I couldn't believe how many shoes I received! My host dad told me what they were all for but I forgot. On the bright side I can leave four out of the five pairs of shoes at school. Two of them are stored in my locker in the classroom and two of them are stored in my shoe box. On the first floor there are shoe cubbies assigned to the students. I have to be careful where I go outside with my inside shoes because sometimes we have to walk from building to building. I think I am getting the hang of which shoes to use when. However it is awfully complicated!

School

2009-09-01T20:07:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday I went to my first day of school at Kwassui. I was first introduced to the teachers and then to the students. Ⅰ made a short speech about three times. One time to the teachers, one time to the students, and another time to my classmates. I am in a class with seventeen girls. The girls are in the english program and so they speak English. I asked them to speak Japanese to me though because I want to learn how to speak Japanese. It is hard but when I do not understand I just smile and nod my head. On Thursday I did not have a full day of school there because I had to go to a Rotary meeting. While I was at school on Thursday I watched the girls practice their dance for sports day and my homeroom teacher gave me a tour of the school. Friday was a long day for me. They had prcatice for sports day agian and this time I practiced the dance with them. It was very interesting. I had no idea what to do or where to go ever and people were directing me to go here and there. They found it quite amusing and kept laughing. It was very funny. After practicing for sports day the girls in my class had to prepare for the school cultural fair this Saturday. I only covered a box with yellow paper so it wasn't that exciting. On Monday I attended the regular classes. My first period was World history. I could only catch which countries they were talking about but not much else. The next class was English and I was very happy to help out my teacher and my classmates. They were reading a passage on Christmas and my teacher asked me to explain to them what my family usually does on Christmas. After I was finished they explained to me what they do on New Years day which is there big holiday here. We had dance practice twice on Monday. It was really hot outside. After lunch was another English class, the second dance practice, and then home room. In home room we had a meeting, practiced dance, and cleaned the room. Tuesday was the second day of regular classes. The first period I had English and then the second period I had Japanese history. The book was all in Kanji so I looked at the pictures. Third period was oral English. They had to say what they did over their summer vacation. The girls told me they only get a one month summer vacation and they can't do very much because they have tons of homework. They all were very surprised to hear that I usually get about three months and have no homework! Well at least at my school we had no homework. The teacher was from St. Paul Minnesota! She was so nice and told me that I could always come and talk to her. Fifth period they had Japanese literature. They all told me what their names meant. It was very interesting. Some of the names had mountain, or child, or grass in it. After Japanese literature we had dance practice and then we had marching practice. The Japanese literature teacher told me that Japanese students are good marchers. I did not really understand what to do or where to go so I just followed. I also couldn't understand what the person was saying so I never knew when to stop. Today was my day in the computer room. The students were having their achievement tests. I will not be taking all of the classes and next week I will have my permanent schedule for now. I go to school and come home from school using the street car. The days are long because many of the days they get done at 5! I was surprised but I hope I will get used to it soon.

A busy three days

2009-08-24T15:34:00.000-07:00

My orientation was this weekend and it was really long. Some parts of it was fun the. It took place at a hot spring. So there were about 10 kids there but only three of us were inbound students. One girl was from France and one girl was from Canada. When we first went there we had lunch at the restaurant and then we listened to speeches and we had to make a small speech. We went up to a tatami room and sat on the tatami mats and listened to the kinds from Rotex speak. They are kids who already went on there exchange and came back. After we went to the onsen which is a Japanese hot spring. It was so relaxing. The water comes from the sea so there is good minerals in it for you. It makes your skin sift. It was also very hot so I only stayed in for a little while. Next was dinner and at the end they brought out a karaoke machine and some people sang. I did not sing at dinner. After dinner the kids went to one of many small rooms where you can use a karaoke machine. There I sang one song and I learned that I am not good at karaoke! The next day we went and listened to a guy from Canada talk about culture differences in Japan. He has lived in Japan for 8 years so far. It was really interesting. Then we took a bus up into the mountains it was a pretty drive but it was too hot and the roads were very curvy and I got car sick. We went to a place called Nito Pass. Then we took a rope way that carried us up to Mt.Myoken and then we had a short little climb to the top of Mt.Fugen. Next to Mt.Fugen is Mt.Heisei Shinzan which is a vol canoe which we saw. After we went back to the hotel grabbed our luggage and went back home. It was about a two hour bus ride from the hot spa. On Sunday after we got back we ate dinner but after there was a little festival going on right outside of my host family's apartment. We went and walked around. They have this one game where you can try to catch as many goldfish as you can without braking the net thing. Which does brake very easily and I didn't know it so I broke it very easily and didn't catch any fish but they gave me some fish anyway. After I got this really good dessert. It was ice with chocolate and banana on it. Then we saw fireworks which were amazing and they were so pretty! The best fireworks I have ever seen. On Monday I went with part of my third host family to the penguin aquarium and we saw many penguins they were so cute! After we went to one of there restaurants and ate a big meal with the rest of the family. They were experimenting with what foods I liked. Some of it was good some stuff was interesting and I wouldn't want to eat it again. I will write again soon to tell everyone how my first days at school went!

Various Things I have Done

2009-08-20T20:22:00.000-07:00

So I have been here officially for more than a week yes! Yesterday I went to my first Rotary meeting in Japan. I had to make a speech which went very well. That night I also had my welcome party. Many people came and again I had to make a little speech. I met my second host family and my host mom of my second host family. Again I wore my kimono. On Wednesday my host father took me to ride the street car to my school. After I get off the street car it is a long walk from there to school! After we went to three malls. All were quite close together. We walked around mostly so when I start to go out by myself i can find my way around. However in one of the malls I did buy a tshirt. The clothes here are absolutely amazing! Also the other day I cooked pasta for my host parents. It had tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, and parmesean cheese in it. They liked it a lot! This weekend is my orientation and it is going to be held at a hot spa. This afternoon I am going to an art museum.

Pictures From My First Week

2009-08-17T22:33:00.000-07:00

My First Week in Japan

2009-08-17T22:01:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone,

After a very long day of travel I am here in Japan I didn't really have any troubles except at the Haneda Airport in Tokyo I kept asking where to go and kept getting sent to different counters. My next trouble was my luggage was overweight but all they had me do was pay money. When I got to the Nagasaki Airport my first and second host family was waiting for me. I was finally glad to get to my first host family's house and all I could think about was going to sleep. The first day we went to the supermarket and went to register for a Nagasaki id card at the city hall. We also went to the train station to pick up my host parents niece. Then we went out for Chinese food where I had a very tough time eating. The next day we went to Grover's Garden and Dejima. Both are famous historical places in Japan. Dejima was the only window to the West during Japan's period of isolation. It was also Obon my second day here which was a day where the spirits came back. We went and visited the graves and we lit incense and firecrackers. The firecrackers were for good luck. Next we went to get gelato and I tried green tea gelato. It is not my favorite. At night we saw people carry these boats to the water to send off the spirits I think. There were many firecrackers going off so I wore earplugs. My host grandmother gave me a kimono and so I wore it that night. The next day my host father took me to the Nagasaki atomic bomb museum. It was really sad but very interesting. In the entrance area there were tons of paper cranes. Then we went to see where the bomb hit which is now a park and we went to go see a park with the Peace Statue in it. The Paece Statue is a prayer for everlasting world peace. It was unveiled on the 10th anniversary of the bombing. That night we went to an Italian restaurant and the meal lasted three hours! Meals are a lot longer in Japan than in America. At the restaurant though I had a big achievement and I tried one clam! It was really bad. Yesterday we dropped my host sister and host brother off at the airport. They were going to Tokyo to go back to school. Today we went to my school Kwassui and I met my principle, assistant principle, class teacher, and english teacher. I told them I wanted to join a dance club. But they spoke japanese and I couldn't really understand a lot of what they were saying. Now I have wireless so I will try to update my blog much more frequently!

2009-08-11T14:04:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone!

So Tomorrow I leave. Right now I am very nervous and excited. I am ready to go after preparing for so long! Finished packing at 1:30 today and feel semi prepared to go. Next entry will be from Japan!