JAPAN HOMESTAY

NOV 15TH, MON	HI EVERYONE!! MY FIRST DAY IN JAPAN COULD NOT HAVE GONE ANY BETTER THAN THIS. WHEN I WOKE UP THIS MORNING I WAS TIRED BUT NO MORE THAN USUAL. I AM VERY GRATEFUL THAT I DID NOT GET JET LAG - I AM ADJUSTING TO THE TIME BETTER THAN I EXPECTED. BREAKFAST WAS VERY GOOD, I HAD A HAM AND CHEESE SANDWICH BUT TWO SLICES OF BREAD WERE PRESSED TOGETHER LIKE YOU WOULD DO WITH A WAFFLE IRON. I WENT TO SCHOOL WITH MY HOST SISTER, RINA, SHE SPEAKS ENGLISH VERY WELL, ESPECIALLY FOR ONLY BEING 13 YEARS OLD. EVERYONE WAS PRETTY SHOCKED BY HOW TALL I AM. WHENEVER THEY CAME UP TO ME THEY EITHER STOOD ON THEIR TOES OR THEY PUT THEIR HAND ON THEIR HEAD TO SEE WHERE ON MY MY BODY DID THEIR HEAD REACH. THEY WERE ALL VERY NICE AND THEY ALL GREETED ME WITH BIG SMILES AND GREETINGS. THEY WERE ALL VERY EXCITED TO SEE ME - SOME PEOPLE WERE EVEN TOO SHY TO TALK TO ME. MORE PEOPLE SPEAK ENGLISH HERE THAN I IMAGINED. I THOUGHT THAT I WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO TALK MUCH WHILE I WAS HERE BUT I HAD A LOT OF CONVERSATIONS IN ENGLISH. I HAVE ALSO LEARNED A FEW WORDS IN JAPANESE. I MET THE ENGLISH TEACHER FROM CANADA TODAY, HIS NAME IS SCOTT. HE IS VERY NICE AND FUN TO TALK TO. I AM GOING SIGHTSEEING TOMORROW WITH HIM AND ANOTHER MNCC TEACHER. LUNCH WAS VERY GOOD, WE HAD BEEF STEW. IT WAS SO CUTE TO SEE EVERYONE IN THE KIDS IN THEIR CHEF APRONS AND HATS WHILE THEY WERE SERVING THE FOOD. I CANT BELIEVE THAT EVERYONE WASHES THEIR HANDS BEFORE AND AFTER LUNCH AND THEY BRUSH THEIR TEETH AFTER LUNCH TOO. IT IS VERY GOOD BUT IT IS SO DIFFERENT. WE WALKED HALF WAY HOME TODAY FROM SCHOOL, THIS TOWN IS VERY PRETTY, THERE ARE A LOT OF TREES AND WE ARE SURROUNDED BY MOUNTAINS. MY HOST FAMILY AND I PLAYED WITH FIREWORKS TODAY, IT WAS REALLY FUN. AND THEN I GAVE THEM MY GIFTS. THEY SEEMED TO LIKE THEM, ESPECIALLY OTO-SAN, TO WHOM I GAVE A BIG HERSHEYS BAR. EVERYBODY IS REALLY NICE HERE AND I AM GLAD I AM ABLE TO STAY WITH THIS FAMILY.
NOV 16TH, TUE	Hello Everyone!! Today was very fun. When I woke up we had eggs with cheese inside. I have never seen so many ways of eating eggs. Rina and I rode our bikes to school. It was very cold but I was finally able to exercise. Today there was a music festival, it was so exciting. The elementary kids must have practiced very hard because they were very good. They were already cute enough in their little uniforms that they wear but seeing them perform was amazing. Rina played the trumpet in the festival, she is very good. She also plays the piano very well, she is very talented. After the festival, I took a tour of the beautiful town of Fukiage. It is a lot bigger than I thought. Even though it has only 10,000 people, everything is very spread out. We went to the ocean were there are a lot of fishers. That beach is known for the many turtles that come out of the ocean to lay there eggs from March to July. We then visited the tombs of Shizumu and his family. In 1345 Shizumu was a very famous Samurai in Kagoshima. He died in a war and for generations his family has been buried in cities all over Kagoshima. The tomb stones are HUGE and very pretty. We then had lunch at restaurant where we sat on the floor and all. I ate some sea food but I am not sure what kind because I did not want to know. We then visited some caves and shrines and I met with the mayor of Fukiage. I also met the the board of education supervisor. They were both very kind wanted to know how my stay has been going so far. Of course I answered that it has been going great!! Everyone is so nice here. After I was done with my tour I went home. I was so tired so I took a nap for an hour and then I woke up for dinner. We had beef stew, it was very good. Whoever it was that told me the Japanese people do not eat very much was very wrong. I am full after every meal. Before I left I was sure I would not eat very much and that I would lose weight but now I think I am going to gain weight, especially since I am not practicing basketball like I would be if I were in America. Tomorrow I get to play volleyball at school so I am excited for that.
NOV 17TH, WED NOV 18TH, THU	Hi everyone! I did not get a chance to write yesterday because I was not home until 9:00. During school yesterday, I played basketball with everyone after Lunch. It was a lot of fun, but I was all sweaty and gross afterwards. After basketball it was cleanup time and I swept the gym floor. ( I did that Monday too) Fifth period was really fun too. It was History, and we played a game. We focused on "Manners in a Train" We were separated into groups and each group had to give an answer on what would be considered bad manners on a train. It was kind of like family fued because some answers got more points than others. Anyways, if the group gave their answer in English or they acted it out, and I understood what they were trying to say, they got twice as many points. Then during six period I played basketball again, and after school I played volleyball with the volleyball team. I was soooo tired after that but we still had to ride our bikes home. When I got home I thought I would be able to rest but we went to a ceramic makers house and ate dinner. ( you can see pictures of this on the 3rd page-first 3 pictures.) Dinner was so good. We had a barbeque with everything you can imagine. Afterwards we went inside and had cake (they pronounce it Cake-eee) Oka-san bought strawberry cake for me. She knew that my favorite fruit is strawberries because on Monday, during English class, each person came up to me and introduced themselves in English and then they asked me one question. (of course the first question was "do you have a boyfriend?") One of the questions was "what is your favorite fruit?" I said strawberries and my host sister, Rina remembered what I said and she told Oka-san and Oka-san bought me strawberry cake. Anyways, I know that that is a long story Today was a pretty laid back day. I went to 3 English classes (one for my class and two for the ninth graders) And I did little homework of my own. In the gymnasium they set up for a student council meeting so I did not play any sports today. It was raining all day today so Rina and I did not have to ride our bikes to school. Tomorrow is my last day at the Jr. High school. I am going to miss everyone. They are so nice to me, two girls today even asked me for my "signature." Anyways, I am having a lot of fun here, but it is already going by way too fast!
NOV 19TH, FRI	I Just got done writing a big long e-mail to everyone but somehow I accidentally pressed the wrong button and it got deleted. So I will write a little bit so I can go to bed. Tomorrow we are going to Kiroshima city to go hiking and have a picnic. Then we are going to Kagoshima city so I can see the volcano over there and we are going shopping. I probably wont be able to write and e-mail tomorrow because we will get back late. Today was my last day at the Jr. High School. I grew closer to them then I ever thought possible. think I would because they are younger than me and I don't speak their language but non of that mattered because I was able to bond with them by playing sports! It was great because its easy and fun. Anyways, today my class presented to me a book of memories with little notes from each student and pictures of me with my class. It was really sweet of them. Well, I am going to bed now, sorry I could not write anymore but I will on Sunday!
	Hi everyone!! Today was a very long day! I thought I wasn't going to be able to write but everyone is still awake so it's okay. When we woke up we left for Kiroshima city. This is the city that has the airport that I land in. In this city there is Kiroshima-Yaki National Park and we hiked up to Lake Onami. We bought lunch before hand and carried it up there. It was really pretty - I like to see all the different kinds of plants that they have here. However, I had one small problem.......Before I left for Japan, I knew that things here would be made for short people - the doorways, the chairs, the buildings, etc. This was a fact that I accepted before I left. However, Little did I know that in Japan, Mother nature thinks in "short" terms also. I must have bumped my head a dozen times today while I was hiking. You see, throughout half the trail that we hiked on, there were branches sticking out about where my nose was headed. However, my eyes were always looking down because the trail was all rocks. So, while everyone is standing straight up and walking right under these branches without a second thought, I'm crawling on my hands and knees yelling for everyone to wait up. After we were done we went to Oka-san's parents house so we could take a shower. I had the best experience ever over there. When I went to the bathroom, the toilet set was HEATED!!! It was so awesome. I just wanted to sit there forever. But then I remembered that I couldn't because they might think that something was wrong with me. Anyways, this country is so far ahead of us when it comes to electronics. If families were to have a run down home, they would still have their electronic toilet, electronic water filter, and camera phones. Speaking of camera phones - EVERYONE has them. I know a lot of people in America have them too, but I think the ratio is bigger over here. And speaking of cameras, the one that I have with me is ANCIENT! Whenever I give my camera to someone, they look for a screen on the back and then give a confused look. After a few seconds they finally realize that you actually have to put the eyehole up to their eye. Anyways, back to what happened today. After we took out showers we went shopping. I got souvenirs for whoever wants them. It is so hard to find things with JAPANESE writing on them. Everything is English! Anyways, after that we went out to eat. The waiters kept bringing out more food and more food. I did' know when it was going to end. There was a barbeque built into the table and the waiter put hot coles in side and then all the meat that they bring out is raw and we cook it ourselves. Don't get me wrong - I like the food here and everything but some things are NASTY!! Tonight they brought out a fish that looked like it was still alive but just happened to be a little sliced up. Thy also brought out this humungous shrimp. It looked liked they had just caught it and then stuck it on a stick for us to barbeque. I took a bite out of something that came with my noodles. I didn't know it was from the ocean until after I saw its little legs. I had to choke it down with my orange juice. Anyways, after we were done we went back to Oka-san's parents house to relax a little. There were fireworks going on... that was pretty cool to watch. They were the same as any other fireworks that I've seen but I saw them IN JAPAN! Oka-san's sister said that they were for my arrival in Japan. I thought that was pretty funny but then I asked for the real reason why they were having fireworks and they said it was for all the typhoons that they've had this year. I asked Rina why they were celebrating typhoons and she said that she liked them because they had no school when they came. I don't think that's why they had fireworks though. Anyways, I have to pack tonight because I am switching families tomorrow. I am going to miss the Myanomae's but I know I will have fun with Tomomi.
	Well, this morning I was suppose to sleep in but I still woke up ON MY OWN and 7:45!!! I know, I know, it's crazy, I don't know what's wrong with me. Tomomi's mother just called over here and I am going to switch host families in and hour and a half at 5:00. I am going to miss this family soooo much. They have been soo nice to me. Every morning I get a hot breakfast and whenever we go out to eat they always pay for me. My host mother has never failed to wash my clothes everyday. I don't know how I can ever repay them for the kindness that they have shown me. Today, my host mother said to me "Emily, one week has gone by very very fast with you." I laughed and said "I know, that's because we have had so much fun!" She laughed and said "yes, very fun." Today we went to my host brother, Kouske's softball game. It was a lot of fun - I loved watching him play. My host mom left me at the game with my host dad (who doesn't really speak English) so she could go pick up Rina. Kouske played two games and in between games, all the mothers sat down together and had snacks. Usually when I meet new people they talk about me for a little bit so they could understand why I am here and how old I am and how long I will be in Japan for. However, my translators (my host mom and Rina) were not there so I had no idea what all these moms were saying about me. It's the weirdest feeling ever to sit in a circle of women for 20 minutes and you know the topic of conversation is you but you have NO IDEA what they are saying. I know that the topic of why I was there changed because they started pointing to my eyelashes. Anyways, they also had all these different kinds of snacks there that I had never tried before. So when they offered each one to me they watched me put it into my mouth and would wait in dead silence for my reaction to it. Some things were nasty like the cookies wrapped in seaweed but when I ate something good I would say "Oyshi" ( which means 'good') and they would all give a big sigh "aaaahhhhh" Anyways, I better get going. I want to take some pictures of the house and with my family before I leave.
NOV 22ND, MON	Today was my first time at the high school in Fukiage. I had a meeting in the morning with all the teachers and I had to give a speech about myself in Japanese.... that's right I said JAPANESE!! I practiced it last night with Tomomi. And then I had to give the same speech in the gym with the WHOLE SCHOOL.....in JAPANESE!!! IT went fine, I memorized 3/4 of it and then the rest of it I read. This is what I said (but in Japanese).... " Good morning everyone, my name is Emily. I am from America in California. I am 17 years old. I am in Fukiage for 2 weeks, one week at the Jr. High and one week here at the high school. I hope to be friends with Everyone here. (and then I said something else that Tomomi had taught me but she didn't know the translation.)" Anyways, Today had been really fun.... After the assembly our class gave a presentation to me in English about SEX!! I know sex and STD's are serious topics but it was soooo funny!. They drew pictures for me and everything. I met the assistant language teacher (ALT) from America, his name is Will. He came here with Scott. He's really cool. He knows Japanese so he helped me with tour that another teacher game me. I played Badminton for PE today. Serving is a lot harder than it looks but I finally got it down. Maki is coming to Tomomi's house tonight.... I think she is spending the night because tomorrow there is no school. I am excited to see her. Anyways, I have to go play volley ball right now with the volley ball club so BYE BYE!
NOV 23RD, TUE	I think today was definitely up there with my "number one funniest days" category. Last night Maki came I was excited to see her. She looks really good. She came our family a couple of presents for me to take home. Tomomi, Maki, and I stayed up until about 1:30 just talking about Japan and America. I had a lot of fun. They said that they are jealous of American girls because in America boys are talk to open the doors for the ladies and to always let us go first in everything ("Ladies first"). Then we we woke up this morning I had a ton of food for breakfast. I had eggs, potato soup, 2 slices of bread (they are the REALLY BIG slices), yogurt and orange juice. After that we went down town to the Yabasami festival. This is when these two guys ride up and down a street (that they closed off) with a bow and arrow try to hit targets as they are riding. I saw some of the Jr. High students that were there for Judo. They were REALLY excited to see me. They were loud and were screaming "Emily, Emily, Emily!!" and they all circled around me. EVERYONE was watching. Natsuko was there at the festival so it was neat to see her again. I also saw Scott and Will there, I liked talking with them. However, Will, being in his 'I want to embarrass Emily' mood, was talking with his students and then, as I passed by, he screamed "Oh my gosh, look at that girl, she is sooo tall!, Oh my gosh!!" And one again EVERYONE was watching. Anyways, after they were done they wanted me to put on this dress so that I could take pictures in it. I walked around in it and again, EVERYONE was watching. Natsuko told me that people were saying that it was a shame that I was going to take the dress of so soon because I looked really beautiful. I didn't feel like that though. I was in like 20 layers of clothing so I was really hot and with everyone watching me I was a little embarrassed. Anyways, After that we went over to this house where and old couple lives. The man is a descendant of the Samarui's in the old days. I thought that was pretty interesting. After we were finished, Natsuko drove Tomomi, Maki and me, to Kagoshima city. I finally got to see the huge volcano that Maki gave us pictures of. It is really big. I asked them how often it erupts and they said at least ten. They dropped us off at the train station and we rode the train to the AMU plaza where they sell really expensive clothes but we went there to eat. Then we rode the train to the mall to go shopping. I had Fun but I have never seen SO MAY EYES WATCHING ME!! Even Maki commented on it. After we were done shopping we went to the print club to take pictures. You are not considered a real girl in Japan if you don't go to the print club. (this is where they print up those REALLY SMALL photos that all of our students have brought to show us in America) After that we walked to Maki's Grandparents house where I met her whole family. They were SOOOOOO excited to see me. Her grandma kept holding my hand and rubbing my arm. Then, we went to a restaurant called Joyfull and had dinner. It was a lot of fun, Maki's mom is so funny. Her facial expressions are hilarious. After dinner, They drove me and Tomomi back to Fukiage. Tomomi went straight to bed. She was tired the whole day because she had only got 5 hours of sleep last night because she was studying. I will see Maki and her parents again on Sunday because they are going to see me off at the airport.
NOV 24TH, WED	I think today I was able to get more of an idea of what its like to be a high school student in Japan. Will came to school today and I was with him for most of the day....he is my wonderful translator (his classes at another high school were canceled for today and Friday, so he will come Friday too). I like talking to him, he's been here for a year so he is always telling me about the "behind the scenes" stuff that goes on. For lunch today we ate in the "radio room" This is the room where the girls go to eat so that they can look outside through the windows at the boys volleyball club while they rake the leaves. I ate an egg sandwich and a roll with cream inside and I had apple juice for a drink. One thing I'm definitely going to miss when I am gone is the APPLE JUICE. It is soooo good here. I don't know what they do differently here but it is amazing. Anyways, Will came back from lunch and gave me a ice cream bar with cookie at the bottom...it was really good, and he also gave me drink and on the cap was a little action figure that is popular in Japan - its name in Atom. Anyway, I thought it was really neat of him to buy that for me. After lunch, we had sort of an assembly where the 16 and 17 year olds gave presentations on their internship. They each picked a job, like at a factory or a hotel, and worked there for three days so they could get experience. Each presentation was on a slide show with pictures, I thought it was pretty interesting that it is required of them to do that. I explained to the English teacher the difference at my high school. After school, the "Tea ceremony" Club made a presentation for me. One of the students performed the tea Ceremony. Even though she has been in the club for a while she still has to be told what to do because it is a very prestigious procedure and everything HAS to be done with exactness. It takes a long time for a students to know how to do everything on her own and it takes even longer (years) for her to be able to "feel" the motions that she is performing. Afterwards, they put me in a Yukata and gave it to me as a present, they also gave me a fan. I was finished close to six o' clock and there were still students there playing cards together and talking. I thought this was very strange. I asked Will why they were still there and he explained to me that they don't really hang out at each others houses so they just stay at school and hangout because there is no where else to go. A lot of the students live pretty far a way form each other either in separate towns or on opposite sides of Fukiage ( Everything is VERY spread out in this town). When Tomomi and I got home we just talked until dinner was ready. Her friend Kasumi came over and we ate dinner and watched tv and talked. We also made the cookies from the mix that I had brought. I didn't think to bring a measuring cup because I had forgotten that they don't use our same measuring system. So I had to guess 1/2 cup of butter, and then with the temperature of the oven, Tomomi guessed how many degrees celcius is equal to 375 degrees Farenheight.
NOV 25TH, THU	HAPPY THANKSGIVING!! Well, time has slipped by really fast and tomorrow is my last day at Fukiage High School. After school today I dressed up in a Kendo uniform and learned the rules of Kendo. It was pretty fun but I felt weird with all those layers on. I have figured out that I shouldn't feel embarrassed in whatever clothes they dress me up in because no matter how different and foreign it feels to me its okay because, to them, it is completely normal. After I was done with that, Tomomi and I went to the store and we bought snacks for me and we bought the food to make Nikujaga (I don't really know how to spell it). Around 7:30 about six of my classmates came over and we ate dinner and talked and took pictures. They brought over Japanese snacks and some toys for souvenirs to take home. I like being with them and learning Japanese words from them. I have learned a lot of the Japanese language since I've been here. When I get home I want to keep studying it. I have to make a goodbye speech tomorrow in Japanese to the whole school and I think I am also giving it at the Sayonara party that the town is throwing for me.
NOV 26TH, FRI	Today was my last day at the high school. I was way more sad than I thought I would be. I am going to miss everyone over there soooo much, especially the girls in my class. Today I had classes like norma. I participated in the math class. The teacher said that I was really smart and that he was really glad but I have just already learned all the materials that they were learning. I think that that is neat about math is that it is the same in all the countries, it is something universal that we can all relate to. When my student Maki came over this summer she had a hard time with her math class so I helped her with it. It was one way that we were able to bond with each other and I thought that was really neat. Anyways, After school I gave another SPEECH in JAPANESE! First and second period the ALT teacher, Will, translated what I wanted to say for me. I was really glad that Will was there for me this week at school. He made things for me go a lot more smoothly and he was fun to be with. Anyways, before I gave my speech a group of boys sang a song for me and then another group did a dance for me. It was sooo CUTE! You could NEVER get high school student in America to do what they did. And then a girl read a little poem that said how glad she was that I came and that she is going to miss me. So, it was a REALLY cool sayanara party that they had for me, I was really grateful for the time for it. After the assembly, our class went to the music room. There one of my classmates, Aya, sang a song for me. She has a really good voice and even though I couldn't understand what she was saying it was beautiful. Music is another thing I could use to bond with my friends that I made. After I was finished with that, we went over to City Hall for another little Sayonara party that the Town of Fukiage had for me. They presented me with two certificates, one in Japanese and the other Then I sat down with the Head of the Board of Education, Natsuko, Saido, and my two Host Families. We talked about my stay in Fukiage and how I liked it. Of course I have LOVED it. I am so sad to leave. When I get home I want to study Japanese so I can come back for a longer amount of time. Sometimes I got a little frustrated with the language barriers so I don't want that to happen next time I come.
NOV 27TH, SAT	Today I finally got to see what I wanted to see before I left for Japan - Mt. Sakurajima! It is so beautiful over there. Maki had brought pictures for our family to see because she lives right next to it. Anyways, I slept in this morning the latest I have all of my stay in Japan. I woke up at 11:00am!!!! I was very proud of my self. But I have to give a lot of the credit to my classmates, Kasume and Misato, for spending the night and keepin gme up talking until one in the morning. They were SO MUCH FUN to talk to!! They had to leave at 8:00am to go to school and practice typing. That's one thing I don't understand about Japan is why they always have to go to school on the weekends. My host sister Tomomi can't even see me off at the airport tomorrow because she has to take a test. Anyways, we left the house around 11:45 so we could go to Kagoshima city. We went to Moss Burger to have lunch. The Hamburgers there are a lot for expensive than they are in America and they are smaller. But they are REALLY good. I also had a strawberry milkshake and that was delicious. You don't find REAL milkshakes at fast food places in America. They usually try to fake you out by using the powder mix to get the flavor but as Moss Burger they used real strawberries. After that we went to a bunch of stores so I could have my last chance to buy souvenirs for my family and friends. Then we went on the Ferry. It was FREEZING but it was so pretty I did not want to go inside of the boat. After that we went back to Fukiage to pick up Yuje, my host brother, and Tomomi's Oba-chan (grandmother). We went to a restaurant to have dinner. It was really good. I ate Cow heart and Cow Liver. It was actually really good -especially the heart - but the liver t and weird on my tongue. Anyways, when I got home I had to pack. It took about 30 minutes to get everything in my suitcase.

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