Liana's Journal

Liana has arrived at Kagoshima airport safe and sound. After long flights, her journey towards cultural encounters has just begun!
12月2日 Lianaは無事、鹿児島空港へ到着しました。12月15日までの約2週間、宮崎県に滞在し、日本の家庭生活や学校生活を体験します。

December 15, 2019  It was a pretty uneventful day. At the airport I said goodbye to my family, but I know I’ll see them someday soon so I wasn’t too sad. The flight to Taiwan was fine. But the layover for me and Tania was 10 hours. Yeah. Tiring. Then we got on our flight and flew for another 10 hours. It was alright. The food was pretty good and I think I slept for about 6 hours so I had a good rest. Sadly, I did have dreams about my Japanese friends lol. Just rubbed the salt deeper into the wound. Anyway, in San Francisco I said bye to Tania and barely made it to my flight to Seattle. The airport was so crowded that if it took a little more time for all the people to move by, I probably would’ve missed my flight. But it was ok. I wasn’t really stressed about it for some reason. I finally made it home and my parents picked me up. They missed me but I didn’t really miss them because of how much fun I was having in Miyazaki. And then that’s it. All I want to do is go back to Japan now. And I will.For the time being, I need to study hard and do well in school to finish off my last year strong. I’m really glad and thankful for this experience, and recommend this to everyone. Thank you. 
December 14, 2019  Today was my last day in Japan. In the morning, my host sister and I got ready to meet up with some friends (from my first high school.) We rode our bikes to an udon place and met up there. I was really happy to see some of my friends one last time before going back to America. I ordered niku udon. So basically it’s udon noodles with meat in the broth. It was really good. Udon is one of my favorite Japanese foods, and luckily for me it’s a cheap type of food too. We joked around and talked for a while but we had to say goodbye later (we actually decided to say “see you later” to make it easier. Goodbyes seem like they’ll last forever.) It was extremely hard to say bye, though. I built such strong bonds with these people, my heart was hurting. They gave me a scrapbook with photos, origami, and letters from everyone in the class. It meant a lot to me. After we said “see you later,” my host sister and I went to go get some pudding. It’s the best thing ever. America needs to step up its food game because so far it’s losing in every category. Then we got some red bean deserts from a nearby stand; also one of my favorite types of Japanese food. After finishing the deserts, we went to Omiya high school one last time so I could get a corn drink I wanted to try from a vending machine there. To my pleasant surprise, I noticed that the tennis girls were practicing. I hadn’t gotten the chance to say bye to them, so I had the opportunity to do so today. So we talked for a bit and then said goodbye. They’re all very kind and sweet and I’m excited to see them in the future.
After that, we stopped by a convenience store before going home. When we got home, we went to go eat dinner at a fancy sushi restaurant. The sushi was so delicious and fresh. My favorite one was the octopus sushi on a bed of rice. When we got home we chilled for the most part, and I started packing. I have a long way to go tomorrow to get home, which I am not looking forward to. I want to stay in Japan. But I don’t want to end off on a sad note, so, I’ll just mention that I’ll be back very soon to see my friends. I will return :)
December 13, 2019  Today was my last day at my second school, Hyuga Gakuin. In the morning, Yamamoto sensei took me to a couple of classrooms so I could introduce myself and answer some questions. That students were amusing to talk to. I also got to experience music class today. I got to play the guitar with the class and it was a lot of fun. During 4th period one of my friends took to me to play the 100 poems Japanese card game thing, and this time I got 19 cards on my own. Basically almost twice as much than last time. The rest of the day was pretty average, except, at the end the students sang a song for me before saying goodbye. I was really surprised that some of the students were crying because I didn’t do much to impact them in any way other than sorta just existing. So yeah I felt a little awkward but it was fine. I’m glad I made some friends at hyuga gakuin at least by the end of the second week. After saying my final goodbyes, I joined a couple of teachers for a car ride to the tennis courts. I met my host sister’s friend, Mizuki there. We really connected fast and became good friends in a matter of minutes which is pretty crazy. We played tennis and I wasn’t doing too bad, considering my practices in America are really inconsistent and almost non existent outside of tennis season. Me and Mizuki were paired up to play as a doubles team against two other girls from the team. We won because Mizuki is extremely talented and an absolute BEAST at tennis. But I did score the last point by serving the ball fast enough into the corner which happened by luck. It still felt nice though. Then after practice we had to say goodbye. It was really sad because we basically just had a real conversation for the first time and bonded fast over tennis. I will definitely come to Japan to see my friends again. I already miss them and I haven’t even left yet. When my host mom picked me up, we went home and then went to a yaki niku restaurant. Basically Japanese version of Korean barbecue. That stuff was so good. And now I’m trying to stay awake to write this report on a nice full stomach. 
December 12, 2019  Today the kids in the (new) school were actually starting to talk to me. We went to an assembly and afterwards we went to PE. We were playing soccer which was really fun. I enjoyed running around and even scored a goal somehow. After PE we had lunch. My mom makes the best bentos, but I wasn’t hungry enough to finish it all today. We finished lunch early to purposefully have time to play some basketball. I’m not too good at it but the main part about any sport is enjoying it. And aside from that, the students were making an effort to talk to me in between classes. After school was over, I cleaned the classroom with some students and then waited outside for my mom to pick me up. Once she came, we went to get some Japanese sweets. I ate them when we came home, and my sister came around that time so I talked to her about my day. Then we went to the mall to wear kimonos in a kimono store. It was a really interesting and cool experience. Afterwards, we stopped by a few stores and I got myself a hoodie. I’m really excited about wearing it. It’s bright orange. Then we went out to go eat. Basically you can order any type of bowl filled with raw food that the restaurant offers, and then you cook the food on the stove in front of you (in the middle of the table). It was so delicious and I was so full after. When we got home my host sister and I couldn’t stop laughing. We were in a giggly mood. It was great. 
December 11, 2019 Today was a pretty average day at school. Nothing special happened other than trying school cafeteria food in Japan for the first time. It was really fresh and so delicious; I've never had school cafeteria food that good before (I ordered udon and fried rice after second period and picked it up with my friend at lunch). School ended early today because apparently Japanese schools end early on Wednesdays. My mom picked me up from school and we stopped by a couple of places before getting home. One of those stops was to get some imagawayaki. It has anko in it (sweet red bean paste) which is my favorite, so I had quite a lot. I think it’s also worth mentioning that I got to see the inside of a Japanese police station. Pretty cool. Once my sister came home, we went to go watch Frozen 2. Apparently Japanese movie theaters serve fries, so we had some. They were like McDonalds friends. After the movie, we met up with a friend to eat dinner at the mall. I had takoyaki and then some chocolate ice cream from Baskin Robbins. It’s safe to say that Japan has the best tasting ice cream. We had some good conversations and overall it was a great time. I love my Japanese friends so much. 
December 10, 2019 Today we had PE first period which I thought was nice. We played soccer and I had a lot of fun running around. I also got split up from the people I usually talk to in class which is good because it allowed me to make friends with other different people. After PE we had our regular classes and all. At lunch I was invited by one of the students to have lunch with some English teachers. We had some pretty interesting conversations. I enjoyed it. After lunch we had the rest of our regular classes. I was informed that I was going to chorus club after school with a girl from my class. I didn’t know what to expect so I came with an open mind. I actually thought it was a lot of fun. I don’t like singing in choirs but the people were so nice a welcoming that I felt good. The choir sang some catholic songs so it was interesting to listen to them. After the chorus club, I sat in the car with my host mom while waiting for my younger host sister. We then went to an American man’s house so that my younger siblings could learn English. It was very interesting to watch. Then, the teacher’s daughter came to meet me. She is so nice and sweet, and she’s my age. I hope to grow a strong bond with her. 
Later, I was able to finally eat. It was so delicious, I don’t even know how to explain it. I am looking forward for tomorrow. 
December 9, 2019 Today was my first day at my new high school (It was planned that I’d go to both of my sister’s schools). This new school is private so I knew it’d be pretty different. I was warmly welcomed by the teachers. They all had really good English so it was easy for me to communicate. Then it was time to go introduce myself to the class. My class is full of first year high school students, so I’m about a year or two older than them. My first impression of the class was that it was crazy. The students are more wild but I feel like it’s because they are closer with their teachers, so the relationship between the teachers and the students are different in the sense that they are stronger. When I came up to introduce myself I saw a mob of people standing outside the window, watching me and waving at me. It was kind of embarrassing and weird because it felt like I was being treated like a celebrity even though I’m a regular person just like them. After introducing myself I noticed that the students were much more shy and closed off than I had originally thought. It was a little hard to make friends but it was only the first day anyway. I wasn’t really clear on the schedule so I was about to leave before the last hour of school. A girl went to get me and brought me back to the class because I made that mistake. I had no idea what to do because the school expects you to study for the last hour, and I didn’t have any material to study. So the teachers allowed two girls (one from my class, and the other her friend) to tour me around the school which was nice. 
When I went home I went to go karaoke with friends from my previous high school and my host sister. We had such a great time together, I wish it lasted longer. But it was time to go to bed. 
December 8, 2019 Today my host sister and I walked around at the mall. The mall in japan has a lot of interesting things in it. We got some ice cream from a place in the mall. The ice cream in Japan is incredibly delicious. It’s really creamy. Anyway, we we went home and then made our way to a karaoke place on our bikes. We met up with some friends from school by the place and then sang for literally 4 hours. It was a really good time though. After that, our friends had to leave so we met up with other friends at the mall to have dinner. My host sister and I got takoyaki. It’s probably one of my favorite Japanese foods now (tako is octopus). We hung out with friends and had a good time. Then we went to the parking lots to go home. The guys rode their bikes with us home, and dropped us off there. We had a really good and fun conversation before saying our goodbyes. They’re really great people.
December 7, 2019 I got to sleep in. It was nice. We went to to Udo shrine. It was very interesting. I liked looking at the little details on everything there. I also bought some cute socks from the store near the shrine. 
We went to a gift shop and my host sister and I got some milk flavored ice cream. It tasted like milk, but sweet. It was very good. I bought also some gifts for my friends and family too so I was pretty thrilled. They’re really cute gifts. 
We went to an udon place. It was so good. One of my favorites. And we ordered saba sushi as well, which tasted so amazing. It turned out to be another one of my favorites. After the meal, we drove to my host mother’s parent’s home. They were so welcoming and inviting. Not to mention, they were all very lively and loud, which I love. We had good food and good conversations. They whole family is great.Then we went home. 
December 6, 2019 Today for Japanese class we were playing a card game where you need to have 100 poems memorized. I don’t really know the rules so I’ll just leave it at that. I was able to snatch 10 cards because the teacher read the poems out loud. I was really proud, even though 10 isn’t a lot.
Later, the history teacher (a very nice man) was teaching. At that moment I was so focused on drawing a goat on my paper (don’t ask) that I didn’t notice that he kept repeating “library” so that I could hear his pronunciation and acknowledge it. The students started laughing because I probably looked confused when I finally noticed. They found it funny but I thought it was embarrassing lol. This time I was paying attention, so when he said “dictionary,” I called out, “good pronunciation,” with a thumbs up. The teacher was pleasantly surprised. The students thought it was amusing that I called out “good pronunciation” so they started saying “kawaii.” The funny part is that the teacher thought they were talking about him so he was like, “really? ,’:D” And the students just didn’t reply out of niceness. Instead they were laughing. 
The teacher then drew an egg on the chalkboard to explain a metaphor. He then wrote “egg” next to it so I could understand a little, which I thought was funny. Then he drew what apparently was supposed to be a crack at the bottom, but it looked like it was an egg sitting in a patch of grass. So I said “kusa” out loud, which means “it is grass” and is the equivalent of “lol” in Japan. The class found it really funny and everyone was laughing for a while. Kinda felt bad for the teacher. He was like, “no! no! Not grass! Crack!” He’s pretty adorable.
At the end of class, all the students were taking pictures with me. I wish I could stay with them forever. They’re such amazing people. I have really great photos with them, though. 
After school, I went to karaoke with my host sister and friends. We had such a fun time. My host sister and I came home so late. 
December 5, 2019 Each day is just better and better. I’m bonding so much with my classmates, and they are all so nice and genuine. Even though there’s a bit of a language barrier, they make me feel like I belong.
Suzuka and I started the day off by getting to school (by bike, as usual) with sore legs (I forgot to mention in yesterday’s report that for PE we ran for 25 minutes. Yes, you read that right. 25 minutes. Running.)
During English class, the students prepared some speeches in English for me, and every student introduced themself to me, in English. I was honestly taken aback by how much effort they put in for me. I felt like it wasn’t worth it but I reminded myself that it was good practice for them. Anyway, after their speeches, I presented on what American high school is like via interesting pictures and videos + my explanations for each of them. They seemed to enjoy it. And at the end we played a really fun game together as a class. I enjoyed the time with them a lot. It makes me wish I could be with them forever (in a non creepy way).
Suzuka and I stayed after school and talked with the guys. They’re really fun to be around. We joked around a lot and had fun. Not to mention, I arm wrestled two of them and... won. They were really shocked about it.
Afterwards, Suzuka and I met up with some classmates to have Miyazaki’s famous spicy ramen! I really enjoyed it. It was so delicious! And we had such a good time together. Gosh I love these people so much. I treasure these moments when we’re together.
December 4, 2019 Today I found out that school ends earlier on Wednesday’s. Today we also had PE, and I was informed that we were going to run for 25 minutes. I didn’t think I could do it but I did. The only downside was that my face was really red for a long time after. Also, to my surprise, everyone was talking about my legs in shock more than my hair because my legs are super long. My legs got stared at a lot.
After school I went to tennis practice with my host sister. I noticed that one mr my friends from class was soft tennis on the tennis 
courts behind us. I was really intrigued with her playing, because she’s so good.
Then, me, my host sister, and a couple of friends when to go eat cheese corn dogs. The original store was closed so we took a while finding where they are sold. So after we found them, we ate them. They were really good and tasted really different from American food. We were doing this in the middle of the city, so I got to see a lot of bright lights against the night sky. It was very beautiful, especially with the Christmas lights up.
After the food, me and my host sister went to the supermarket to get snacks. And we didn’t eat any yet because we’re so tired. So I’m 
probably going to sleep now.
December 3, 2019 Today was really eventful. Me and my host sister rode to school on our bikes. On the way to school, I was practicing my introduction speech. Once we got to school I had to put it to the test and I surprisingly did not too bad. My actual speech turned out better than the practice ones so I was pretty happy about that.
Anyway, I met many new people and made new friends throughout the day. I had lunch with my new friends. The lunch that my host mom packed for me was so amazing. I’m really happy about eating homemade Japanese food every day for lunch.
For today, the 7th period was an assembly. It was such an interesting thing to see. Everyone was bowing in unison and talking in unison, it was pretty freaking cool. Like something you’d see out of a movie; something unreal. Even though the whole assembly was in Japanese, I enjoyed the experience. Just listening to Japanese is entertaining enough for me. 
After school, me and my host sister went to go practice tennis. All the girls are so nice, and they’re amazing at tennis. On the other hand, I’m pretty rusty. But I am happy to be playing with them because their skill level will help remind my body how to play tennis faster. And at the end they let me in on an inside joke. It’s pretty hilarious. 
Then my host sister and I went home, and had a wonderful dinner with the family. We had sukiyaki and I was just intrigued with all the flavors involved in it. So delicious.
After the meal I had a really good and deep conversation with my host sister and host parents. We really bonded over that conversation, which feels really nice. I respect my family so much. They’re very intelligent people. 
Then I took a shower. And that’s it. I am so tired, but it is for a good reason. 
December 2, 2019 Today was super eventful. I was really relaxed while traveling, considering the nervousness I felt a month prior to the trip. I really did not know what to expect but all I can say is that I’m overwhelmed in the best way. I arrived at my host family’s house and was greeted by my kind host mom. She doesn’t know much English, but she sure knows more English than I know Japanese.
Shortly after that, my host sister, Suzuka, showed up from school, which she left early in order to meet me. We got along well quickly and I am glad that she’s there to teach me the ways of living and existing in Japan. She also helped me by translating for me and my host mom when we needed it. After I got a chance to change, the three of us headed to the bakery to catch a quick bite, and then headed to Suzuka’s high school so I could get a brief tour. 
Since everyone was still in class, we were able to quietly sneak around the school without bringing too much attention to ourselves. But after we got out of the library, the students started swarming the halls and that’s when I started to get the stares. I really didn’t expect it to be that intense, but I like to think that I don’t care. I’ll get used to it anyway. I’m the minority race now. 
So after we finished touring the school, we went to go pick my other host siblings up. Satoki, my host brother, had already made his way home by himself from elementary school, so we went to go pick up my other host sister, Ririka, from Junior high. When we got home, my host mom informed me and Suzuka that we would have dinner at 7:00, after Ririka’s piano lesson, so me and Suzuka went to the mall for a while. It was amazing. I haven’t seen anything like it. Not to mention the fact that we rode our bikes to the mall. 
Anyway, I was starting to feel jet lagged. We went home, waited for 15 min, and then went to eat sushi. The fish was so fresh, but at this point, I’m just gone. We went home, and I took a pleasant shower before bed. That’s all for today.　
　 リアナの写真
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