The New Kid... And More

I had my second first day of 11th grade on Tuesday! I have to say it was a strange feeling "going back in time" and being in high school again- I just left my high school back home! In Japan school runs from April to March, so I am coming in at the beginning of second semester of 11th grade. At this high school not only am I the new kid but I am also the very first exchange student my school has ever hosted. This entailed me to give a speech in front of the entire school in Japanese about who I am and why I am here. Once back to my class my teacher asked me to give another short speech, this time he said he would translate it for me because I wasn't prepared for a second speech in one day. 

The first day at school was only a half day and, besides the speech, the rest of my day was filled with my peers coming up and introducing themselves to me. I was shocked at how many people felt comfortable enough to come up and introduce themselves to me in English! Girls and boys (the boys surprised me because I was told they would be shy and not talk to me) came from different classes and grades to either brave the moment and come introduce themselves or stand at the door and stare until I looked and smiled at them- getting the response of oohs and ahhs and "mecha kawai!" (slang for very cute/pretty!). There were so many people that I met in such a short time that I had a really hard time trying to remember names. At different points during my day I became a bit overwhelmed with the sheer quantity of new people, that I was glad to have my small group of friends (that I met with Hiroko) that I could go to as a comfort zone. They were very helpful in making me feel comfortable in my new surroundings.

Wednesday was examination day at Kanan (my school) and I was told I didn't have to attend. Returning on Thursday, for another half day of school, I was actually a bit disappointed at the lack of attention I was getting- holy cow have my emotions been out of control on exchange! Of course my original group of friends were warm and welcoming and a couple of other girls from my class came and talked with me... but otherwise that was it for socializing during school.

I attended three classes: English Readers II, English Grammar, and World History. I really enjoyed my English Readers class, it took an entire 50 minutes to get through one paragraph in (what I think is) simple English about the Boston Tea Party and Declaration of Independence but it was still fun. Most of the class was actually taught in Japanese, which gave me some practice of my own.

English Grammar on the other hand was one of the hardest class periods I have ever had. It was not that the work was hard, it was actually the exact opposite. It was quite painful to sit and listen to the teacher explaining the grammatical structure behind sentences like "I heard a dog bark". We have a little workbook for this class- the left side has the information on what to do and the right side is the Challenge page where they have to try to create grammatically correct sentences themselves. Being that I am a native English speaker, I was able to finish the Challenge page (that is the actual title) in the first 5 minutes of class. I am assuming that this will be one of the classes that I drop in order to study Japanese in the library.

At some point during the day, Kita Sensei, my homeroom teacher, asked if I would be willing to help out in some of the English classes- being able to hear a native speaker would be a nice change to having to listen to recorded voices on cds. Of course I said I would love to help! I am not sure which classes I am supposed to help in yet but I know that at some point Kita Sensei also wants me to bring in some pictures and other items from Minnesota (and the United States) to teach the class a little about where I come from.

Back to my remaining class of the day, World History is way out of my league in hopes of understanding the kanji (writing style) and words they use (for right now) but hopefully I will be able to catch on and learn a bit. The teacher is very kind and although he doesn't know much English, he was good about making sure I understood what was going on so that I could participate in the lecture with my classmates.

As far as participation goes, I believe that about 1/4 of my classmates sleep during class, 1/4 talk to their neighbors, 1/4 simply zones out, and the last 1/4 are actually paying attention.

After my three classes, I had a class called Long Home Room where basically we prepared our dance for our school festival that is coming up. As most of my friends and family know I am not a very good dancer but I do enjoy doing it! It was fun to be able to spend that time with my peers and I actually caught on to the moves fairly quickly. We finished L.H.R. at about one and school was done for the day, though, most of my class stayed and ate lunch together in the classroom (I guess that is normal). After lunch, the girls I was sitting with taught me a new hand game, then we went back and practiced some more of the dance moves (I am told my Okaasan and Otousan will be attending the festival and will be taking lots of pictures of me dancing...)

After school ended my day also got a lot better because I was able to talk with more people again (from my class and others)! I have to note a couple of groups in particular: the boys baseball team makes me laugh anytime I think back to meeting some of them. They came up to me with big smiles, very welcoming, and really enjoyed joking around- it felt like having my guy friends from Northfield around me. They kept asking me if I preferred soccer or baseball better and I had to try to explain to them that I like both equally- "I enjoy watching baseball and playing soccer". I also had to laugh at how determined some of the guys were at getting me to remember their names.

I actually came up with a system that really seems to be working- people love taking pictures in Japan (I cannot even begin to count all of the pictures that were taken of me and with me at school) so I have decided to start taking pictures with different groups of people that I meet and right after it is taken I have them write there names down on a sheet of paper. I then proceed to number the names based on the order they are in in the pictures! That way I can go back later and connect names with faces.

Another group I would like to quick mention is a group of girls that have asked me to help them learn/perfect their English. In return they said they would help me study Japanese! Of course I jumped right on this opportunity and we agreed to start studying as soon as possible.

That pretty much sums up my first two days of school. Tomorrow I will be accompanying my class as we go to visit a local college and attend a "lecture" (another half day of school!). It seems like a lot of fun- not that I will necessarily understand much but my friends will be there and my teacher assured me I would be attending a lecture called Learning English Through Action where I need to bring gym shoes, a notebook, and something to write with... Should be interesting, I'll keep you updated on how this goes.

Until then here are my clever name photos that I had taken today at school! I have added captions with their names (without looking at my sheet of paper) just to show that my wonderful system works.

(Baseball players) Kousuke, Ryuji, Ryota, Seiji, and me.

Daiki, Kenji, Shingo, and me.

(Yuka in the background) Risa and Haru.

Miyuu, me, and Haru.

Me, Yumeko, and Minagi.

Sayonara from Osaka, Japan.

It's All Up Hill

These songs have nothing to do with my blog they are just ones that have been on my mind lately:

Danza Kuduro- Don Omar
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sb-FN_HEFvo

For Good- Wicked
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQX-apsS2sM

Mongol800 (not sure of the name but it's Japanese!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBxjWF4Al20

*Warning* If you are going to read this post I suggest you find a really comfortable spot to sit and buckle in because this is going to be a long one.

First off, I want to quickly apologize for such illogical and irregular blogging. My first few weeks have been crazy busy and to be totally honest I really wanted to just avoid using my computer as much as possible. I have been here for two weeks now and I would like to
look back and sum up some of the bigger events I've experience in the time that I've been here.

First Night (Thursday 16)

The track that sushi is moved along.

On the very first night I arrived my host family packed up the car with my luggage at the airport and we drove away from the main city to more of the suburbs where we live. On the way to our home we stopped for dinner at what my family considers more of a "fast food" sushi shop called Kurazushi. It was a very neat little shop because the sushi was moving around on a little track around the shop and you just grab the dishes you want to eat. If you don't see what you want on the track you order it off of a little screen and a separate track brings it out to you.

Udon

 I didn't know which sushi to choose but thankfully my sister Shiho pulled off most of the dishes for our family to share. My family really enjoyed my lack of knowledge of Japanese food. They would ask me if I would try certain dishes and of course I said yes, most of it was very good sushi. I also tried udon- Japanese noodles with an assortment of vegetables, tempura, and a half done egg on top... and tako- a type of sushi with octopus on it. I have to say I am not a huge fan of

Tako

tako. It was really chewy...

Bangohan (Dinner)

Overall, though, the meal was really good and very filling. I only had a couple pieces of sushi and some udon and I was full.

Another interesting thing about Kurazushi is that once you are done eating two things happen:


1. You put your plates through a little slot in the wall and they will go on a track to get washed.

2. For every 5 plates you put through the slot you can sometimes get a little toy.

We were lucky and got one:

A little key chain of misoshiru (miso soup).

Second Day (Friday 17)
After Hiroko took me to gakkou (school) for my tour we stopped at a little bakery of sorts and got some food for lunch. Unfortunately I did not get a picture of this but I did take a picture of the change I got after spending 1,000 yen on 3 pieces of pan (bakery type items).

Change: 627 yen (out of 1,000 yen I gave to pay for the food) is approximately $8 in change.

Shiho, Okaasan, and Otousan

Bangohan (Dinner)

This day was my only full day with Hiroko as she was leaving for Minnesota the next day on Rotary Youth Exchange. So, that night our family let Hiroko choose where she wanted to eat as her last dinner in Japan (the same thing my family had me do my last night in Mn). We went to a very good restaurant called Daikichori Yakitori shop where they served basically meat shish kabobs (most of it or all of it was chicken- yum!). I, of course, tried a little of everything that my family ordered. 1. I found that I actually really like chicken liver 2. I surprised my family by being able to eat a piece of spicy seasoned chicken- I didn't find it very hot but when my Otousan and Shiho ate it their eyes started to water.

Hiroko and Me- we are pointing at the wood that frames the shop. Otousan explained that it used to be part of train track.

Ice Cream

 For dessert we had the always good... ice cream! I have to note here that in Japan they have Ice Cream and Soft Cream (I have had both). Ice cream is fairly hard and very cold but it still tastes like ice cream back home. Soft Cream is essentially soft served ice cream- it is a bit easier to eat than the dense ice cream.

After dinner they took me to my very first store in Japan! Stores in Japan are different in the sense that they have one building that is multiple levels and each level can have a different type of store- ex. 1st floor is a grocery store, 2nd floor is clothes, 3rd floor is a pharmacy, etc. We went to the hyakkin floor (hyakkin stands for 100 yen which is roughly translated to our dollar stores!) where

Me and my bin

they bought me a bin for things like make-up and jewelery. It was amazing, literally the entire side wall of the hyakkin was full of bins of different colors and sizes to choose from. I settled with a cute little orange bin. They also bought me my hanko! A hanko is a stamp with your last name in kanji on it. People in Japan use it instead of a signature. It turns out my last name is fairly common in Japan, they were able to find it in a dollar store.

My hanko!

Third Day (Saturday 18)
Hiroko needed to be at the airport by mid afternoon. We took a couple of Rotary sister pictures then headed off. It was sad to see her leave so soon (when I had literally met her two days before) but I am glad that I did get a chance to meet her. I know that she will have a wonderful time in Minnesota and I wish her the best of luck. It is pretty cool that she will be living so close to my home, only an hour away, and I am living in hers. Hopefully she will get the chance to meet my family!

Hiroko and Me in our Rotary Blazers

Akegami Family at the airport (2nd time we were at the airport in three days)

At the airport: besides saying goodbye to Hiroko, I met a few more Rotarians and there happened to be a kids dance show going on that my family and I stopped to watch for a bit.

As we exited the actual building part of the airport we quickly realized it had rained fairly hard in the time that we were inside. Everything was wet, there was a lot of moisture in the air, and the sky was covered in clouds. Driving home we got to see this amazing view of the                                                                  clouds rolling over the                                                                mountains.
                                         
The Next Few Days
The next few days were not quite so busy but they had there moments of sporadic fun and a chance to experience something new. I think these will be best described in a list:

1. When I first started to email with my host family before I arrived in Japan, Okaasan (mom) described Otousan (dad) as a very kind man who likes to take walks. He did not disappoint because once the temperatures cooled down a little we were able to go on a walk. Now, normally I don't really enjoy walking just for the sake of taking a walk but I really like my Otousan and it is fun to try to converse with him- I'm still trying to learn little phrases in Japanese and he speaks very little English. So, conversations between us are amusing to say the least. There is always a lot of pointing, noises, facial expressions, and laughing. Anyways, walking with him was a nice, relaxing change of pace. Plus he took me to a place where you can see a lot of tambo (rice fields)! Why is that so exciting? Everything in Japan is done so precisely (it is a perfectionist paradise- dad you would love it!) that the fields just look cool, gohan (rice) is a staple food in Japan which is tied into a lot of Japanese history, and tambo was one of the words I proudly learned when I first arrived and said almost every time we past a field for my entire first week in Japan. All in all the walk was a nice way to spend some of my afternoon.

* I also got to see one of my favorite houses on the walk- it is just so pretty and the architecture is amazing to me.

2. Okaasan and Otousan took me to buy my school shoes and socks. I guess they are not mandatory to look a certain way but Okaasan thought that it would be a good idea to get some because that's what all of the other girls wear. I also needed to buy a little wallet to hold my bus and train tickets. After purchasing the shoes and socks they took me to a different part of the store for soft cream. Mmmhhhh it was so good!

3. We got a surprise visit from Okaasan's parents and niece. Yudi, my cousin who is the same age as me, heard I was finally in Japan and wanted to meet me (she has also invited me to come stay at her house sometime). During the visit my host grandpa said that I was the most honored guest and that he would like to take the whole family out to eat at a place of my choice. I don't actually know any restaurants in Japan so I simply requested some traditional Japanese food. Of course the food was delicious! I am starting to feel that I really can't go wrong when it comes to eating Japanese food. I had tempura- rice topped with battered and deep-fried shrimp and vegetables, and a glass of apple juice. Ordering food has been pretty interesting, typically I just point at the picture on the menu that looks good, then my family automatically orders me apple juice as my drink. I am not sure how they know I like apple juice when they have never really asked me but hey I'm not complaining. Luckly for me I LOVE apple juice.

My tempura

I found Okaasan's meal note worthy- it is zousui, a soup of vegetables and a raw egg that cooks right in front of you.

4. While driving around Okaasan and I saw one of these run in front of our car...

(It ran by so quickly I didn't have time to snap a picture but thanks to google you can still see what I am talking about) This is an itachi, or a weasel, that is a fairly common rodent here in Japan. Shiho said she has seen one in their yard but only once.

5. Okaasan and I have been watching kids shows in the morning because the Japanese is simpler- so hopefully I will be able to learn a bit while being mildly amused at the same time. These are some of my favorites- sorry I have no idea what the titles are but I am understanding some of whats going on during the shows.
                                                       

6. Saw a lizard on the bathroom window.

7. Eat my oh so healthy breakfast every morning.

                                                                                   8. Made some new friends at a sweets shop.

9. Went to a movie rental shop. The one we went to is really great because it is only 50 yen (about $0.50) to rent a movie for a week. It is a good thing that renting is so cheap because to actually go see a movie in the theaters is super expensive- about 1,500 yen (~$15), except on Wednesdays when it is women only night and it costs 1,000 yen (~$10). Shiho and I found six movies we liked: Harry Potter 7 (both parts), Narnia (2 and 3), Howel's Moving Castle, and Inception.

                                                 
                                                         
                       
                                                                    10. Compared currency

11. Went to the library. I have to say it was the first time I've actually enjoyed going into a library in a long time. It was quiet but not in an eerie way. The building was huge, spacious, clean, and very modern looking. Plus, this library has an excellent selection of English books! Which is great because I have already read 3 out of the 6 books I brought...

12. I got to speak English for two solid hours! It was amazing because not only did I understand the entire conversation but it was with a man named Robby- originally from England, a co-worker of Okaasan's (at a kindergarten), Hiroko's English tutor, and he understands exactly what it feels like to be new to living in Japan. It was great to be able to share my thoughts and make comparisons of our countries.

Sunday 26
I started my day off bright and early for a 6 am run. I had to start my run early because it gets so hot and humid here during the day. The run was nice, it was literally the first time I've been aloud to be alone! It also allowed me to explore the neighborhoods around my house. I must say, running in Japan is quite the experience because you always seem to be running up a hill! After 15 min I was pretty tired so I headed back to my house... up more hills. Once home I was greeted with a nice cold shower and I got ready for the day.

We left for my first Japanese Rotary meeting at noon. The meeting itself was being held in the city and would take about an hour, by car, to get there.... I might have fallen asleep for most of the drive. Once there the meeting lasted from 1:30 until 4:45. I met the other exchange students who all seem very interesting and nice! There are three of us from the US (Tia from MN! and the one boy exchange student in our district), one from England (she is at the same Rotary club as me so hopefully I'll get a chance to see her a lot- we have a welcome party together soon), one from Sweden (she reminds me of Haley Bollum),  and one from Australia (she has already been here for six months). Otherwise the meeting was long and tiring on my brain. It was over three hours of intense concentration to try to understand the Japanese that was being spoken. I also had to stand in front of the entire Rotary Club twice- once to sing our National Anthem and once to give a speech in Japanese, which was terrifying because I know my Japanese isn't very good yet. All of the exchange students were then moved to a separate room for 30 min in order to re-establish the rules of being a Rotary Ambassador and to give us a little more information. Then the meeting was pretty much finished.

Monday 27
Shiho and I headed of to Namba. Let's just say it is one of my favorite places in Japan thus far and that it deserves its own blog post (so to be continued).

Tuesday 28
I went to my very first day at school at Kanan High School. I believe this also deserves it own blog post because there is definitely plenty to talk about.

First Day Of School Picture

Today
Today marks two weeks since I left my comfort zone in Northfield, MN and headed out to the unknown that awaited me in Japan! It has been a pretty good two weeks.

Sayonara from Osaka, Japan.

Music From Me To You

As most of my friends are heading off to college or a different country, I wanted to take the time to say:

Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)- Green Day
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bTdLi0YUVM

I have been living in Japan for just about a week now and it is amazing to me how much I have already learned. The culture is amazing, the country is beautiful, the people are all very nice (I made a new friend today at a sweets shop that her parents own- Hanako. She went on Rotary Exchange to Canada some years ago and has offered to help me with my Japanese and take me sight seeing), and the food tastes soooo good! As fun as all of this has been, I was surprised when culture shock finally caught up with me. So, to my friends going on exchange just remember:

Keep Your Head Up- Andy Grammer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILtDs0MmRHE

Because eventually you'll realize that:

This Is Home- Switchfoot
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cKNleDdUFY

We have made it through the awkward pre-teen years, high school, and now we have an entire year for ourselves in a new country with new people and new places to see. It is a time where we can try to truly find ourselves. So, accept this new found:

Freedom- Tyrone Wells
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwK5STr33fI

Because this could really be a:

Good Life- One Republic
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7QQLsC7QEw

Try to roll with the punches and go with what life throws at you. Just remember to try to enjoy the:

Little Wonders- Rob Thomas
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhZ1BdMtw_Q

*That was not at all what I planned on having this blog be about but I like how it came out.

Sayonara from Oyabuneminamimachi, Japan.

Pretty Foreign

I must say, I am really enjoying living in a country where I am considered pretty just because I am foreign. I didn't notice at first, until Hiroko pointed it out on our train ride to school (technically I don't start school until the 28th but Hiroko was taking me early to introduce me to the teacher and to give me a tour), that people were staring at me. The staring became much more evident to me once at school. Apparently adults are much better at hiding their interested in the gaijin (foreigner) than kids.  On the train with the adults I didn't notice until it was pointed out to me because they have a sly way of diverting their eyes anytime I would look at them. At school kids would literally stop and stare at me as I walked by. When I was in the classroom with Hiroko and her friends, people would stop at the door window and just look in at me until one of the friends would get up and go talk to them (I am assuming about why I was there).

So, to my friends who thought I would blend in here… I don't. After a while of going out in public to stores or on the train, I was becoming quite self-conscious because people would always look at me! When we got home one day, I decided to ask my Okaasan (mom) and sisters why people always stared. They started to giggle and assured me it wasn't a bad thing. Foreigners are a rare sight in our city and especially at my school- I am the very first exchange student at Kanan High School. My Okaasan even told me that when we walk by groups of people they start to whisper about "how pretty" I am. I had to laugh at that because who wouldn't want automatic good looks just for being foreign?

The other day Okaasan took me around our neighborhood and introduced me to a few neighbors just in case I need help and my family isn't around. One neighbor in particular stood out to me, because she speaks a little English, and the very first thing she said to me was "Oh, you are very pretty! Watch out, Japanese boys will be dangerous." I had to bite my tongue in order to keep from laughing. It was so funny to hear that because my only experience with Japanese boys was at school, when Hiroko took me on a tour, and the boys all seemed very quiet. Hiroko confirmed my impression by saying that boys are very shy and probably won't talk to me. It will be strange only having girl friends for awhile. But hey, maybe when my Japanese gets better I will go and start conversation with the boys! -gasp… haha.

Below are a couple of pictures of my school and the girls I have met.

Oh, I also wanted to give a quick birthday shout out to Sam Hegseth (who, I am told, has been following my blog). It is already August 21st here and I wanted to officially be the first person to say happy birthday to you on your birthday.

Hiroko on the bus in her school uniform-on the way to school.

On the bus- note the doors are on the left and the driver is on the right.

Chillin' at the train station, waiting for our first train (we have to take one bus and two trains in order to get to school).

A religious building of sorts. I'm not exactly sure what it is but it is really unique looking and I walk towards it in order to get to school. If you walk to the end of my street you can also see it in the distance.

My school is so big it required three pictures just to get the front of it...

My classroom is on the third floor (there are four floors in total).

I already posted this picture but I thought it was worth it to post again and add that I really like these girls. They seem very friendly and yesterday they asked me if I would like to go out for Japanese style pizza with them some time. Of course I said YES!

A corner of my classroom- the poster is for a school festival that is being held soon, where there will be dancing and magic. This will be entirely put on by the students and I am told that I am included in that... So stay tuned for a lot of pictures that my Okaasan and Otousan said they would take.

Note the peace sign and the fact that there are only chalk boards in the room.

The girls bathroom- Okaasan said that it is not western style and that I will have to practice being able to use this type of bathroom... uh-oh. I haven't been inside of it yet but now I am not so sure I want to.

The baseball field

The school cafe where students will sometimes buy lunch.

An outside view of the gym.

They have a room completely dedicated to table tennis!

Girls locker room.

Lockers- these were the only ones I've seen in the entire school. Although I'm not sure why they need lockers at all- I am told the students stay in one room while the teachers rotate.

The library. I was told that I would be in the library quite a bit in order to study my Japanese rather than sit in a class where I wont understand what is going on...

Sayonara from Oyabuneminamimachi, Japan.