Lately

I haven't posted anything since last week because I've been busier. This past week was my first week of "real" school, because I went to all the classes with the Japanese students, not just the EP classes. It was good to be able to try to meet new friends, but I was always exhausted by the end of the day because the teachers would speak in Japanese the entire class period and I couldn't understand any of it. Last weekend, Yuho and some of her friends took me to karaoke! It was really fun but LONG! We were there for 4 hours! It was a party room I think because it had 2 booths and a small stage to sing on. They mostly sang Japanese songs but they love Lady Gaga so they also sang some of her songs! On Friday, during gym class, we got to swim! It reminded me of swim team last year so it was really good to be doing something familiar. We only swam a 200 and then did a 25 relay race, but it was still good to swim in general! Saturday, yesterday, my host parents picked up Catherine and I and we went to Kobe! It was a lot of fun! We ate lunch in China Town and then went to a Takoyaki place. Then we shopped around a little bit and went into a bookstore with English books. I was really happy to be able to buy an English book! After that, we went to this nice cafe that had really really good waffles. It tasted like Waffle House, but it was dirty like waffle house is. After that, we shopped around a little more and then headed on home. Today all the exchange students and their host siblings are going to Nara so I'm looking forward to that!
-AC

Update: Pictures

I've been forgetting to upload the pictures for the past couple of days so here they are:

Atsuko took me to try Takoyaki at Q's Mall!

Eating dinner at Q's Mall with Mamisa and Yuho 

After our haircuts!

This was so cute! I came home from school and saw all of my younger siblings asleep together... So cute!

Day 13

Today, I woke up and went downstairs and took a shower. Then, right after I got out of the shower and got ready to go to school, my host mom told me that school was cancelled because of the typhoon! So I got back in bed and got to sleep on and off for 3 more hours! When I woke up, Yuho was still asleep. So I got to Skype my parents and some of my friends and then I went to eat breakfast. I had cereal and bread. Then I just hung out and waited for Yuho to get up. When she did, I went downstairs and talked to her and ate lunch. Then, we watched High School Musical (this family LOVES high school musical) for a little while. After that, my host mom came home and we went to get our hair cut! It was really fun, even though the haircut I wanted got lost in translation. In the end, it was fine and even though it wasn't exactly how I wanted it, it didn't matter at all. Then I went to the post office and mailed a package to my mom for her birthday. After that, I hung out with my siblings and then ate dinner and here I am! Tomorrow I'm going to karaoke with Yuho's friends so that should be exciting!

Day 12

Friday was also pretty normal. I woke up, took a shower, and ate vegetables and rice for breakfast. Then, I headed to school alone. Yuho ended up sleeping in and getting to school at 2pm because she was tired form the night before when we stayed out so late. When we got to school, I had 3 Japanese classes in the morning and then nothing the rest of the day. At 3pm, the principal came over the loud speaker and said that classes were let out early because of the typhoon headed to Osaka that night! All the students were really excited about that! I ended up going to Q's Mall (again) with Yuho and 6 other friends of hers. We first went to do purikura (it was my first time) which was really fun! Then we went to Quickly, an international (there's some in America too, but I had never heard of it) tapioca shop. I got a mango tapioca drink. It was really yummy! Then, we went to sit in the food court to drink our tapioca drinks and hangout. Then, we went to a candy shop and they got some candy and we went back to the food court to eat it. My day ended with going back home and relaxing and going to bed. For supper, we had some really good stew with rice! It was really really similar to a pot roast that my mom makes, which is ironic. But it made me feel really at home!

AC

Day 11

This is a few days late, but here's what happened Thursday! Well, I can't really remember too much of what happened. We didn't have any EP classes so we just sat in the EP room all day. I read Water for Elephants and Max taught me chess. I also took a nap or 2 and talked to everyone. After school, I went home by myself. I didn't get lost this time though! Then, at 7, I headed to Q's Mall (alone) to meet Yuho and Mamisa to shop and eat dinner. We went to a couple stores and looked around and then went to dinner. We ate at this really good Japanese restaurant! I had ramen and gioza and it was really really good! We ended up not getting home until 11pm! It was a late night, especially since we had school the next day. Overall, I had a good day!
AC

Day 9/10

Yesterday I was too busy to post anything about my day, so here's the highlights of my day. I went to school and had Physics, History, and 3 Japanese classes. Then, after school, I visited volleyball club. It looks really intense but I think I'm gonna do it. Then, Yuho stayed at school until 8:30pm, so I had to ride the trains home alone. I was really scared I was gonna get lost, but Yuho drew me a map. I ended up getting a little lost in one of the train stations so it took 1hour and 45minutes when it usually takes 1hour, but I got home in the end! Today I went to school again and had 2 Math classes and 3 Japanese classes in a row, which is a lot of Japanese! Atsuko (the Japanese exchange student who came to SA last year) came to school today and so after school I hung out with her! We rode her bike to Q's Mall and I tried Takayaki (?) for the first time! It's octopus inside of a dumpling and it was pretty good! We also went to a dessert place and I got frozen yogurt and she got a Japanese smoothie. After that, we went to Ito Yokado to eat all the free samples (haha). It's the equivalent of Walmart or Target I think, but with more groceries. Then, she showed me some Purikura (Japanese photo booths) but we didn't go in one. Then we both went to our houses and that's where I am now. I'm pretty tired from the day so I'm gonna try to head to bed after dinner.  Tomorrow I don't have any EP classes and since for this week I'm only going to my EP classes, I don't know what I'll do at school! We'll see tomorrow!

-AC 

Day 8

Today was a pretty uneventful day. I got up, went to school, and hung out in the EP room all day. This whole week the EP students are only going to EP classes so that we can get used to the school. We'll start with the regular classes next week. So the only 2 classes I had today were Religion and Geography. I also went to Yuho's religion class in Japanese. I didn't understand any of it, but I it was cool! Yuho is still at school practicing singing for the School Festival. She won't come home until 9:30pm! Soichiro, my oldest host brother, came to the EP room and picked me up at 4:30 to go home because I haven't found my way around the train stations yet. Tomorrow, though, I have to go home by myself so I don't know how that will turn out! Tomorrow I have 3 Japanese lessons, Physics, and History. And then I'll try to get home without getting lost! It'll definitely be an adventure.
-AC

Day 7

Today marks the one-week mark of me being in Japan! It feels like I've been here for way longer though... I've already been starting to get into a routine for some things. Today was Sunday so I got to sleep in! I don't think my body is adjusted yet though because I woke up at 5:30 and could only sleep for about 30 minutes at a time until 7:30. I ate breakfast and took a shower and read my book until Yuho woke up. At 11:30, Yuho, my host mom, my oldest host brother, and I went to Osaka Medical College for and open campus tour. We listened to a lecture and then did a workshop-type thing. We got to try out some of the medical instruments and they told us (in Japanese) about how they work. So I didn't understand at all but some people spoke a little bit on English. Then we ate lunch in the college cafeteria. It was really good! I had rice, soup, salad, and a hamburger without a bun. Then we waited around and talked to some of the staff until our campus tour. After the campus tour, we went to a gourmet cake shop in Takatsuki (the city where Osaka Medical College is in) and each got a slice of cake. We were with one of my host mom's classmates fro college that lived in Takatsuki so then we went back to her house to eat them. She had a really nice house. It had an elevator, balcony, and a basketball court! She also had a really cute golden retriever. We stayed there a while so while the adults were talking, I played with the dog ( I think it's name was Puppy?) When we left, we headed on home and here I am! It was an hour car ride. I'm about to shower, eat dinner, practice piano, and go to bed! The picture on the top of the page is me and Catherine, the exchange student from Canada. I can't figure out how to move it from the top of the page. That was yesterday in the EP room.
-AC

Day 6

Today was the first day of school on Saturdays. That's gonna take some getting used to. Anyways, today I woke up and got ready for school as usual. When we got to school, I went to straight to the EP room. We had Physics and 2 Algebra II classes today and then we were done. We got done at 11:30 and my host sister got out at 12:45. Then we went to Q's Mall and ate lunch at a bakery. Then we shopped around for a little bit and got some frozen yogurt. When we were ready to leave it was pouring rain and the train station in Q's Mall was starting to flood so we had to run in the rain to the nearest train station! Definitely an adventure. When we got home, we watched TV together and ended up both falling asleep on the couch. We were really tired. Then, she went to piano and I ate dinner and showered and now I'm about head on to bed! Tomorrow Yuho, my host mom, and I are going to visit a college. So I'm looking forward to that! I had some pictures from today but I'm having trouble uploading them and this website is all in Japanese. Sorry! I'll try to work on it for tomorrow.
-AC

Day 5

Today was my first day of Japanese lessons! I woke up and got ready for school just like yesterday. We left at the same time and got to school at 8:10. I went to homeroom with Yuho and had to introduce myself in Japanese to the class which didn't work too well. I said hello, my name is AC and then just stood there with everyone staring at me trying to think of anything else I knew how to say in Japanese. After that was over, I went up to the EP room and Max, Drew, Kathryn (the exchange student from Canada who got here last night), and I had Japanese lessons. Max and I both don't know any Japanese but Kathryn and Drew have both been taking for 3 years. So we split up and Max and I learned a self-introduction and some vocabulary and a few phrases while Drew and Kathryn did some worksheets. We probably did Japanese for around 2 hours. After that, we were done for the day but out host siblings were still taking tests. So we just hung out in the EP room until they came and got us. Here's me, Drew, and Max in the EP room:

Not a very cute picture, but at least it's all 3 of us! Anyways, my host sister came and got me at 12:15 to go to lunch. We had to buy our lunch but she had trouble explaining the menu to me so I ended up just ordering the same thing she was getting. It was rice and some kind of meat in some kind of sauce. It was good. After lunch, I went back to the EP room and hung out some more before Yuho came and got me to go home. A bunch of her friends came with us and here's all of us outside the EP room:

Then we went home as usual and here I am now. All in all, it was a pretty normal day. Tomorrow I have physics, and 2 math classes (all private English lessons in the EP room) and then I'll be done for the day since Saturdays are only half days. I'm also going with Natsuki to a volleyball practice at Momoyama to see if I want to join volleyball club so I'm excited about that! We'll see how it goes!
-AC

Day 4: First Day of School

Today was the first day of school! It ended up only being a half day because they were taking exams so we got out at 1pm. It started with my host dad waking me up at 6am to get ready to go to school. We left the house at 7:05am. From 6-7 I got ready, ate breakfast, etc. Here's a picture my host mom took of Yuho and I  right before we left for school:

The school is really strict about uniform skirt length. I got in trouble for my skirt being too short today, so I'll have to somehow fix it for later. Anyways, we left at 7:05am to get to school at 8:10. Usually we walk to the train station but we were running late so my host mom drove us. Then we took 3 trains and then walked for about 10 minutes and ended up (finally) at school. I met up with the other 2 exchange students, Drew and Max, and the Headmaster and Head of the Exchange Program before school started in the EP room to go over our speeches. At 8:45am, we headed outside to where Assembly is. There are 2,000 students so they have to have it in a big open space outside. After the principal and a few other people spoke, they introduced us and it was time to make my speech! In the end, my 4-sentence "speech" was no big deal and I didn't have any trouble. That didn't mean I wasn't really nervous before-hand though! After we said our speeches, we sat down with the other students and finished Assembly. Then the other exchange students and I headed back to the EP (Exchange Program) room. Then, a teacher came and showed us around a little bit and fitted us for our PE uniforms. Then she took us back and we hung out for a while in the EP room. About an hour later, the head of the school came in and told us about our schedules and what we would do everyday in general. It turns out that the rest of this week and next week, we are only going to have Japanese lessons in the EP room all day until we can figure out where all of our other classrooms are and get accustomed to the (huge) school. It has 8 floors and everything is in Japanese so it's really easy to get lost! At 1pm, the other students got done with their exams and my host sister came and got me and we headed to the train station. She had another friend with her and they said they wanted to take me to an Italian restaurant by Q's Mall so that's where we went next. I forgot to take a picture there, but it was a pretty good restaurant! I got spaghetti and tried Japanese "pepsi-cola" for the first time. It's really good, and tasted more like a mix between Sprite and Coke. After eating, we decided we were tired and wanted to go home. Also, Yuho and Mamisu (her friend) have exams tomorrow again so they needed to study. So we took the train home and here I am now! My host parents will get home around 7pm and I'll shower while they prepare dinner and we'll eat at 8:30 and then I'll head on to bed. All in all, today was a good (and exhausting) day. Tomorrow I have my first Japanese lessons so I'm excited to finally be able to start communicating better with my family. Now I'm about to go practice piano because last night my host dad gave me a lot of different sheet music and helped me practice it. He wants me to keep practicing everyday because (like my real dad) he loves to hear the piano being played. I can only imagine what tomorrow will bring- another adventure for sure!
-AC

Day 3

Well today was certainly an adventure! It started off as normal as being in a foreign country without your family or being able to speak the native language can be. My host parents were concerned with my jet lag and they both work in hospitals so they asked around and decided they should wake me up at 6am to see daylight to try to get myself accustomed to Japan's night and day. So at 6am, I got up and stayed in my room for about in hour until my youngest brother brought me a note from my mom asking me what I wanted for breakfast. I ended up having plain lettuce, pasta salad(?) with cucumbers, a mix between Canadian and regular bacon, scrambled eggs, rolls, and grape juice. From then until 9:30am, when Yuho woke up, I just hung out and relaxed. My youngest brother and I watched Lilo and Stitch and Handy Mandy in Japanese. He really likes Disney, and so does Yuho. When Yuho got up, we started to figure out what we wanted to do today. She had said that ever since I got here, she had a friend who really wanted to see me and kept asking when we could meet. So she (Natsuki) ended up coming over to our house around noon. We ended up walking to the nearby supermarket to buy supplies to make lunch. I explained to Yuho earlier today that I had a stomachache as part of my jet lag so she was really sweet and made a special bland meal for lunch. We all helped cook which was fun! We made a thick japanese noodle in a soy sauce(?) and water broth. It ended up being really good and helped my stomach! Then, they helped me write my speech for tomorrow at school. It's really short and, translated, it is:
"Hello, my name is AC. I'm from Mississippi and I'm excited to be study Japanese here. Nice to meet you" (and then I bow.)
Yuho and Natsuki were really patient with me as I struggled to pronounce everything right and practice it over and over. Here's us hanging out at the house:

When that was over, they said they wanted to take me to Osaka Castle. So Natsuki called her mom and we got ready, took a few trains, and met her mom in her car to drive to Osaka Castle. Right before we left:

It was a really long walk up to the castle. Here's all 3 of us right before the walk up:

And here's me in front of the castle:

When we finally got up there, we stopped for a snack. Then, we went into the castle which was basically a history museum. It was really interesting! After we got done, Natsuki's mom thought she knew a shortcut, but it ended up that we got lost trying to get back to the car. We took an hour detour and by the time we got back to the car, everyone was so tired that we decided to go on home. We got dropped off at the train station and headed home for the day! And here I am, relaxing before dinner. Tomorrow's the first day of school and when I give my speech! I'm pretty nervous about the speech, but really excited about going to school! Yuho told me there were 3 Canadian exchange students coming to Momoyama too so I'm looking forward to talking to them. We'll see what adventure tomorrow's school day will bring!
-AC

Day 2

Last night I took a sleeping pill to help with my jet lag and so today I was better rested than before. I woke up and went downstairs to eat breakfast. For breakfast I had the equivalent of American frosted flakes, minus the frosted part and a roll. After a shower, Yuho and I planned on going to volleyball club at my school (Momoyama), but in the end not enough people signed up and it was cancelled. Instead, we decided to go shopping at Q's Mall. But first, Yuho did her homework and I rested. I got the 8-year-old brother to take a picture of us right before we headed to Q's Mall:

I got on my first Japanese train to get to the mall. It was pretty exciting! We ended up stopping inside the train station (I think) to eat lunch around 2pm. We went to a restaurant called "Little Mermaid" that was a bread shop. We ended up both getting 3 types of bread. It was very different to me because they had nothing but bread to eat but they also served lots of different drinks and juices. I can't think of any kind of American parallel. After we finished lunch, we got on a couple other trains and subways and started shopping! Here's a picture of the mall from the outside:

This mall is SO much bigger than any mall in Mississippi. It had 5 or 6 floors and so many shops! Yuho showed me around several of her favorite stores in the mall and then asked me what I needed. I ended up buying school shoes, a backpack for school, a wallet-type thing to hold my commuter pass to go to school, and 2 shirts for school. After shopping, we went to a cafe nearby. I (unknowingly) order a HUGE strawberry snow cone with frozen yogurt on top. When it came, Yuho and I were so surprised at how big it was! Here it is:

After we finished, we had to go to the hospital where my host mom works because she had to give Yuho a vaccination. The hospital was really cool, especially because there were more bikes outside than there were cars. The inside was really big and nice. After Yuho got her shot, we headed home in my mom's car. When I got home, I finally finished organizing my room and unpacking everything. That was a big relief! And now, here I am! We'll eat supper in about an hour and then I'll shower and head on to bed. My family is really understanding about my jet lag and how confused my internal clock is, so they let me go to bed early (by 9 or 10) and sleep as late as I want, which has been 7:30am the past 2 days. Now I'm going to go hang out with my younger siblings. Yesterday we watched High School Musical and Phineas and Ferb in Japanese, so we'll see what we'll watch today! 

-AC

The Adventure Begins

Today is my first full day in Japan. It's 4:00pm and I'm "taking a rest". So far, it's so different from America! Today I woke up, skyped my parents and went downstairs. The younger siblings were watching High School Musical with japanese subtitles so I watched that while I ate breakfast. Breakfast was scrambled eggs, a roll, plain lettuce, and sausage(?) or some kind of meat. The parents had both gone to work when I got up so Yuho, my host sister, made my breakfast. Then I took a shower and got ready for the day. My host dad came home around noon and, after lots of confusion, explained to me that I had to get my picture made and then go to city hall to register since I was a foreigner. We went to the photo studio to get pictures to put on my foreign registration and waited for them to be processed. Then, we headed on to city hall and waited there for a while to get a foreigner's pass. After that, around 2pm, we went to a sushi restaurant. It was serve-yourself and there were moving conveyer belts of sushi by all the tables. The host father insisted I try a lot of different dishes, so I did. I tried nato,  a fermented soy bean roll, which I did not care for. Then I tried a raw salmon roll which was better and I actually really liked. That ended up being my favorite thing. I also tried a shrimp roll which was also good. The last roll I tried was raw horse mackerel. It was not my favorite thing I've ever eaten. It was very different from the food I'm used to eating. That was definitely an adventure! After the mackerel, I had decided I'd had enough and politely refused the other rolls and dessert. Next, we drove to a drugstore to get some things that I had forgotten to pack. The only problem was everything, obviously, was in Japanese and Yuho and her father barely spoke English. It took us a good 45 minutes to find the right kind of razor and toothpaste I wanted (The family's toothpaste flavor is salt, which is the most common in Japan. So it took a while to find mint.) So far, I've been pretty jet lagged but I'm trying to stay up without taking a nap until it's time to go to bed to start adjusting to Japanese time. That's hard to do considering it's 2am in America right now and it's 9am American time when I go to bed here. That resulted in 3 hours of sleep last night. Overall, I'm having a good time! The language barrier is pretty hard. Google Translate, hand motions, and lots of smiling and laughing are helping though. I start school on the 25th, Thursday, so I only have 2 more days to get rid of my jet lag. I'll be giving a speech in Japanese that day to 2,000 students so I'm praying I'll be caught up on sleep!
-AC