School has ended here in Japan, so I am now on vacation within a vacation. I`m still studying out of my textbooks because I want to keep learning more, and in the time between now and going back home, I`ll be meeting up with friends a lot and spending time with my host family. After all, I`ll never see them again after I go back, more than likely. At least, not for a very long time. It`s hard and expensive to organize meetings between friends from all over the world. Whew.
The school festival was amazing! I miss the morning and after school training sessions, and the performance itself was fun. The third years beat everyone hands down, though.
As for new things I`ve eaten, I can say squid, octopus, eel, and some sort of shellfish. Squid (when cooked a certain way) and eel are good, but octopus and shellfish are a gag-it-up nono for me. I tried everthing once, though. Ikura (salmon roe) wasn`t bad, but it was strange.
I`m a little tired of being stared at every time I walk into a new area. Before it was exciting, but now it`s at the point where true, I am a foreigner, but I`m no more alien to them than they are to me. I guess it`s to be expected up in Hokkaido, where travelers aren`t as common as down south near Tokyo. It`s still fun, though, don`t get me wrong.
The other day I went to a mochi-making session with AFS, and that was fun. Mochi is possibly the most delicious thing you can make with rice. Eating so much of it, though, makes your stomach feel like a lump of playdough. The mochi hammer they used (kine-きね）was extremely heavy and strangely balanced to me, so I was horrible at the pounding. "Give everything one try" is my motto here though, so I did it.
I experienced a Japanese birthday! Lots of sushi, is what I say. Besides that, it was Americanized; we sang the b-day song in English, I helped make a cake (and they insisted that I pick the toppings and decorate it the way we do in America) etc. Everything was delicious...
Miso ramen is also delicious. Here in the Sapporo area, it`s extremely famous, and I had it for the first time yesterday. I loved it! I also learned how to slurp noodles properly; it`s all about turning your face down towards the bowl.
I realize that I`m leaving next week, and I`m still not so sure that I`m ready to go back. I do miss my own food, though. Cereal, fruit, fresh vegetables...mexican food too, and our family`s food. I`ve just about reached my limit with rice, fish, and pickled vegetables, but I`ll endure...yups. I miss being allowed to go out whenever I wanted to exercise and hang out, too. There`s a curfew here, and so much stress when I`m out because I`m constantly being worried over, as a hosted student. It`s a kind gesture, but it makes everything slightly more stressful to know that if I`m a few minutes later than usual that it will make someone worry.
That`s all for now!
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Finally updating
Sorry for not having updated before, the keyboards here are a little different, and I just recently discovered how to type in English, whereas before I coudln`t log into anything because I was typing in Japanese. Anyhow, so much has happened since I arrived here...
When I was packing up and heading out to the gateway orientation site, I was extremely scared and subject to random bouts of tears and panic, but separating from my family wasn`t as traumatizing as I thought it would be, especially not since I found myself surrounded by people as newly independent as I was. It wasn`t until I`d landed in Japan and woken up the next morning after my first night that I started to feel any panic at all, but I was alright. I met a lot of friends, and surprisingly became buddies with some of them after the first 3 days. Of course, then we all went to our separate sites, and my group went to Sapporo. At first I was thinking "okay, a bunch of people I don`t know who I`ll be with for the next 4 or 5 weeks," but now they are the closest, coolest friends I`ve ever had. They`re from all over the world, too. I don`t think I`m allowed to say names and such, but to anonymously address them, I`ll say that my new friends range from Asian, North American, Central American, and European origin, which is pretty darn cool.
I`ve learned a lot about not only Japanese culture so far, but also about the cultures of my friends. A favorite thing for us to talk about is the certain catch phrases native to our areas; for example, Californians are famous for saying "Dude" in a certain way, and for not finishing sentences or for using gestures and silences to convey a thought ("I was like~ and he was all~you know? So I was like duuuuude~." I`m learning a bit of swedish from my everyday buddy who I`m with from morning till evening, and bits and pieces from my friends` different cultures. I LOVE it here, and I will miss them. Three people who were on a non-AFS program just left yesterday (They fly back home on Tuesday, but there`s no school today or tomorrow so we don`t see them) and I actually cried, not just because I`ll miss them/possibly never see them again (or for a really long time) but because it also reminds me that we`re getting closer to the end of our stay. This Friday is our last day at the school, and I`ll never see the Japanese students again, more than likely. The school festival`s already over, so there`s no more staying after school and working hard with them anymore, or some exciting prospect to look forward to. ;( I love everyone here very much, even the people I haven`t met officially. These past few weeks have honestly been the most exciting, happy weeks of my life, and I don`t regret one bit that I came. I feel selfish for saying I don`t want to go back, but I`m really not ready to go back; like my mother predicted, I do regret not having chosen a longer program to come on, but hey, I can`t miss senior year...
Hmmmm...I`m having a great time with my host family. I`m not stressed with them at all, and the only problems there`ve been were with me being late for unforeseen reasons (ex; took longer to get back from such and such place than thought to be, or extra practice, or something) or them worrying and going out looking for me before my curfew time. It hasn`t been a big issue, and I always apologized for stressing them. We`re all good now, and I talk to my host mother most out of everyone because she teaches me about Japan, helps me with Japanese, and learns a bit of English from me. My host father is always away on business trips, and my sister works often, so I see my host mother the most. I love it here, though. Having my own room and no pets besides the dog who stays downstairs is nice, too; I can have real quiet time! I lovvvvvve it, and I sleep so much better alone.
The school festival was great; I danced the hip hop dance and the full class "all for one" high school musical dance with my class, and I loved it. Everyone said I was good at dancing, which I`m not really; I just like it. I got lots of "ハああああ、アリッサは、上手ですよ!” (Wow, Alyssa`s skilled/really good!" from them, which was sweet. I get lots of "かっこいい！” too, which means "cool!" I loved getting up early to catch the bus at 6:54, getting to school at 7:45, and then practicing in the morning until school started at 8:35. Then, it was with Japanese students and/or the foreign students for classes, with lots of running to the vending machines during ten minute breaks (our catch phrase is "let`s go to the jidouhanbaiki! (vending machine)") which is the favorite hangout spot for us foreign students because it`s awesome. Lunch is fun and delicious, bentos are amazingggggg. Life in the hallways itself is fun; as foreigners, we can do the slightest thing and the passing students go crazy, especially the junior highers. We got followed by a group of junior high girls once, who thought we were cool. Sometimes students run by like we`re scary, other times they walk up and say `yo!` or `haro! (hello!).` Sometimes they stand off in groups and stare, and we smile and wave, and they break out into "hoooooooo! Ehhhhhh! Ooooooh!" and punch/nudge/freak out a little and move off. They`re all very sweet though. After a while in public, though, it`s annoying to go around because you`re always being watched. Buses are kinda funny, though; as we wait at street corners and crowded buses pass by, we see the faces staring, and we either stare back, smile, or look away and casually look like there`s nothing in the world that differentiates us from the Japanese people around us.
School`s fun, but sort of hard. As I speak with people and learn to read/write more, I find that there are so many different ways to understand certain things or to express them to different levels of different people. It`s so overwhelming, but I love it.
I think I`ve actually gained some weight from eating so many sweetbreads from this one shop we`ve found (the girls love it, the boys frequent the donut shop across the way instead) but yeah.
As for non-school related events, I`ve been to karaoke twice so far, once with both foreigners and students from our homeroom classes, and once with just a few of us ryuugakusei. The game center is also fun, but so many people smoke in there/are so good at the games that I worry about either wasting money trying to play, getting cancer from second-hand smoke, or smelling like cigarrette smoke and attracting unwarranted criticizism. I`ve done lots of purikura and taken a ton of pictures and videos too. Between all of us, I think there won`t be a lot that we`ll forget.
Things I`ve done, off the top of my head:
Ate squid, octopus, eel, raw fish, quail eggs, and crab; taken a public bath (twice), played the McDonald`s game in PE; participated in the school festival; been the english teacher`s excuse to not teach for a period in English class; tripped up the stairs and bruised my finger under the nail (Lovely purple strip growing up it); seen boys wear short skirts, bows, and go with legs shaved to do cheerleading; seen amazing japanese cheerleaders build three-girl tall towers; seen girls cry for no reason; seen boys play sumo wrestling in the halls/classrooms; seen boys be as cuddly with each other as girls are here; had melon bread and soda; gone into the subway with a skirt; experienced an earthquake, fire, and smoke hazard at the disaster center; and so much more.
I think I`m definitely growin from this trip, and my mindset`s different in some way too. Whereas before I felt very...standoffish, outcast, and different/uncomfortable/confined in my hometown and with those people, I feel very at home here, which is ironic because I`m supposedly the outsider. Every day being an adventure is so much more full than knowing the outcome of each day in the city I`ve been in my whole life.
This is long and I`ve been on the computer too long, so ciao, or じゃ、ね。
亜梨沙
When I was packing up and heading out to the gateway orientation site, I was extremely scared and subject to random bouts of tears and panic, but separating from my family wasn`t as traumatizing as I thought it would be, especially not since I found myself surrounded by people as newly independent as I was. It wasn`t until I`d landed in Japan and woken up the next morning after my first night that I started to feel any panic at all, but I was alright. I met a lot of friends, and surprisingly became buddies with some of them after the first 3 days. Of course, then we all went to our separate sites, and my group went to Sapporo. At first I was thinking "okay, a bunch of people I don`t know who I`ll be with for the next 4 or 5 weeks," but now they are the closest, coolest friends I`ve ever had. They`re from all over the world, too. I don`t think I`m allowed to say names and such, but to anonymously address them, I`ll say that my new friends range from Asian, North American, Central American, and European origin, which is pretty darn cool.
I`ve learned a lot about not only Japanese culture so far, but also about the cultures of my friends. A favorite thing for us to talk about is the certain catch phrases native to our areas; for example, Californians are famous for saying "Dude" in a certain way, and for not finishing sentences or for using gestures and silences to convey a thought ("I was like~ and he was all~you know? So I was like duuuuude~." I`m learning a bit of swedish from my everyday buddy who I`m with from morning till evening, and bits and pieces from my friends` different cultures. I LOVE it here, and I will miss them. Three people who were on a non-AFS program just left yesterday (They fly back home on Tuesday, but there`s no school today or tomorrow so we don`t see them) and I actually cried, not just because I`ll miss them/possibly never see them again (or for a really long time) but because it also reminds me that we`re getting closer to the end of our stay. This Friday is our last day at the school, and I`ll never see the Japanese students again, more than likely. The school festival`s already over, so there`s no more staying after school and working hard with them anymore, or some exciting prospect to look forward to. ;( I love everyone here very much, even the people I haven`t met officially. These past few weeks have honestly been the most exciting, happy weeks of my life, and I don`t regret one bit that I came. I feel selfish for saying I don`t want to go back, but I`m really not ready to go back; like my mother predicted, I do regret not having chosen a longer program to come on, but hey, I can`t miss senior year...
Hmmmm...I`m having a great time with my host family. I`m not stressed with them at all, and the only problems there`ve been were with me being late for unforeseen reasons (ex; took longer to get back from such and such place than thought to be, or extra practice, or something) or them worrying and going out looking for me before my curfew time. It hasn`t been a big issue, and I always apologized for stressing them. We`re all good now, and I talk to my host mother most out of everyone because she teaches me about Japan, helps me with Japanese, and learns a bit of English from me. My host father is always away on business trips, and my sister works often, so I see my host mother the most. I love it here, though. Having my own room and no pets besides the dog who stays downstairs is nice, too; I can have real quiet time! I lovvvvvve it, and I sleep so much better alone.
The school festival was great; I danced the hip hop dance and the full class "all for one" high school musical dance with my class, and I loved it. Everyone said I was good at dancing, which I`m not really; I just like it. I got lots of "ハああああ、アリッサは、上手ですよ!” (Wow, Alyssa`s skilled/really good!" from them, which was sweet. I get lots of "かっこいい！” too, which means "cool!" I loved getting up early to catch the bus at 6:54, getting to school at 7:45, and then practicing in the morning until school started at 8:35. Then, it was with Japanese students and/or the foreign students for classes, with lots of running to the vending machines during ten minute breaks (our catch phrase is "let`s go to the jidouhanbaiki! (vending machine)") which is the favorite hangout spot for us foreign students because it`s awesome. Lunch is fun and delicious, bentos are amazingggggg. Life in the hallways itself is fun; as foreigners, we can do the slightest thing and the passing students go crazy, especially the junior highers. We got followed by a group of junior high girls once, who thought we were cool. Sometimes students run by like we`re scary, other times they walk up and say `yo!` or `haro! (hello!).` Sometimes they stand off in groups and stare, and we smile and wave, and they break out into "hoooooooo! Ehhhhhh! Ooooooh!" and punch/nudge/freak out a little and move off. They`re all very sweet though. After a while in public, though, it`s annoying to go around because you`re always being watched. Buses are kinda funny, though; as we wait at street corners and crowded buses pass by, we see the faces staring, and we either stare back, smile, or look away and casually look like there`s nothing in the world that differentiates us from the Japanese people around us.
School`s fun, but sort of hard. As I speak with people and learn to read/write more, I find that there are so many different ways to understand certain things or to express them to different levels of different people. It`s so overwhelming, but I love it.
I think I`ve actually gained some weight from eating so many sweetbreads from this one shop we`ve found (the girls love it, the boys frequent the donut shop across the way instead) but yeah.
As for non-school related events, I`ve been to karaoke twice so far, once with both foreigners and students from our homeroom classes, and once with just a few of us ryuugakusei. The game center is also fun, but so many people smoke in there/are so good at the games that I worry about either wasting money trying to play, getting cancer from second-hand smoke, or smelling like cigarrette smoke and attracting unwarranted criticizism. I`ve done lots of purikura and taken a ton of pictures and videos too. Between all of us, I think there won`t be a lot that we`ll forget.
Things I`ve done, off the top of my head:
Ate squid, octopus, eel, raw fish, quail eggs, and crab; taken a public bath (twice), played the McDonald`s game in PE; participated in the school festival; been the english teacher`s excuse to not teach for a period in English class; tripped up the stairs and bruised my finger under the nail (Lovely purple strip growing up it); seen boys wear short skirts, bows, and go with legs shaved to do cheerleading; seen amazing japanese cheerleaders build three-girl tall towers; seen girls cry for no reason; seen boys play sumo wrestling in the halls/classrooms; seen boys be as cuddly with each other as girls are here; had melon bread and soda; gone into the subway with a skirt; experienced an earthquake, fire, and smoke hazard at the disaster center; and so much more.
I think I`m definitely growin from this trip, and my mindset`s different in some way too. Whereas before I felt very...standoffish, outcast, and different/uncomfortable/confined in my hometown and with those people, I feel very at home here, which is ironic because I`m supposedly the outsider. Every day being an adventure is so much more full than knowing the outcome of each day in the city I`ve been in my whole life.
This is long and I`ve been on the computer too long, so ciao, or じゃ、ね。
亜梨沙
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Finally Out and Preparing to go!
Yayyyy so school is finally over! I haven't posted for eons because I was busy with end-of-school projects and finals, but now I'm out. I'm planning on catching up with all of the AFS and Japan-related stuff I haven't read since I've been busy. I'm reaaaally looking forward to the trip! It's a lot of preparation though. We've been out shopping twice looking for something to use as a uniform (so I don't have to buy it over there) and we've gotten shoes for the school. We're also looking into omiyage (I think that's what the gifts to the hosts are called) to take over there.
I've written a letter to my family, so that should've been sent last week or a little earlier I think. Hopefully it gets to them before I do, and if I'm lucky, I get a response back before I go! I've made friends with two people who'll be in the same school as me while I'm there, so I'm becoming less and less anxious knowing that there's someone just as nervous as me/as eager to go.
I've written a letter to my family, so that should've been sent last week or a little earlier I think. Hopefully it gets to them before I do, and if I'm lucky, I get a response back before I go! I've made friends with two people who'll be in the same school as me while I'm there, so I'm becoming less and less anxious knowing that there's someone just as nervous as me/as eager to go.
Monday, May 18, 2009
Destination Settled
I finally found out where I'm going! I'm going to be attending Ritsumeikan Keisho High School in Sapporo. It is an actual private school, complete with uniforms, etc. In addition to five hours of Japanese study every day, I will have an hour each of art, math, and PE. I feel really lucky to get the chance to go to a legitimate Japanese school. :) I also found out that I will be staying with the Fuchita family in Kitahiroshima, which is just east of Sapporo/part of it. Kitahiroshima's a fairly new city, founded in 1996 I think it was. It's about the size of my hometown, and seems to be built right off of the edge of Sapporo. I'll be staying with a host grandfather and grandmother, host father and mother, and I will have an elder host sister. In order, their names are Haruzou, Chisa, Shin, Kyoko, and Ayaka Fuchita. I didn't expect such a big family, but this is still exciting. I get to experience more from all the generations, and it will also ensure that I mind my manners and keep track of my formal and informal tenses. :) It will be quite the experience to be the youngest for once, since my host sister Ayaka is two years my senior. I'm working on figuring out the address system for Japan, after which I will hand-write them a letter to introduce myself to them ahead of time.
On another note, we're still raking up funds. AFS was kind enough to extend our deadline, and we have since gotten over $1,000. Thank you so much again everyone! We really couldn't do it without you.
On another note, we're still raking up funds. AFS was kind enough to extend our deadline, and we have since gotten over $1,000. Thank you so much again everyone! We really couldn't do it without you.
Monday, May 4, 2009
Getting Closer
Hi everyone again, sorry about the late post. Between resting up and school, the blog totally slipped my mind. My bad! I see that we're nearly to $3,000. Thanks so much to everyone who has donated so far! And many thanks to my grandmother who has sent another $500 towards my tuition. :) I love you! We're nearly there.
For more fundraising, I wrote a letter to send out to various businesses in my community, but through some file incompatibilities and miscommunications about who was sending it where, we haven't gotten it out yet. There's another one that mom sent out that hasn't been replied to yet, but we'll see about that. *fingers crossed*
Since I last updated, I've been out to Nevada City of the Pre Departure Orientation. The other Participants were so nice and interesting, and the volunteers were great too. I met people going to India, Switzerland, Argentina, Japan (like me!) etc... Now I'm even more psyched to get going on this trip, though I first things first! Research, Culture Trek, etc... I wonder when I get my family package too. I'm very curious to know what my host family will be like. :D
Back to the books! After this last spell of ridiculous homework passes, I'll get back into my AFS research. Till then!
For more fundraising, I wrote a letter to send out to various businesses in my community, but through some file incompatibilities and miscommunications about who was sending it where, we haven't gotten it out yet. There's another one that mom sent out that hasn't been replied to yet, but we'll see about that. *fingers crossed*
Since I last updated, I've been out to Nevada City of the Pre Departure Orientation. The other Participants were so nice and interesting, and the volunteers were great too. I met people going to India, Switzerland, Argentina, Japan (like me!) etc... Now I'm even more psyched to get going on this trip, though I first things first! Research, Culture Trek, etc... I wonder when I get my family package too. I'm very curious to know what my host family will be like. :D
Back to the books! After this last spell of ridiculous homework passes, I'll get back into my AFS research. Till then!
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Tuition Progress
Hi again everyone! Spring break's coming up and I'm finally able to rest a bit, as well as catch up on everything that needs getting done. I'm still thinking about that newsletter as one of my fundraisers, but it's also been pointed out to me that a corporate sponsor would be a great idea was well. A million thanks to my grandpa, who's writing to his union to help me out. I'll try to do as great of a job on my part as well.
In addition to this, look at my ChipIn button! I was lucky to get two very generous donations from Kraig Katzenmeyer and my grandmother, a combined $2200! Thank you so much! I got another donation of $25, and unfortunately I don't know who it's from, since the ChipIn! button has no way of naming donators. Thanks a million, nonetheless! If you could, leave a comment saying you donated so I can add a name to the donor.
Thank you so much everyone for supporting me! We're halfway there!
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Fundraising Plans and Brainstorming
Hey again everyone! Thanks to those of you who visited my site or joined my followers.
Again, thanks to AFS for my $1,200 scholarship. It's an amazing boost on my funds, and will encourage me to continue earning until I can pay for the trip. One thing we're working on is signing up for my town's carnival which I believe happens during the first weekend of April. It's meant to help raise funds for the Emerson Junior High School PTA, and should be a good community service job. If anyone wants to come with, please do! We're also planning on selling a few items, and I might provide services. If I really really need to I might offer to cut my hair, but most likely that will happen in a year or so. In the meantime guys, donations and fundraising ideas are very welcome! :]
Oh and before I forget, one of the fundraising ideas from http://afsfundraising.wetpaint.com/?t=anon is to offer subscriptions to a newsletter. I'd be in charge of writing this on a regular basis, so I'd be covering many of my experiences while abroad. If anyone would be interested in suscribing, let me know! Also, if you'd like to donate directly to my AFS tuition, please click the ChipIn! button to the right, under my photo. Thanks!
Till next time!
Again, thanks to AFS for my $1,200 scholarship. It's an amazing boost on my funds, and will encourage me to continue earning until I can pay for the trip. One thing we're working on is signing up for my town's carnival which I believe happens during the first weekend of April. It's meant to help raise funds for the Emerson Junior High School PTA, and should be a good community service job. If anyone wants to come with, please do! We're also planning on selling a few items, and I might provide services. If I really really need to I might offer to cut my hair, but most likely that will happen in a year or so. In the meantime guys, donations and fundraising ideas are very welcome! :]
Oh and before I forget, one of the fundraising ideas from http://afsfundraising.wetpaint.com/?t=anon is to offer subscriptions to a newsletter. I'd be in charge of writing this on a regular basis, so I'd be covering many of my experiences while abroad. If anyone would be interested in suscribing, let me know! Also, if you'd like to donate directly to my AFS tuition, please click the ChipIn! button to the right, under my photo. Thanks!
Till next time!
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