Day 6

Today I went shopping after school with Iori-chan. I found this really cute shirt that was only around 16 US dollars, which was really cheap for the type of shirt it was. I also showed my family around my host family's house. This morning our train hit a crow and the crow got stuck to the front of the train... it was really creepy looking, like a bad omen haha. I also talked to more of the students in school by offering them Starburst. 

Below are: Me on the train with my melon soda, me with Zack on facetime, me at the store, a weird version of Crunch bars called Crunky, Iori eating yogurt, and my bento yesterday - yakisoba.

Day 5

Iori was in Osaka today getting a visa for her exchange to Michigan later this summer so I had to ride the train to school by myself. Iori seemed to be very worried that I would get lost, she wrote an instruction sheet out and drew diagrams and pictures for everything. Some students at school heard I liked soccer and asked me to come to the club after testing is over. I don't know anyone's name because no one has introduced themselves to me... but it's fine I can ask some of the other exchange students. 

girls biking home from school

After school Jane and I got a ride home from Jane's host mom who speaks pretty good English. Jane doesn't like school and we both are a little frustrated that we aren't doing any work in school. Because we are both lower level Japanese students, the class for foreigners isn't very helpful to us. I told Jane I would help her with any questions she had about the simple things, but we both thought it'd be nice to have a teacher who would help us specifically with our questions. Jane's host mom called the YFU representative, and she said that she would call the school to see what they could do. 

When I got home, Su-chan and I walked to the nearest convenience store - they are very popular here in Japan. I got to see my host grandmother's garden and a temple that is near our house. I also got to take pictures with my nice camera.

This picture is of Suzuka in front of the temple. I'm not sure if it is Shinto or Buddhism, Su-chan didn't know. Below is the sunset, a bell and Obaa-san's garden.

Day 4

After school today Iori and I went to Starbucks with her friend and Jane, another YFU student in my school. Jane was skeptical about it because she wanted to go somewhere you couldn't go in America, but I wanted to see what Japanese Starbucks looked like. Turns out it's way cooler than American Starbucks. They had lots of matcha flavored cakes and doughnuts (one of which I ate), and so many different kinds of pastries. I want to try exploring Toyama more, but my host family is hesitant to let me leave the house alone. I hope that after I get used to the area and they get used to me they'll let me look around a bit. 

My host mom and brother Jun-chan took Iori and me to a walkway by the ocean where we got a nice view of the sunset. The mountains around Toyama are so beautiful, I just want to go hiking! My school's summer break starts July 21st, so hopefully I'll have time to do the things I wanted to do in Japan. 

Day 3

Today was my first day of school! I'm still super jet-lagged though, so I had trouble staying awake in class. The school I go to is Toyama International High School, so there are a lot of exchange students, foreign students, and students of mixed heritage. I was a little disappointed to find that most of the students could speak English rather well, but I still had a fun time. There are two other students from YFU who are in my class. One I met at the orientation, Jane (left).

While the other students had their classes, the other host students from my class went to a Japanese class for all of the foreign students who weren't fluent. They are taking a test next week but the teacher said that we don't have to. Most of the exchange students there have been there for over 4 months.

We played volleyball in gym and had lunch afterwards. My host mom prepared a bento box for me - it was so good! The school couldn't provide a uniform for me because they have to order them, so Iori and Su-chan gave me their old skirts and school sweater, and I bought a polo shirt at Uniqlo. 

My ride to and from school consists of a long train ride and a short bus ride. I got to stand at the front of the train and watched the conductor. I noticed the conductor pointing at things in a very precise manner, later I looked up why Japanese train conductors point at things and it turns out that it's something called pointing-and-calling. It combines the jobs that they do with physical actions and a vocal response. I read that it helps reduce accidents and human error in Japan by 80%! Apparently they sort of do it in New York but not as much. I highly suggest checking it out, it's super interesting: http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/pointing-and-calling-japan-trains

Day 2

Today Su-chan and Mama (as they told me to call them) took me to an art gallery with a jazz guitar performance. It was super interesting even though I couldn't understand most of what the artists were saying and I was so jet-lagged I looked like I was passing out. My family is making me a diary of all the things we do together every day. They have been cutting out photos of me and arranging them with little messages. It's so cute! For lunch I helped make Yakisoba and for dinner we had dumplings.

Tomorrow I have my first day of school. My uniform fits and I have some school supplies. It feels weird going to school during the summer. I also have to introduce myself to all the students and teachers... hopefully I don't mess up haha. 

Day 0 - 1

I have finally arrived in Japan! Although I waited in the Narita airport for 11 hours, my flight was short and I arrived in Toyama at 9:00 pm. My host family greeted my at the airport with my YFU area representative. I am so excited to start my trip! I don't start school until Monday, so tomorrow I'll give my host family all of the presents I bought for them.

Day -1

Although its already technically day 0, I'm still gonna post. We had no time yesterday for anything. The whole day we took classes and did activities, and at the end of the day we got to ask a panel of alumni about any questions we had. This morning we had to get up at 3:30 am for our flight to LAX. 

Day -2

After waking up at 4:30 a.m. I headed out to the airport with my mom who was also flying out to London. Once we got to San Francisco we met up with YFU Staff and took a bus to San Francisco University. The whole day has basically been culture games and Japanese lessons. I just want to be in Japan! 

Pre-Departure!

Leaving tomorrow at 5:15 a.m.... I stop in San Francisco first for an orientation. I officially get to Japan on the 21st.