Trip to Mazda!!

Today I don't have to go to school because I'm visiting Mazda. This moring mama came screaming and running into my room trying to show me the newspaper. I was in ti from earlier. It was kind of cool. Then we went and bought 2 more from the store down the street. Then we just chilled until it was time to go. We went to go eat lunch at a family restaurant. I had a Japanese Mexican Quesidilla. It was pretty good. Then we wnet to the Mazd headquaters. It was good to see everyone again. We went on the Mazda bus to the museum where we saw a lot of cars and even an assembly line. We also had to put on these funny yellow suits complete with gloves, a mask, hat and glasses to paint a little license plate as a souvenir. It was fun to paint but it was super hot in the paint shop. We also practiced caulking  metal plates. After we finished that, some news reporters came to interview me and Selina. The boys were left out. It will be covered in 3 newspapers including the biggest one in Hiroshima. Also it will be on TV. Then we met the CEO and President of Mazda and I took a picture with him. We also got little gifts. After Mazd, I was tired. We picked up Papa from Hiroshima Station and went home. I chilled out for the rest of the time and watched One Piece. Papa went to go pick up Akari after her trip to Disneyland which she said was fun.

I'm Sorry!

I do have pictures and videos! There is a lot so I will slowly but surely get them on here. The posts that do not have pictures do have pictures with them. I haven't had the chance to upload them all. I also have about 3 videos to make. I am very busy!! Sorry for the lack of pictures and videos!!!

Lunch At The Cafe!

Today, Alison and I had to write another essay and we decided not to go to the library again so we went to a small classroom. We drew pictures on the chalkboard the whole time which was fun. After school was over I decided to go to Alison's house. We changed out of our clothes and left to go find somewhere to eat lunch. We walked all the way to Hiroshima station but nothing there looked good so we started walking back. On the way back we saw some classmates but they didn't recognize us because we weren't wearing uniforms. We kept walking and had to choose between a variety of cafes. As we were searching, Alison had seen a guy who wasn't from Japan with 2 Japanese guys. She thought he was cute lol. Anyways we ended up going to a cafe called The Little Mermaid. The food was great. They had a lot of different breads and pastries.  After we sat down, the 3 guys that Alison saw earlier coincidentally  came in and sat at the table next to us. After about 5 minutes, very suddenly Alison asked the guy where he was from. I made this face mixed between being surprised and a glare.  He was from Canada and is a college student as well as the Japanese boys. He is studying here for engineering. There is no way that I would just start asking someone questions like that....I'm not that brave lol. Anyways she talked to him the whole time while I was in my own world eating my delicious pastries. After we finished we were about to head back to Alison's house. The guys left first and then we left walking the same direction. They looked confused and then turned around and asked if they were close to Shukkein. They were going the wrong way so we told them how to get there and then went to the house. We watched a Naruto movie until I had to leave. It was really funny, but Alison didn't get to finish it because I had to leave so I told where to find it and then I went home.

Japanese Mall Video!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHqedK0hNT4

Lazy Day!

Today is Sunday and I plan to do absolutely nothing. I sat at the table all day and watched anime and ate snacks like a typical lazy me would do. I didn't want to do anything but chill, so that is exactly what happened. Nothing interesting...so this is very short, because it is interrupting my chill time. I just have to be lazy every once in a while. lol

Interesting Day!

Today I woke up for school and Akari was gone because she went to go get her visa in Osaka. She will live in Michigan for a year and leaves July 29. So I rode the buss by myself and didn't get lost. I finished my first book 2 yesterday so today I started on a new book. My first class was P.E. Since it was raining we were inside and I didn't have inside shoes, so they gave me a pair that was really small. It really hurt but I pushed through it. Then I just red my book through science. During the break  I went to go find Jerry (my English teacher) to ask him for a copy of Summer Cloud because I really liked it. He gave me a new copy. Then later during the day he gave me and Alison another book which is called My Hiroshima. It' like a kids picture book but it is really good. Then Home Economics which I just read through. Then my classmates told me that the schedule was changed and now I have to go to computers instead of Home Economics. That was confusing. So after lunch and computers I went to ask Jerry about school. It says that  I am only in school  until July 3rd but I am actually in school until the 23rd. The last day for the students and the last day before I leave. But starting on the 5th everyone has exams so Alison and I were told that during test week we have to write essays and sent on little field trips. One to the little peace garden that the school has then writing an essay on it. And the other to the Peace Park which is only a mile from my school. I will so excited when he said that. I will go get to see the peace park 2 times. Then I went to English Conversation where I had to give a improve presentation on my favorite place after everyone did theirs. that was ok. I don't think I will go back to orchestra because it was kind o boring. I really want to finish my book. On story I read was about A Hiroshima Jogakuin College student and what happened to her. The setting was the mountain I live on. The college is o close. So many things happened there. In study hall the librarian gave me more books to read. They were so interesting. One of them was Sadako and the 1000 cranes! I really love that story.Then I went home by myself and when I got home I ate a lot of snacks and wanted to read mt book. I was reading and got kind of sleepy so I took a shower and had energy again. Then later Papa and I went to Hiroshima Station to get Akari. It was weird going outside since reading all of those stories. I can imagine what happened in the places that were described. Especially when I went to Hiroshima Station. Akari wasn't around to translate Japanese to English, so we tried our best and I actually understood most of what they said.

Kintaikyo!!

Today I woke up after spending the night at Rena and Nate's house. We all had breakfast, and they had a giant jar of peanut butter. I haven't had peanut butter in a while so I enjoyed that. then we all were dropped off at the Hiroshima train station. I thought parents were coming with us but apparently not. We then took a train to Kintaikyo. We played a word game on the train, so that was entertaining. Kintaikyo was very pretty. the first bridge was destroyed by a typhoon so it is rebuilt every 20 years. We had Ice cream and Nate had Wasabi flavored. A cat was staring at him the whole time. then we sat on the riverbank and threw rocks into the river. It was very peaceful. Then we went home by train. I found out it was Mama's birthday, but they don't celebrate birthday like we do in the US, it is smaller. We bought a little cake and went home and made Takoyaki and it was pretty god. It was kind of hard to make. Then we played catch and realized that I'm a terrible pitcher today. We were tired so we went to the 7-11 to get some ice cream. At the 7-11  there were a group of boys and one wasn't Japanese so Mama asked him if he was an exchange student. He was one from Germany, and she had to introduced me to him. Then we went home and ate cake for Mama's Birthday!

Pictures!

Friday! Ally!!!

I got ready for school and I was soo excited! It was the day that Allison (The other YFU student) comes to Hiroshima Jogakuin! When I got to school I went to go find her.I found her on the second floor talking with her host mother about school. She was worried about her uniform because it wasn't exactly like Jogakuin's, but I said it was ok. Then I said I would show her around during breaks. In my first class a girl came up to me and gave me cute stationary as a gift. That was too sweet. Then classes went by normally and I showed Ally to each of her classes. At lunch time we went to the cafeteria so that Ally could get some lunch. Lunch food looks so good and it is in real bowls and plates. I bought a pastry because I LOVE PASTRIES! I was soooo hungry that AI ate my Bento and Pastry. It was really good. I also bought what AI thought was orange juice but it was grapefruit juice. Then we went to Japanese! Japanese is also awesome. The teacher is a very nice old lady who always gives us little snacks. I had a green tea cookie which was great. After school Ally and I were shown around to all of the clubs. Everyone was so good at what they did. I'm trying to join Orchestra or Softball. then I went home and watched some TV and had some snacks. When Mama came home she made us Omu-Rice!! Sooooo good! We all had ice cream, then we played card games and I always lost. It was a fun day. :D

No school!!!

I woke up and I was so tired I didn't want to go to school. On the news it showed that a typhoon was happening. Apparently Typhoons are normal here. To my luck Mama got a text saying that school was cancelled for the day! I was so happy. So instead of going to school, it was decided that we go to the mall. The mall was soo big! We went to a couple of stores and I bought a Totoro bento box. It was my mission to get something with totoro on it! And I bought some other gifts but I can't tell because I want it to be a surprise. I went into a clothes store and was eyeballing this shirt I really wanted but I never bought it. I have a very hard time spending money, but I really wanted it and it was cheap! I missed my chance. We then went to an arcade where we played a taiko drum game that had the same concept as guitar hero. That was fun. I also played a claw game for ice cream. I didn't get anything! But here you have 3 chances to get it. Then we did Purikura which is a cute picture machine that makes you look cute and makes your eyes really big. It was fun. Then we went to the food court and I ate REAL RAMEN. It was delicious!!! Nothing like that fake college food in America. Afterwards we went to the ice cream vending machine which was awesome. The bottom floor of the mall was a supermarket. We got ingredients to make chocolate chip cookies. We then went home and I looked at the cookie recipe and realized that we were missing a couple of things so we went to the 100 yen shop (1 dollar shop) and picked them up. Then we cooked! The metric system was interesting. You have to weigh everything, so we had to buy a scale. The cookies were wonderful. At dinner we had another English speaking session with Papa which was hilarious. He cannot pronounce words lol. Then Akari and I tried on our Yukatas! It takes some practice but it was fun and they were pretty. Then I took a Japanese bath which is the greatest thing ever! Then I went to bed.

Honesty and Trust

This is a very important to[pic for me. I have noticed that Japan is a very honest and trustworthy society. Everyone is honest and trusts each other. At Miyojima, they had little souvenirs at different shrines and exhibits. You had to pay for the souvenirs and put the money in a box by each souvenir. The thing is, that there wasn't anybody watching the souvenirs or cameras or anything, so it could be easily stolen. But everyone paid for the gift that they wanted. It was nice to see that trust in each other. When I go to school I see small elementary school kids in Kindergarten or 1st grade walking to school or riding public transportation by themselves. No one has to worry about them getting kidnapped or abducted. Another interesting thing I found was that when people parked their bikes, they didn't lock them up. Nobody would come to steal your bike, and these were expensive bikes with motors and electronic stuff on them. I didn't see any locks or chains or anything. I liked the trust each person had within the community. One more small thing  I noticed was the umbrella stands outside of school or stores. People would place their umbrellas there and then go shopping or go into school. Again, it would get stolen or taken. Also there aren't as many cameras as you see in America. Anyways, that was my rant on trustworthiness and honesty. I wish that someday, other countries can lean from such a wonderful example and role model.

Things I have noticed

Some things that I have noticed about Japan are very different from the states. Japanese people are very skillful and careful drivers. A couple days ago on a very narrow road only big enough to fit 2 cars I was on the bus. On the other side of the road was another bus. The road was on a curve so it would be difficult for both buses to pass each other. But they did! I was scared that they would crash. They passed within inches of each other. I haven't seen or heard about 1 crash. Nest Japanese fashion. Japanese clothes are sooo cute! Everyone has on dresses, skirts or business suits. I barely see jeans. Even the older women still dress cute. Japanese girls rally like arm gloves/sleeve things and high heels. Almost  every girl I have seen has on high heels. Also in Japan you must have multiple umbrellas and Parasols to match your outfit. EVERYONE has an umbrella and they are the ones with the curvy handles. Next, School. In school everyday you have different classes, each class is 50 minutes  and the number of classes vary day to day but it is somewhere around 6-7. there is school on Saturday but only for 3 classes. The classrooms have no electronics. No smartboards, computers, or projectors. Just a chalkboard, but the chalkboard is cool because it can go up or down. Between classes are a 10 minute break to do whatever you need to do. I like that. The teachers teach their lecture for 50 minutes and the students write . There is no time for questions or time between each problem. The teachers just talk, no questions asked. Also, students don't pack up their things until the bell rings. And of course you change shoes for school. They have shoes for everything. Your shoes you wear to school, inside shoes, PE shoes and indoor PE shoes.

3rd Day of School!!

I saw my Korean friend agian and she wants to eat lunch with me. I had P.E first with a different class. Again I was one of the fastest runners and I am good at pitching. I had Science and they were talking about DNA in Japanese so I didn't understand, so I just wrote in my journal. In Home economics I didn't understand....they were talking about milk......so I just studied Japanese and did my English homework. After Home Economics which was extremely long, I ate lunch with y Korean friend. ( I keep forgetting here name). I had another delicious bento prepared by Mama. Nest I went to Art.....Art. I can not draw to save my life. We were doi g something were you have to make a design usually a flower and cut some of it out and put it on a piece3 of black paper so that the black shows through the cut out pieces. It looks pretty cool....but I can not do it. I spent the first 50 minutes panicking because I didn't know what to do or draw and the next 50 minutes  trying to draw a flower. I CAN'T DRAW! :( Well I tried and now I just have cut it with a razor....without chopping off one of my fingers. It took a lot of work. Then to study hall in the library.

2nd Day of School!

I went to school and it was fun. First I had study hall and I just did my English homework. Then I had History, which I thought I could understand but I really didn't. Then I went to music class which was actually chorus. They were soo good! We watched a movie about a boys choir. Now we are going to sing Stand by Me and Beautiful Girls. Also it was funny in music class, they didn't think I could understand or speak Japanese. They were talking about how big my eyes were right behind me, and I just sat there. Then the teacher didn't speak English well and tried to speak to me. Then I told her I understand and Japanese is ok (in Japanese) and everyone was really surprised. Then I had lunch. Also everyone comes up to me very cautiously as if they were afraid to talk to me. After lunch I went to Japanese class with the Korean exchange student. She is really cool! She is one of my best friends at school. She wants to go shopping and do Purikura together. Also go to Tokyo. We must see Tokyo. The Japanese teacher was cool too! She gave us little rice crackers and a pretty fan. She said she wants to go to America to eat all of the varieties of Ice cream. Then I went home and ate a lot of good snacks. At dinner I was trying to teach my family English. Vitamins and McDonalds are hard to say. In Japanese, McDonalds is "Makudonarudo".I also tried to explain the difference between "Lice" and "Rice".

3rd Day!!

Finally today! Today after breakfast, my family asked me if I wanted to see Miyojima. I had no clue what that was but I am glad I said yes. It was amazing!!! There was so much history and culture it was so different from anything that I have seen. I practiced some Japanese words too. We ate Momiji Manju which is a small cake with anko inside (bean paste). It was delicious! We did so much! I bout an umbrella that has a pattern on it when rain hits it. There were deer everywhere! One tried to eat my dress lol. Miyojima was so cool! We also took pictures by the famous Tori!! After Miyojima we went to a little clothes shop that was amazing! Everything there was under $20 and everything was cute! I bought a couple of things lol. After that we went for dinner  at a conveyor belt sushi restaurant. I ate Natto for the first time and I didn't like it ( it tasted like feet and throw up).  I tried a lot of suchi and it was good. I am going to get sooo fat! lol Tomorrow I start school!! So excited! I even get to wear their cute uniform! XD

2nd Day!!

Sorry these are late!! Trying to recap what has happened the last couple of days! On the second day I woke up and ate a good breakfast. The Japanese eat a lot, but it is healthy so it is ok. Then Papa and I tried to look for a laptop adapter in the 100 yen shop but it wasn't there so we went home. We had lunch and it was delicious. Mama made fried rice with the left over ingredients from the Okonomiyaki. She put it in a rice bowl and flipped it on the plate so that is was shaped and cute. Then we picked Akari up from school but I had to get my school schedule at school and introduce myself to some staff and classmates. That was nerve wracking. I walked inside the  cafeteria everyone was staring at me. I was sooo nervous. But they were all nice and excited to meet me, so that was cool. Then we went to a department store to look for the adapter. It was like a mall!! There wasn't an adapter but we looked around and Mama found some cute bento boxes for Akari and I. There was so many cute things in the store!! >.< Then afterwards we wet to an electronics store.They had it!! There was a lot of electronics there! We went  home and I took a shower. I was so tired and jet lag finally hit me. I was too tired to blog and I went to sleep without dinner. I will have a video with each blog!

 

Day 2 Berkeley!

Today was sooooo much fun, but it was really busy! I made so many new friends and learned a lot of new things! I won't be able to post my videos that I made until I find internet, but I am making videos!! I will post them as soon as I have the chance!! I promise!

Leaving!!!

Hi! I didn't post yesterday because i was busy packing, which I made a video for. I am in the airport now!

Packing video link:http://youtu.be/AzfySvLHf_Q

My first Vlog!!!!

Go here to watch!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6r0Pa1Fwa8

Next Weekend!!!! :D

So now it is the weekend and I have 10 MILLION projects to do!!.....ok maybe not that many but still a lot. I have started packing and this weekend I am going to go shopping :). 9 DAYS AWAY!!!! I leave next weekend! I have been waiting for this moment for 2 years :D. I will post a video next weekend before I leave. It will be about what I am bringing and how the traveling will go. I also told my host sister that I can't go to Disneyland because it is so expensive :(, but we will do other fun things. I was wondering....what if I brought warheads to japan and gave them to my classmates? XD I might do that lol. I will try to blog everyday and make a video everyday! :D I can't wait!!