Stomach ache!!

Today I didn't feel good at all. I had trouble sleeping because my stomach hurt. My host parents tried to feed me to death. I woke up with the same stomach ache. I could not eat breakfast because my stomach hurt so much. So I stayed home and was planning to take a nap but decided to watch anime instead. Akari was really nice and got me a present from Disneyland. It was really cool. So I stayed home and relaxed for the day.

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.

Final Shopping...Maybe!

Today I got to sleep in because of the long day yesterday. That was nice. I made a list of stuff that I still needed to buy and was trying to find a way of how to get it. Then my host mom asked where I wanted to go and I said SHOPPING. She read my mind. So we went to the mall where we looked around and I bought a lot. Then we went to look in a clothes stores where I was about to buy this purse I wanted but then my host mom stopped me and bought it for me. That was soo nice of her to do that! We then went to the supermarket where my host mom loaded me up on snacks. After shopping, we went to a conveyor belt sushi restaurant where my host parents tried to feed me to death, but I got a cheesecake key chain so it's all good. We went home after a fulfilling day, where I tried to stuff everything inside my suitcase. My host mom sewed up my bookbag that ripped on the airplane. I was about to buy a new one too. I need that bag for my snacks!!

To Akiyoshidai!

Today I woke up at 5 AM to get ready for Akiyoshidai. We had to leave at 6. I was kind of tired. We left and took Akari to the Shinkansen with her friends. It looked like they were going to have so much fun! After we dropped Akari off, we headed off. I slept the entire time there and only woke in the middle when we stopped by 7-11 for a snack. I got Pocky and grape juice. Gotta have my grape juice! Then I went back to sleep and didn't wake up until we were there. We walked up to the entrance of the cave and it was soo cool! I have never seen a cave before! There was a waterfall coming from it too. We went inside and it was awesome...I felt like I was in Minecraft lol. It was cold inside which felt really good because it was really hot outside. We walked about 1 Kilometer until the end of the cave, then went into this tunnel which I thought was awesome because there were drawings on both sides telling history. It was called the Tunnel of 300 Million Years. It showed  from the Pre-Historic age  all the way until now. It was really cool. Then we took a taxi to the landscape area on top of he cave. This was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. It was just green hills and rocks that seemed to go on forever. This used to be an ancient ocean. We got some ice cream here and then went to the car. I went to sleep again, and when I woke up we arrived on an island. I didn't exactly know where we were but we walked and came to this beautiful beach with a walking trail and it was so pretty. There were rocks in the water and the water was so clear you could see the coral underneath. People were scuba diving here. There were mountains surrounding it and it was just beautiful. Then we went to go find lunch. The drive w was beautiful because of the scenery everywhere. Mountains, Oceans, Hills...I loved it. We came to this little fish market strip and there were tour buses there with older people who were touring the island. We went and ate lunch in the little fish market. I had curry rice...I love curry rice! When we were eating, the older people were finished shopping and were going back to the buses. There was one man who was walking outside and ran into the door. Mama and I bursted out laughing. After lunch, we kept driving and I tried not to go to sleep, but I eventually did and then we came to a 7-11 to get ice cream. I can't say no to more ice cream. Every time I woke up, it was right when we arrived somewhere. Then we kept driving and we arrived somewhere.I didn't really know what was happening but I went with it. When we started walking, I saw festival decorations, so I assumed we were at some sort of festival? It turned out to be the Tanabata festival. I saw a lot of people in Yukatas. There were also a lot of little shops. Apparently this is where the famous Sanzoku restaurant is. It's specialty is chicken on a stick. We continued to walk and were in the middle of a wedding. It was cool . I liked seeing people in traditional clothes. I have seen a lot of weddings since I have been here. We left and I went back to sleep until we went past Kintaikyo. We were going to eat dinner ate an Okonomiyaki restaurant that Papa always used to go to when he was younger. I had some awesome yakisoba but couldn't eat it all because I was still full from lunch. After dinner I didn't go back to sleep. It was cool seeing the city at night. It had a whole different feel to it. Then we finally made it home and I decided to go through the gifts that I had and what I still needed and to pack up everything that I am not going to use for the next week and a half. Then I decided to try on my Yukata again so that I know how to put it on when I get back to America. I kind of did it right, then it was late so I went to sleep.

Locked Out!

Today was a school day but this is the day everyone gets their exams back. I only took the English one. We were given another essay to do and put into separate rooms. We could see each other after they were done. After I was done I went into Alison's room where I just practiced my Kanji. Each class was 30 minutes long and I was supposed to go to homeroom at 5th period to get my test back. It was hard to keep track of the classes since we weren't given a time schedule. I started to eat lunch in the classroom when Jerry came in and said I was supposed to be down there already. He didn't seem very happy about it. I said I was sorry and sprinted down stairs. We were given our tests and I had the best score. Everyone had 39 or 40 out of 76 and I had 72. I can't blame them, English is hard. After that Jerry told us to go to Hiroshima Castle. I already went but Alison hasn't so we walked there and looked around for a bit, then we went back. It wasn't very long that we were there. It was very hot outside. When we got back we had Japanese Class. That class is always fun for me. Alison fell asleep.... My Japanese teacher said that she wanted a copy of the poem I made about 2 weeks ago about the bomb. She will be in the peace day performance and wanted my poem for it. So I thought that was cool. Then I went home but nobody was there and I didn't have a key but I didn't panic. I just went to buy ice cream and took a 3 hour walk around the neighborhood until Akari came home. Apparently I was supposed to stay at school for a presentation.....oops. Well I took a walk....and ate ice cream. Then for dinner we ate Yaki Niku which was great! No school tomorrow so more sightseeing. Akari will be going to Disneyland with her friends but I can't go because it is expensive. So I decided that I will go to Akiyoshidai which has a cave and beautiful landscapes. It will take about 3 hours to get there though.

Day Out With The Girls!

Today we were doing prayer like we do every morning but this time it was in English by my English teacher through intercom. The whole school listens at the same time. He has done it before, I was just relieved that now I can understand. He said, "Summer is getting closer and I want you all to be productive. I have some ideas for you... invent a new pizza....make a root beer float....lay down and watch the clouds...make a Harlem shake video...and if you don't know what that is go ask the American students." I almost died of laughter! XD No one knew what a root beer float was or the Harlem shake. It was so unexpected. Then after that I met a Harvard student and that came to the school to talk for a couple of days. She is really cool. Then we were all told that we need to go to the Peace Park again with Kaitlyn (The student from Harvard.) We almost got lost but it was ok. At the street car station I was on the other sided of the tracks when a street car pulled up and a group of ladies kept looking at me and when they pulled away they all waved at me. Then at the Park the little kids kept saying hello. It was cute. When we got back it was time for Hondori. Jin, Alison and I all went to Alison's house to get ready. Alison tried to put eyeliner on Jin but it didn't really work out. I thought I knew where to go to get to Hondori but I didn't. I really wanted to go to the mall I went to last time. Jin then went up to these two girls who were talking to ask them for directions. One kind of screamed and looked like she was going to run away until she realized she was asking for directions. We eventually found Hondori and then searched for somewhere to eat for about 30 minutes. We finally decided on an Italian restaurant which was rally good. Then I took them to the mall I wanted to go to to show them all of the cute stuff . There was so much Lolita but it was so expensive, so we went to the anime store where I bought One Piece stuff and a Kingdom Hearts action figure. All they have here is One Piece!! But it's ok because I like one piece. When we all were done shopping, we went back to Alison's where I was super excited to assemble my action figures and one piece ship. Then I went home and watched one piece. Today I probably walked somewhere between 5-10 miles. My feet hurt so much but it was so worth it.

VIDEO COMING SOON!!!

Mobilized Student Tower

Watch Stopped at 8:15

Aioi Bridge (Target for Bomb)

Peace Park

Dome Close up

3 in one sink!

I found a Mos Burger!

Accessories!

My Bus Stop!

Balcony of Alison's Apartment!

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.

Hiroshima Castle Pictures!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qS9av3plGlE

Japanese Mall Video!

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

Shukkein Garden!

Today was school and wasn't excited because my schedule said library all day.When I got to school Jerry said there was a change of plans and that I would be going to the Shukkein Garden today with Alison and JinSun. That was exciting because that means no library and we get to go by ourselves. We got to the garden and had a tour guide tour us around. It was soo pretty. I could stay there all day. It was a private garden for the Fuedal Lord who lived in Hiroshima Castle during the Edo Period. There were little crabs everywhere! When we were walking JinSun accidentally stepped on one and said sorry to it and moved it into the grass. Then towards the end of the tour which was awesome but very hot, we were sitting and a couple wearing traditional clothes were about to tack wedding photos and the garden. We said sorry and were about to move then the husband told us all to take pictures with them, sooo that is the story of how we were in some wedding pictures lol. It was really cool that they let us do that though. They looked really cool in their  traditional wedding clothes. Then we decided to take the long way back to school and played hang man on the chalkboard the entire time. Then I came home and had tacos for lunch and then watched a movie. Today was a good day!

I HAVE PICTURES BUT ALLY HAS THEM, I WILL UPLOAD THEM ONCE I GET THEM!

Fun Fun Day!!

Today was fun. Mama told me that we were going to Hiroshima Castle. Papa dropped us off at Hiroshima Station and a downpour came from no where. Akari went to Tokyo for something with YFU. Mama and I took a street train to a station close to the castle. When we got inside the castle gates a concert was going to happen so we were going to watch. All of a sudden it got really hot and the rain stopped and it was really sunny. The concert was fun, everyone looked cool in their costumes but they must have been hot. When the concert was over we walked over to Hiroshima castle. It was turned into a museum but it isn't the original. The original was destroyed by the bomb so they rebuilt it. It was really cool, I dressed up as a samurai and got to pick up a sword (chained sword in a glass box). I want a sword now lol. Then we went to the top of the tower and overlooked the city. It was really pretty. After Hiroshima castle we went to find somewhere to eat. We wet to the underground mall in Hondori. We found a pasta restaurant and I haven't had pasta in a long time. It was so good. I also had cream soda which is like a root beer float but instead of root beer it was melon flavored soda. After we finished eating, the belt on my dress popped open. Mama couldn't stop laughing. I couldn't help myself, the food was good. So after that , we went shopping. Hondori is the best place ever! We went to sunmall which has GU and Uniqlo which are 2 very famous stores. Their prices where soo cheap! I didn't buy anything from those stores though. Then we went up a floor and I found the cute/lolita section <3. Lolita is too expensive so I went to the cute clothes. I bought these really cute pajamas and 3 pairs of over the knee socks. I need to go back there! Then on another floor I found the anime! I went inside the anime store and got ab about $30 worth of stuff and went to checkout and it said $17. I did a double take because it was definitely $30 but I was really happy, I just thought something got marked down. I also went to a little Japanese souvenir shop where I got some stuff. At this point I had tons of coins and couldn't fit them all in my coin purse, the cashier lady saw me struggling and let me exchange it all which was over $10.  That was nice of her. Before we went home we had to get ice cream! Ice cream is necessary everyday in my family...im not complaining lol. Then we went home and I showed my host sister all the stuff I got and she saw the receipt for the anime store and the $10 surprise bag I bought which is worth $30 wasn't even on the receipt. The cashier didn't scan it! Then we went to a little international store and I made Tacos for my host family that night. This was the best day ever.

2 VIDEOS COMING SOON!

Library Adventures!

Today is Saturday and I had school again. It was the same as yesterday but instead of 4 class periods we had 3. On the way to the library Jerry was talking to us and accidentally cursed. It was kind of unexpected so Alison and I laughed forever, then he tried to play it off like it was nothing. That was funny lol. Me and Alison looked around the library and found a book titled Pig Meat....we looked at the first page and it had cute little piglets then farther into the book it showed how they growed up and then get butchered :(. I didn't know what to think about that. Then we talked and gave each other anime spoilers. We became best friends in a short amount of time. Then I went home with Akari and ate lunch and skyped. Then I watched more anime and went to bed.

Productive Day!

Today started exams! School is only half a day starting today. When I got to school, Jerry gave us an essay about what we plan to do for the rest of our time in Japan. That took about 10 minutes. First period was supposed to be the start of exams for the students, but it was pushed back until second period and this let off mass cheering from everyone and I was so confused until someone told me what was happening. But this means that we have an extra period of school. After writing the essay in the library we just sat there and talked about Anime the rest of the time for 3 hours. Then I went home by myself. It was kind of nice having no one home. I watched One Piece until my computer died and was too lazy to get the charger, so the best decision at that point was to take a nap. It was really hot, but I was too sleepy to do anything about it. I slept until Mama came home, then ate dinner and watched more one piece. Today was productive lol.

Last Day Before Exams!

Today I went to school on a very crowded bus. My first class was Japanese Literature, so I spent my whole time looking in the dictionary for Japanese words. then I went to study hall ready to take a nap but then Ally came in adn we talked about One Piece and Naruto and anime the entire time. Then off to Calligraphy. I love Calligraphy class. The teacher is really nice and the class is fun. Me and Ally were looking through my dictionary and did a calligraphy writing for ones that looked interesting. Alison did one that said explosion and the teacher came over confused and then everyone started laughing. That was fun, then at lunch I had a delicious bento as always. Alison taught everyone the cup song. It was funny because they couldn't get it. Then to computers. I corrected JinSun's English paper, so  that gave me something to do during computers. Then to English where I almost fell asleep and out of my chair. I found out today mt schedule during exams. I am writing essays the entire time, but I get to visit the Shukkein Garden. That has been a place I have been wanting to go to. It's the garden that everyone escaped to after the bomb dropped. Next is history where I just read my book again. After school JinSun came up to me and said that she has to write a new essay because I wrote notes on her essay and she can't use it. I felt bad, all she wanted was for me to check it for mistakes. We were waiting for the bus and had to wait until the second one because the first was extra crowded. Then I went home and did some summer work and watched anime.

Food!

Just some pictures of food! :)

Pudding!!

Instant Noodles!!

 The Best Instant Ramen! (With Real Meat)

Bento!

Another Bento

Takoyaki!

Not food..but they decided to decorate me

Half Way Through!

I'm going to school today. Tired because I wanted to stay up. First class is PE, not in the mood for PE. I failed my first try with softball and got an out then my next turn I hit a home run. I talked with some girls and that was an interesting conversation. Next science....just blanked out and was doing random stuff. Home Economics is kind of boring. It is like a health class. I was stuck there for 2 blocks then lunch. Glorious lunch!  I am always hungry. Only 3 weeks left! It has already been half of the trip! I was looking at my flight schedule back and it is 19 hours. I'm gonna die....3 planes...19 hours including layovers. I can't deal with sitting in one place forever. First a 4 hour bullet train to Tokyo. Tokyo to LA is 10 hrs and 20 min. LA to Texas is 3 hrs and 15 min. Then Texas to Norfolk is 3 hours. I don't like airplanes. Can't I just teleport? Lunch was interesting, Alison was showing them some hand games, so that was pretty funny. Then to art! I finally finished that art project! Mine looks terrible compared to everyone else's but I'm no artist and that was hard! Then to study hall where I just read. Then I went home and Akari got off the bus early to study at the library so I went home by myself. Then a mailman came to the house and was trying to ask me if this was the right house, but it wasn't. Communication is interesting when you can't understand.

Stayed Home!

Today I woke up and was a lot more sleepy then usual, but I'm Alaisa and always sleepy. I tried to eat my breakfast but didn't finish all of it. It kind of made my stomach ache. My host mom made me stay home. I thought that was the greatest thing ever! No school! I slept for the next 5 hours. It felt great. Then watched anime nonstop until Akari came back from school. I'm not sure if that's what you would call healthy....but oh well. I've probably watched 40 20 minute episodes in the last 2 days. Then I ate and watched anime for the entire day until I went to sleep. I'd say it was a productive day.

3rd Week of school!

Today starts another week of school. So sleepy I want to watch one piece. I went to school and English was boring as usual then I was about to head to English Conversation then Jerry said would I like to have study hall instead. Heck yeah! Anything to get out of English. SO I had study hall and then another study hall. It was great. Lee JinSun was in the first one so we talked the whole time. Then PE, we had indoor PE which I didn't have shoes for. I told them my shoe size in centimeters and they flipped out.So I ran around without shoes. Then lunch I ate with my classmates in the classroom. Then the AP English class. We read everyone's essays and I talked with some of the girls. Then off to math to do whatever. I did not understand the math. After school I went home and watched anime! That was my day.

Hiroshima Peace Park Video!

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=608621742490152&l=9033959353572820921

Hiroshima Peace Park!

Today was Peace Park day. I was nervous and excited all at once. My books have taught me a lot. We went to meet everyone that lives in Hiroshima. Akari and I took a bus into the inner city that I had no clue about. I thought where we lived was the city but this was the real city. Then we walked through a really cool street to reach the Park. I was kind of nervous. I then saw the Park. We walked across the bridge and that was the first time I saw the A-bomb dome. They were doing repairs and it was a really powerful moment. Then we went to meet everyone in the Peace Park museum. We split in 2 groups and toured the museum. It had a very eerie but familiar feel to it. The most powerful thing in the museum was when I saw the models of the people with their skin hanging off just like my books described. Everything that I had read about became real at that moment. I also saw real cranes that Sadako folder, They were very small. After the museum we went to see the rest of the park.  We saw the Peace Memorial Cenotaph which had the names of everyone that died. As I was waling through the park I felt a small amount of sadness overcome me. We went to see Sadako's statue and I put 3 cranes in the little glass box that they had there. There was some very cool crane artwork. After the park we decided to all eat lunch at a buffet. I was starving. It was really fun and everyone had really funny stories. The boys wouldn't stop eating even as we were leaving. Then everyone left and Akari and I waited for Mama. She took us to Hondori street which is the shopping street of the city. I bought a lot of gifts. We went to a mall with 10 floors and was partially underground I found a lot of gifts. We also went into an electronic store where the prices were ridiculous. There was a rhinestone plastic Iphone case for 300 dollars but you could get a Camera for about 60 dollars...I was so confused. Then we went home but on the way home Mama wanted me to see a bridge. I went on the bridge and Mama told me that this bridge was the bridge that the soldiers walked across to war. It was over a rives so I asked her what river it was and she said the Kyobashi River! The Kyobashi River is the river in my books that so many people died because they tried to drink the water. I stared at it for a while then we left. I got home and needed to go running so I ran around the neighborhood with Akari on the bike for about 20 minutes. Going uphill was not fun. After running we came to the point that was overlooking the city and there were fireworks, so we watched that for a while. Then I went home and watched some anime and chilled out for the rest of the night. PEACE PARK VIDEO WILL BE UP SOON!