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!!

New Videos!

http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZuVNVqfeNkrK9JQjFjB4Xg

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!!!

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.

Hiroshima Castle Performance!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-IyngV_WN8

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!

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.

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!

Locked out of the House!

I woke up really tired today because I decided to stay up last night. I went to school and in English I read my book and then I was asked to answer a question about English grammar and something about infinitives. What are infinitives? I couldn't answer the English question....English is complicated. You don't see how complicated it is until learning it in a different country. Then I had English Conversation instead of study hall. I like my study hall....well it was kind of boring. Then to music which is like chorus/music theory which wasn't fun. Then lunch, I have been waiting for this moment for the entire day! I had curry rice from the cafeteria which was amazing. They have real food there. Then to Japanese class which was fun but more boring than usually because I was tired. Then instead of homeroom we went to see a guest speaker. I was so tired and I didn't understand what he was talking about, I almost fell out of my chair a few times. I was so ready to go home. I went home with Akari and they let me borrow a violin from school. Mama wasn't going to be home today so it was only me and Akari. As we were walking home I was thinking about whit if she lost her key. We got to the apartment and she couldn't find her key. Then we walked to the phone booth so she could call her dad that we were locked out of the house. On the way I told her that she was going to find her key in her bag later. When we got to the phone booth, she looked in her bag to grab money and found her key. Apparently I can tell the future lol. Then we got home and ate some snacks then Akari past out for the rest of the day and I read my book. I was too tired to go running today so I'll do it tomorrow.

School and a New View!

Today I woke up and ate breakfast. Akari really like donuts so she brought home Krispy Kreme yesterday. So we ate that for breakfast. Also yesterday Akari bought me some Japanese sweets as a gift. Walking off of the bus to school was a new experience itself. When I got to school I realized something....I left one of my books at the bus stop! I was freaking out so I told my homeroom teacher and he said he will look into it.  I hope that it is still there  or my host mom maybe found it. To take my mind off of that during Japanese Literature I read my book. Then study hall which I had with Alison. She was telling me about mormons, then I just continued to read. After study hall I went to Calligraphy and I was scared that I was going to be terrible at it but it was really fun. After Calligraphy my homeroom teacher told me that Mama found my book at the bus stop. I was so relived. Then I ate lunch. I ate with Alison's class and had an interesting conversation about piercings and tattoos. None of the girls had their ears pierced. So Alison and I were trying to explain gauges to them. Alison had an open coke on her desk when a student accidentally knocked it over all over Alison's uniform. She had to wear her P.E uniform for the rest of the day. Then after lunch I went to computers where this time they actually tried to talk to me. But I still didn't understand much so I ended up reading. Then in English and History I just read my book. I got home by myself again. On the way home I saw the bridge again that was in the book I read. I wanted to confirm that it was the same so I asked my host mom about it. She said that it was used during the war for soldiers to walk across it's a very skinny narrow bridge. Mama and I were looking around the neighborhood on google earth and tried to find places described in the books I read. It was interesting. I ate a bunch of snacks and we all joked about getting fat so I said I will go running tomorrow. I told Akari tat we will also watch a scary movie. My Japanese is improving tremendously and wish that I could just stay here. I love it here in Hiroshima. When I walk outside now I have a new view on the city instead of just being a city, I see years of history. Earlier when reading my book at school I heard a siren and thought it was an air raid siren and got scared but then realized that, air raids happened in the book just fueling my imagination.

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

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.