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 Pictures!

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

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!

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.

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!

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!

Saturday!! BBQ!

This was the second day Ally was at school. I have school on a Saturday...yes school. But it is ok because it is only 3 classes. I gave Ally one of my backup shirts because she was worried about here uniform. I was so tired. First was English Conversation which was interesting. Everyone had to give a presontation about their favorite places. It was cool hearing what everyone likes to do. Then computers. I did absolutely nothing in that class. I was put into a group and they were doing a project and they didn't talk to me. Only at the end they talked to tell me to choose a picture for their project. Then science.. I already knew that I wasn't going to understand so I just wrote in my journal. Akari told me that after school  we are going to another YFU student's house. His name is Nate. She said that we are going to the mall and Kintaikyo on Sunday. After school Mama picked us up and dropped us off at a train station to meet Rena and Nate. We walked what seemed like forever to the mall where we did Purikura, then we went to a virtual sports center which was really cool. It had a screen that looked like the pitcher was actually pitching the ball to you. That is where we practiced batting and we also played golf and practiced pitching. then we played air hockey which was team America vs. team Japan. America won! Then we walked a long time to Rena and Nate's house. The area where they live is very pretty. There are a lot of traditional houses, but as we walked closer to their house I noticed that it looked like a rectangle box. Their house was extremely modern in design. everything was all boxy and straight. This was in the middle of a traditional neighborhood. It was kind of funny. The parents are really funny and really cool. The mom wants me to visit them again. We had a barbeque which was fun. Then we played with sparklers! They were so pretty. Then we all went inside and played card games. And my room that I slept in is a tatami mat room with a shrine for the grandparents. I slept on a futon but woke up extremely cold and scared because I had half a blanket and a really weird scary dream. That was my day.

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.