Winter Break

So today was omochi day! Omochi is rice cakes that you make for the New Year. So today we went to the neighbor's house for an omochi party. My first host parents, the Hiranos, plus one of the Rotarians, Kinpara-san, came too. Then we went out for Italian food.
Yesterday, I just bummed around at home. Friday, I hung out with Addison and Laurent. Addison had to leave early, so Laurent and I walked into this supermarket downtown with lots of Western stuff. We were staring at everything and talking about what was good and what we missed. Finally, we bought cheese, a baguette, Orangina, and Swiss chocolate and had a little European picnic. It was amazingly fun.
The day before, I hung out with Max and Sakiko Maria. That was an interesting linguistical experience. Max wanted to write a letter in Japanese, so he dictated it to me in French, and I wrote it in English, and then I gave it to Sakiko Maria, who translated it into Japanese. Ah, this is basically every day in Japan: my head is swimming in 3 foreign languages at once.
Last Tuesday was Christmas. I called my family and talked to them for two hours and my best friend for about 30 mins. Then I went over to the Hiranos. They cooked a Western meal and we had apple pie sent from the USA and it was good. I wasn't that homesick on Christmas day, but before hand I was horribly, horribly homesick. Anyway, Christmas Eve I hung out with about 10 people at once, from all corners of the globe, half Japanese, half gaijin. Then most of the people had to leave early, so me, Addison, and Josefa had Christmas Eve dinner together at a ramen shop. It was so much fun!
OK, thats all for now. I'm at the Hiranos now for the New Year's festivities. Take care and yoi otoshi wo. (Have a good new year)

End of the year!

Yay so today we had an end-of-the-year ceremony at school. IT was boring and I slept. Then I went downtown with Laurent and Max. And we met up with Josefa and Addison and Sakiko. Max gave us all Lindt chocolate for Christmas... it's soo good. Yesterday I treated everyone for lunch at an Indian restaurant for CHristmas. It was soo good! Then I had to go to a Rotary Christmas party, where they made me dress in a men's kimono and make up and sing the American national anthem.... haha so random I know. But they had Japanese drums and that was really cool.
Today I bought New Year's cards and I'm going to write them and mail them to random people. So if you want a Japanese New Years card, holla.
I'm spending this weekend with my first host family, the Hiranos. I'm so excited!

KYOU KOKUGO DEKITA!

So, quick update. On Saturday morning, I went to kendo club. After that, I was biking downtown and I got thrown off my bike when I was trying to go from the street to the curb because I underestimated the height of the curb. My bike chain fell off, my glasses fell off (but they didn't break) and my gloves got ripped. So then I fixed the chain myself and limped to the train station, where I bought band-aids at the convinience store and dressed my wound in the station restroom. It still hurts a bit and therefore I've been absent from kendo and gym class. (It was the right knee, and kendo is all in the right leg.)
Anyway, later that day, I met up with Vanessa, Dorothy (a german exchange student), Kathi, Melina, Ryu (a Kitako student), Laurent, Max, and Addison for a bit of Christmas fun. We went to karaoke and ate cookies and had a little Christmas tree in the center of the table.
Sunday morning I went to church and they had a little Christmas thing afterwards, so that was nice. Then I hung out with JOSEFA and FUYU!!!!!!!!! Yes!!! And i met Shaki, an exchange student from Austria. And Saki, from Ichiritsu school.
Monday (yesterday!), we had an end of the year party at school. We had a ridiculously good time. Kei and Miwa did this hilarious dance thing to this song:


Ah Goooood times!
Today marks four months that I have been in Japan, and I am ridiculously amazingly proud of something I did today. "Kokugo" class is Japanese literature class. Usually I just study Japanese by myself or stare at the wall because I don't understand it because it's like whoah. But today it was different. We were separated into groups to discuss different poems and I was sitting by myself, studying Japanese as usual. But then Mio was like, "What are you doing? Come here!" And i was like "I dont understand this!" And she was like "Coooome!" and I was like "ok." So I joined that group and we discussed three poems, and I UNDERSTOOD MOST OF IT. (I needed a bit of help with the kanji and two of the poems were in old Japanese, so I was like ehhh but they explained it). I contributed my ideas and they appreciated them and wrote them down on the paper they had to submit to the teacher and everything. I was sooooooo happy!!!!!!!!!!
Then after school I was able to transfer the photos from my camera to my portable hard drive. Now im at home and I can't figure out how to use the portable hard drive on this computer. Ahhhh... Ah, well. Then after that, I went to kendo even though I really couldn't participate due to my knee so I just kinda stood there and then just hung out with my friends in the club after it was done. I think tomorrow I will be able to participate. Maybe.
Thursday is no school! In the evening is Rotary Christmas party. Friday is half-day and end of the year closing ceremony. Then Monday starts Winter Break! YAYYY! Then New Year's, which is like HUGE in Japan. Yayyy I'm so high on life. :DDD.

agh! funness!

Ah! I'm so frustrated! This week and last week I took so many amazing photos, but at my new host family's computer, I can't figure out how to upload photos. There's a lot of photos of school and kendo and general hanging out with people. Maybe I'll be able to do it at school.
OK. So this week I read the book "Dead Man Walking" by Sister Helen Prejean. It's really amazing and interesting and it's a book about the death penalty. (Which, YAY! was recently outlawed in New Jersey!) It's really good because she talks from personal experience, the teachings of Jesus, and philosophers and journalists and statistcs, and like everything. It's such a good book and it really gets you.
Today was a fun day. After school, I went to tea ceremony club. I can't believe how many rules the Japanese tea ceremony has. You have to count 16 line-counts from the edge of the tatami mat. There's so many other things and it just boggles the mind! Then afterwards, Mio and Natsumi (two friends from my class, also in the tea ceremony club), invited me to the movies with them. So we went to see some movie about old-time Japan and I just sat there in a non-comprehending daze for two hours watching people run around in kimonos and hakamas. Anyway, it was really fun to hang out with Mio and Natsumi.
Last night Laurent, Addison, Max, Kei, Sakiko, and I went to the Fowler's (American missionary family living in Hamamatsu, I went to their church last Sunday) house for dinner. We made it ourselves (lasagna, asparagus quiche, apple tart). It was so delicious and so amazingly fun.
OK this is short, but I had a really good week and wish everyone goodness and yesness. (whatever yesness is...)

Iro iro mono!

So on Thursday to Saturday I hung out with the Sri Lankan kids. We went to the Suzuki motor factory. That was absolutely amazing to see cars being built. Then we went to the Yamaha grand piano factory. Did you that they have a machine that hits each key 300 times to condition the piano? They also use different types of wood and different types of humidity depending on the dryness level of the country theyre intending to send the piano to. So yeah that was cool.
Friday was some strange old customs checkpoint (kinda eh.) Then an aquarium with fish (well yeah of course what else would it have.) Then some thing where you could see a lot of things from the top of a thing. And then the zoo. And then I went downtown for Max's birthday. And there I met up with Josefa, Addison, Laurent, and Yuka, so that was fun. Josefa is, like, amazing. She gives me my Latina dose of humor and all-around amazingness. I'm so mad she has to go back to Chile in February. Then I met up again with the Sri Lankans and showed them downtown.
Saturday was Mount Fuji area. It was really nice because there was some snow on top the mountain. We went to some strange kid park where they had fake snow because they wanted to show the Sri Lankans snow. I hate fake snow its stupid. So we went sledding on the snow and it was nothing like Beaccuachlah (however you spell that park's name) Park back home.
I was talking to Wang-san, the university student from China that Rotary sponsors, the whole time because she came with us and I had been so tired of speaking English for the past few days with Gogs, Moley, and Wolfsey (the Sri Lankan kids' nicknames). She tried to teach me how to say "Great wall of China" in Chinese. It was so difficult and i totally forget. That's the great thing about going with Rotary; because Rotary is so diverse and international, you meet people from all over the world and it's just amazing.
Anywayz, Saturday night I slept a lot because I was tired from my long day and Sunday I went to church with Kei and Sakiko. It was really good. Then we helped out distribute clothes and food to the homeless. I'll next week too with Kei and Sakiko.
Today I went to school! Because it's Monday! Today some Australian students visited the school. They're in Japan for two weeks and will be at my school tomorrow too. They were all about 14 or 15 and my homeroom ate lunch with them. Then my homeroom left for their normal classes. Then the Australians put on kimonos and we made bookmarks for some reason. It was kinda annoying because they were all like 7 years old but Laurent and Max were there so it was fine.
Then I had kendo! Yay! Before kendo, I'm always like "ugh I dont wanna gooooo" but during kendo Im like YAY KENDO! Kuno-sensee wants me to take some kendo exam in February, and I'm like "haha no." Well, I didnt actually say that, I said "zenzen dekinai."
Oh tomorrow we're making food in HomeEc class! Yay! I actually can't stand the food we're making. Its called Iforget but it's this Japanese thing where they mix meat, oysters, noodles, lettuce, ketchup, cheese, and like tractors and flowerpots. You take one bite and youre like "woooooooooooooooow this is like wooooooooooooooooooooooow overwhelming taste MUCH" and youre like full and then its like "wow this is actually really disgusting."
Looks to be a normal week ahead of me; but, as always, I never really know... :)

Sri Lankans Invade Hamamatsu

So last night, my host dad and I went to get a basket for my bicycle. My back hurts a bit from wearing the schoolbag on my back. Japanese schoolbags are NOT meant at ALL for wearing on the back; you're supposed to hold them like a purse. So I'm happy about that.
Today, I didn't go to school. I met three Sri Lankan students named Gog, Moley, and Wolfey. Don't worry, those aren't their real names. Those are nickames. They are here in Hamamatsu for two weeks as part of an Interact program.
So first we went to Hamamatsu Air Force Base and looked at the exhibits and did a flight similator and then watched an IMAX film about the base's acrobatic airplane team. Then we had ramen and gyooza (Chinese dumplings) for lunch. We were accompanied by Rotarians, but I had to act as their guide, interpret, and explain etiquette and such. Then we went to Hamamatsu Science Museum and then we went to Seien. Seien is an all-girl's school and that's where Shiori goes. So I requested to enter her class and we walk in and she has only a very small idea we're gonna be there today. Needless to say, she was quite surprised. It was really good to see her again, even though we were supposed to be there only to observe the class, so I could only exchange a few words with her. At the end of the class, we introduced ourselves and took a picture with the class. I also saw Shiori's best friend, Lisa, so that was good. We saw a bunch of other classes and then saw the mandolin club practice and then went to Interact Club and then we parted ways. It was a really fun day and I'll be hanging out with Gog, Moley, and Wolfey again tomorrow. We're going to the Suzuki Motor Factory and the Yamaha Music Instrument Factory.

Suugaku dekinai! Plus good Chinese food and stuffage

What a day! It was raining so hard this morning and I broke my iPod headphones because I ran over them with my bike and then I got so soaked on the way to school. So my feet were freezing the whole day.
This week, we have exams at school. They wanted me to try the math exam, so I receive it and it's all in kanji. I understand something about 9 cards and taking out 7 or something like that, but that's it. So I just sat there for 50 minutes in blissful ignorance. Then I took English reading, and that was easy. Except sometimes I don't remember which preposition goes with what idiom/expression now. Oh, well.
Then I had a free period and me and Laurent and Max watched Resident Evil in French in the International Office. Well, they were. I was reading some book in French that Laurent had and it was kinda funny but I only read one chapter because I am currently reading Hemingway's "For Whom the Bells Toll" or is it "For Whom the Bell Tolls?" Whatever. Something about bell(s) and tolling. I'm only at the beginning, but it's pretty good.
Then I went out for lunch with Kei and Sakiko. We went to a really cheap Chinese restaurant near school. It was so good and so much fun! Then we went to the post office to change some last US dollars I had and there we randomly met Addison, Laurent, and Max. Max was mailing a package to France. They went off to do karaoke, but me Kei and Sakiko went off to Starbucks. We were all like "Ok we're gonna study and read!" But we just ended up talking the whole time. Do they have the creme brulee latte in US Starbucks? Because they definitely have it here and I think I'm in love with it.
Kei and Sakiko and I are going to church together on Sunday. (Yes! Advent season!) Then after that, we're gonna help the church give out clothes and food to the homeless.
Anyway, then they went home to actually study and I ran into Addison who was on his way to meet Josefa and then we met Josefa and then we ran into Max and Laurent again at the train station and then Max left and then we met some really random weird old guy at McDonalds... wow, do I have stories for the grandchildren!
Ok I'm enter into the ofuro now. The ofuro is the Japanese bathtub and it's amazing. It is the type of bath where everyone shares the same water (not at the same time, goodness gracious, that's an onsen). It's not really disgusting because you take a shower beforehand. I guess you could technically just say furo, but I've never heard that and it just sounds really rude to me. (The o- means respect)
Tomorrow is my Home Ec exam. I might actually may able to do that!

Japanese Proficiency Exam and Reunion, well not in that order

Yesterday I hung out with the Hiranos, my old host family. It was really good to be back with them for dinner. We had sukiyaki, which is my absolute favorite Japanese dish. Theres a pot in the center of the table, and you put things like vegetables and meat and noodles in it and let it simmer. It's so amazingly delicious! Then I called my momsie and dadsie in the USA and found out I got accepted at the American University of Paris with a scholarship! Yay! We'll see what happens with that.
Today I had my Japanese Proficiency Exam, level four. It requires knowledge of 120 kanji characters and 800 words. I think I did well on grammar and kanji, but the listening part was so hard. The recordings speak SO slowly that it's in one ear and out the other. People do speak a bit more slowly for me because I'm foreign, but the pace on the recordings is snail-like.
I met a guy at the exam named Peter. He used to work in New York City for a program like Teach for America. So we talked about all our favorite New York spots, and that was nice. He's going to introduce me to some exchange students from Washington state who live near Hamamatsu. Haha you have no idea how much I love meeting new people now... His friend also organizes English camps, so I might volunteer as a counselor for one of the camps.
After the exam, Otousan and Okaasan (my new ones, of course... the Kuritas) picked me up and we went to the Tohayashi Art Museum. (The exam was in Aichi Prefecture, the drive was really pretty, right next to the Pacific). We saw absolutely gorgeous kimonos... it's really too bad that the kimono is being worn less and less. If I were the CEO of a company, I would institute a "Wear A Kimono/Yukata/Hakuma (All traditional clothes) to Work Day" to encourage wider use of the clothes. They really are so elegant.
Then we had udon (noodles) and katsudon (pork cutlet) for dinner at a restaurant with a lady with gold teeth (thought that was important...)
This week, the Sri Lankan kids are coming for two weeks. That will be fun. Wednesday, I might be going to Shiori's school for a day. Thursday, I'm going to the Suzuki car factory. Saturday-- MOUNT FUJI! I absolutely adore Mount Fuji and jump at every chance to get close to it.