Saturday, January 25- In America it was 4:30 AM when we had to meet, god everybody was tired but excited. We went to Dallas, Texas walked around in groups and then headed straight to Japan! 12 hour long flight. Really long.
Sunday, January 26- We got to Japan! We got our rail passes which took a very long time because there was a lot of information to be filled out, but me and some other students helped the senseis out so it went a little quicker than it would have been without. So when that was set, we all went to the 7/11 right then and there and sensei bought us dinner which for me was apparently what appeared to be cheese on top of potatoes and the cashier heated it up for me which was really nice and great.
Once we all got our food we started heading to the train which was so close to coming, and out of nowhere, I feel my pocket. I don't feel my phone, and thats when it hit me. I left it somewhere. I go crazy looking for it. Not even 5 hours in Japan land and I'm already losing one of my most important belongings, I was worried for nothing, apparently I put it in Rho's bag, so no worries.
So yeah, then we got on a train which took us straight to Tokyo and thats when we all ate our dinner. It was like less than an hour later and we had reached out destination. We had a short 5 minute walk from the Aomori train station and then had a group go in to a room where the hotel employees came in went over things such as how to do our bedm the wifi password and some rules. Then one of our senseis handed out presents to us from her friend Sue! They were so cute, we all got a personalized letter and a little present, it was lovely. After that both senseis called out our names for who's with who in the rooms and then we headed to our room whom of which is great! We have 4 bunk beds and they have these little privacy curtains where there is also a rectangular light on the side of our feet which is really for when you want privacy but also to do work when the lights are out.
We looked at then we all, except for Misha, went to the onsen upstairs where we took a shower and some of the other students went inside an onsen where I heard, was really hot/warmish but it was nice. After that, went back downstairs and went to sleep ASAP because we got there late and tomorrow we have to be down at breakfast which will be served at 7:30AM. I did some work on my chromebook and then fell asleep at like 1. Such a long day, and after a long flight, I, and we all, got some okay rest. It was magnificent.
Monday, January 27- Today I woke up at 6:15, I had my alarm for 6:45 but for some reason I woke up way earlier. Got ready for breakfast and then headed downstairs to eat. When we walked in there was a line and sensei gave up a breakfast pass which was a little plastic card which we placed in a little basket. We each grabbed our plates and there was quite the spread. I got my food and then a bowl of rice at the end along with my chopsticks and ate. It was good and we said thank you at the end to the cooks. We went to get our belongings and met back downstairs with our group ready to leave to get a Tokyo Subway ticket which is according to the ticket, is good for 48 hours.
blue train pass, whom of which the machine eats and then it goes on a little roller coaster to the other end you walk to and it just pops up. Cool little thing.
So we went from there and took a couple of trains to get to Odaida train station and that's when we walk to the TeamBorderless Lab Art Installation, and on the outside building was a huge ferris wheel, made me think of the one at Navy Pier in Chicago, ah...home. When we walked in we put our stuff in a locker which costs 100 and then we take the key with us and at the end will get the yen back. So when we got settled in and went through the waiting stage we walked in and there were so many routes you could take and its like they get prettier and more magnificent by the room. There were animals moving, all flowers and lights moving here and there up and down side to side. Absolutely magnificent, I couldn't get enough of all the lights and beauty that was created and they were all lights and digitally created. Like, whoever did all that is cool, real cool, great and smart and ahh so many good things. We had to meet back by 12, but me and my friend Grey were stuck at a show which we took like 20 minutes in line for so we stayed and it was cool. We sat in a net and there was a colorful light video with some dramatic music in the background it was great.
When we got back to the group we all then headed to the train station where we then took other trains to Ueno station for the To-sho-gu winter peony. When we got there, senseis got the tickets and we walked in and see these big big flowers and they have this little house that protects them from the snow when it snows, and it was a really beautiful of different colored peonies. It was really cold today, brought out the big gloves. As we were walking there was a haiku spot where there was different kinds of haikus, some weren't haikus but that's okay. I wrote one that says, "White sky, Alive flowers..., " and placed it right next to the others.
When we exited that area we entered the shrine place, it was golden and really big, but before that we visited a little wishing area where Jada did the ritual and threw her coin in. On the side near it there is a tree that mas been said to lived for 350 years! That was amazing to see and how they kept it up with sticks and such, is very smart, and then there is still a fire from an atomic bomb somewhere there too. It was really cool and educational to read the captions for every object that was there, such historical knowledge and its purpose in this exhibition really captivated my attention, it was great. When we were done with the bottom we went upstairs, a lady checked at our ticket and up we went. Same thing, no pictures... :( So when I walked in the first thing I see is this jumbo carriage, it was red and it looked very Chinese red and gold looking, even through we are in Japan, I just got those kind of vibes. It looked very royal though. In the back there was a timeline of his life and Japan's as well. It was very interesting and long, it went from left to right. Near that was the exhibition behind the glass of the clothing he would wear, his shoes and I believe sword as well. The other 2 that stuck out to me was a showcase of his 2 eraser less pencils that he used, they were neatly sharpened and right next to each other...Must have been real special. The other one that really stuck out was the one of literally, his whole desk. It looked a little bit rusty but has interesting designs around it. On the other side, there was writing in Japanese that they wrote such as in scrolls and then Empress Shoken's poetry. I couldn't read entirely everything but I did what I could and got a sense of what was going on. When that was finished we went back downstairs and headed to the outside and since we had an hour left, we decided to go down to the street shops, ameyayokocho. We were on our own for dinner and we were all shopping around, it was really fun to see all the kinds of vendors there are and the food, it all looked so cool and good. The one thing I absolutely love is when they have an item to sell, and they put like a mini exhibition of exactly what is on the inside and its like cool, you know exactly what you'll be buying. There were so many more stores, I was so excited, I love shopping but for some reason I didn't find much that was eye captivating. I seen anime stores, a whole bunch of clothing shops and malls as well as little restaurants who look really cute. So in the end I only bought like one mini key chain with a panda bear and some pink liquid on the inside as an omiyage for my sister, it was so cute.
Like an hour later we were finished and it was already dark, like whattt. When we were finished
Sky Tower- So then we took a train down to where the Tokyo Skytree is located in Sumida, Tokyo. Yokota 先生's friend came with us and she was a delight. So we all, 21 of us fit in to the elevator at once, it was pretty cool. It was such a big and pretty one too. and then went allll the way up. There you could see alll of Tokyo. I was really looking for a souvenir shop but I didn't see anythinggg, I got so sad. That was really not something I was all that worried about though. I really took a 6 minute video of the whole 360 view of the whole place. There were so many lights, it was so beautiful, I couldn't get enough of it.
Tuesday, January 28- Once again I woke up to my alarm at 6:45 but then booped it off and woke up at 7 AM. So I rushed to go downstairs to eat breakfast and then was all set by the time we had to leave. When we got upstairs there was a bigger line for breakfast than there was yesterday and I thought that was crazyyy, but there were about 2 of the tables that had gotten cleared out by the time we were ready to sit down. So that was all neat. Same spread as yesterday but it was still so good, it was okay. Then when we all finished we went downstairs and we waited in the lobby for everybody to come down before we had to leave.
It was sooo rainyyyy, I borrowed an umbrella. We went from our hotel and got down on the Harajuku station and walked to our right and there was the big jumbo Otori gate. Sensei told me to make a little mini history presentation about the shrine, as much as I remember and because I did my site report on Meiji! It was so cool, and then afterwards we took a group photo infront of the gate. As we passed it we were walking on the sides and along the path I saw the barrels! The barrels I saw photos on the internet of and they came to life, it was sooo cool. We were all looking around and I asked sensei to take a picture of me infront of the barrels, it was just really nice and they were all colorful and some on the other side weren't, those were even more jumbo and brown, a lot of them said from France, cool. Along the path there was soo many images with texts about the history of the Emperor Meiji and his Empress.
As we kept going through the path we finally reached the another Otori Gate.
So when the group finished and walked out we all went in out groups and we had until 12 to go out and explore. As we were walking back we could see that there was a museum! So we went and checked it out and it was ¥900 so after that was paid. I put my umbrella in a little place where all the other umbrellas where and I got a key for it so it was like a little locker for the umbrella handle, it was adorable. I never expected for umbrellas to be an important aspect of everyday life up to the point where they have like a spot for them to be put, before you walk in to a place.
As we walked in we got out tickets stamped so that we will be able to walk to the upstairs exhibition. Immediately we saw that we couldn't take any sort of photos/videos and that was a bummer. The first thing we saw was some display cases where we could see little figurines and this show case was for the death on Emperor Meiji and the day of his burial, how he was carried out in a big carriage with what seem to be a lot of ox carrying him away, and so many important people around him. There was many cool things about the shrine, maintenance and there was an exhibition of what the back of the Meiji Shrine actually looks like, it is way bigger than what reaches the eyes, and it was so cool how they a mini shrine which is to represent the one that's literally outside. I thought that was really neat.
Takeshita Street- When we finished we had an hour left so we headed towards the market places which is a lot similar to the one we went to in back in ___. It was rainy so we
Sushi- We were walking around and came to a sushi restaurant! It seemed very small but it was perfect for all of us. We did not have to sit all together as a group but we were divided into groups of 4 in different tables. We ordered our food from a little pad stand and it was so cool because it would tell us before the food was about to come and when it was going to come. Then one by one the sushi belt slid the food through, and to the correct table, and when we ordered some more food, the same thing happened. It was amazing. I feel like every table had their own little tower of plates stacked up and it was cute because the food was not expensive and it was the perfect place for a group of 22 people to go to and eat. It was great.
Samurai/Show- After we ate we took a short walk to this samurai show. There were a whole bunch of us and they had a little spot to put your umbrellas, so that's where those went. We were informed that we would have to split in to 2 groups and go at different sessions with different tour guides. When it was my turn they first had an exhibition of some samurai outfits which were really cool and then went up to see more items. Everything was in different rooms and it was mostly according to the kind of item that was put on display and with what kind of samurai it was representing. There were different rooms for kana swords, guns/rifles. The whole building in general looked old fashion, there were tatami mats on the floor.
Robot Show-We were in this really famous place where celebrities have gone and they have a whole picture of them, like the wall of fame along the entrance, pretty popular place. When we finally entered the space, there were sooo any lights, it was so colorful, it was amazing. Then we went and sat in our assigned seats, I was the farthest from the entrance meaning I was right in the middle so like I and the people behind e had the best view
Hachiko-We got off at the Shibuya station and then we went outside and then that's where there was the famous Shibuya crossing which was pretty cool actually, so many people moving in different directions and then there was also the famous Hachiko dog statue. Along with the
Restaurant- When we got to a train/mall station place, we all went our separate ways, this is when sensei gave us each 10000 yen to waste in total. I had 5 people in my group whom of which were Asia, Stephon, Ailsa, Grey and then it was me. It was such a pretty place, we were immediately served and when it was time to order I got the kids menu choose which then consisted of tenpura over white rice and then
Wednesday, January 29- So today I woke up at the right time when my alarm went off at 6:50 and was out . Went to the bathroom and brushed my teeth, changed then stayed in the lobby until we went upstairs for breakfast. Same breakfast
We had to pack
We took some trains to get to the shinkansen station. When we entered we used our rail passes to get through and then that's when sensei bought us bento! Which we really did appreciate. And there were some stores all on the same side which is where I was able to buy some souvenirs, so I was happy for that. Our shinkansen came at 10:50 and we were there about 5 minutes before that time because them kinds of trains are really timely. So I had seat 15E but I sat in 13 E, they were both window seats but I sat in the wrong one and the man that was checking everybody's seat called me out on it because there was a man that was suppose to sit here but he sat him at my original spot since nobody is there. So we were in the shinkansen for over 3 hours and when we finally were at our destination we stopped at the train station and then a shuttle bus took us to the hotel. It was so big and pretty. We sat on the side fro about 20 minutes. A hotel employee who turned out to be half japanese and half american, spoke to us in japanese about how the rooms work and dinner as well, then gave us our keys. After that sensei went over the whole showshowing situation and how they were only able to take a couple at a time
is going to be snowshoeing with who and at what time.
On our way to the other hotel
It was already dinner time so me and my group went down and they handed in the ticket and we all went dressed in our___ and then walked in to our seats. As we were walking you could just see how beautiful all of their food was, it looked so neat and delicious. Standing on our right were chefs, they were making their meals and then setting them out in the counter in front of them for people to grab and go. One thing I noticed right then and now was that there were a lot of female chefs and it was really nice to see that because now that I think about it, we don't really see a lot of the women in the kitchen tht fancy, or in general, yes there are some, but the ones in this kicthen were so happy when people took what they placed down and took, they said thank you to every single person as they took a plate. They are so in love with what they make and each and every single one of those chefs were just smiling and smiling and so were the waiters that were walking around. When it was my turn to go and get my food ...
Then I went down to our room and fell asleep immediately.
Thursday, January 30- Woke up at 6:25 just in case my 6:30 alarm doesn't cut it for me. Got dressed really good today and everything because I was one of the people that are going to be going to the 8:00AM snow shoeing with sensei and some more students, so had to be extra bundled as well. I put some stuff in my little backpack just in case,
Then I headed down for breakfast which starts at 7:00. We all ate good, we sat in a different spot too so that was fun. When I finished I headed to the fireplace at 7:30 kind of early, but that was okay I like being by myself sometimes, it's sooo relaxing. Later on everybody came and it was the same guy from yesterdays icicle and river tour at night! Hes so much fun, hes great. SO we moved to where all the boots arem then we put on
We ate lunch at different shiftsm mine was at 12:00 with other people. This lunch was already known becase sensei made us choose before, but we didn't have much time
Friday, January 31- Today I woke up at 6 AM unintentionally. It was my friends alarm that woke me up and at first I was annoyed, but then I thought, you know what? I’ll go to that onsen since I have a lot of time to spare. So I gathered my things, put on the yukata and the pants that go with it, then put the towel in a basket and headed my way. When I got there, there were some people in there but not a lot, there haven’t been a lot of people at once since we’ve been in Japan, or at least when I go there isn’t a lot. So I bathed, did my thing and when I was done I went to the onsen that was outside. So there are these sliding doors that separate the bathhouse from the onsen that’s outside and then in between the sliding doors are some towels. I’m not sure what their purpose has been put I used it on the first day to cover my hair that was up because it was raining. So I stayed in the onsen for a food 10 minutes. Just enjoying the breeze, when my body would get too hot I would get up, feel the cold breeze and then sit down. Arms up and stretch every now and then. The view was gorgeous, all y’all tress, it was also dark, there was no sun rising yet, just me my thoughts and dark nature. There was like 2 more people in there and everyone was doing their own thing, we was all cooling. I got out at like 6:30 and then proceeded to walk back through the bathhouse and made my way in to the changing area. I put on the yukata and then sat down by the mirrors and used the face and body creams that were there, it was very relaxing. It was my last day there so I might as well. So then I was done by 6:30 and walked my way down, I noticed I have been okay with being independent,
It was the last breakfast at the hotel and my group got there at like 7:15 which was late. Senseis told us to be there at 7, I was ready by 6:45 but I needed to wait for my whole group because we have the the group ticket thing to get in for breakfast.
So when we did get in for our final breakfast at that hotel, we drank some fresh apple juice that they had out and a lady was kindly handing them out. After that we made our way to the inside. We went to our table and then got the food. I seemed to grab the same thing as yesterday which was my pancake, bowl of fruit (obviously apples). I didn’t have much time to eat since I was late but I did get to finish all my food
After breakfast we quickly had to get up and out because there was a shuttle bus that was to pick us up at 8. I made it on time and off we went. The tour guide showed us more isicles.
We went up in one of those skiing things that lifts you into the air and takes you to the top of the hill. Yesterday it was by partners but today there was way more. It could fit like 30 people. It was great. The view was really beautiful but I could barely see because I was in the middle of the crowd. When we teacher the top, it was like Antartica
When we finished seeing the snow monsters we got back on the bus and then drove to a soba restaurant and right next to that restaurant was an onsen and omiyage place to buy souvenirs and was also like a convenient
pretty little things like
When we got to the hotel, there was a pony waiting for us. A lot of us thought it was a donkey but nah it was a pretty pony with a hulu looking skirt and a straw hat. Then we got in to the lobby.
Saturday, February 1
So apparently last night I went to sleep as I was trying to get some rest. I woke up at around 3 AM. and put covers over my body then went back to sleep.
For breakfast we had to be downstairs by 7 AM since we were the first group.
Once again, I was placed in a spot again where all the vegetarians eat. There were so many vegetables and the food just kept coming I was not able to finish it all because I just couldn’t, like I have my limits but I ate as much as I could. Even Yokota sensei was saying how I’m being very adventurous with what I am eating. I have to be completely honest I would never ever ever eat anything like that in the United States even if I was forced to for some reason here I am just eating whatever has been given to me and swallowed but I have not liked but finished because of leaving a bowl full of food which is sort of disrespectful here so that has been my motivation. My favorite food was the bowl of soup that contained a whole bunch of chopped up little vegetables, and then the drink being the apple/carrot juice. The soup was the last thing I ate and I absolutely loved it. I’ve never had such a great experience with soup and it was just great, like for real. I even finished the whole thing. When we were done with eating, we went back and there was a shuttle bus.
At night we went to the buffet. There was a buffet this time, I said some "I ain't eating vegetarian today" it almost felt like forever.
Weiss es the first bus
Then we went on one bus then a Shinkansen and then a little city bus that took us to the stop near where we went to see more
We ate and the menu was pretty almost always in Japanese. The English was mostly for the name of the food and the description was in Japanese. I got a bowl of pasta
The restaurant looked like something out of a vintage American girl doll movie.
So we waited for the shuttle bus to come back We ran to catch the train that goes to Aomori. Along the way. I saw a lot of couples along the way, they all dress really fancy. There were 2 in the train and they are so lovely. Just a cute observation I’ve been making since my days in Japan. When we got out of there we went down to the Shinkansen. For about 30 minutes and then immediately went down to the other train headed for hirosaki. In that train were a lot of young people. Reading from their fear they come from the school St.Ursula and Hachinoke Nishi. There were friends and when they leave the train they wave bye bye and then when they see them through the window, they say bye once again. It makes me think how they are really kind people and they are really close to their friends and family. If together, they all stick together and care for one another deeply. In America yeah we do the same sometimes. We
Sunday, February 2- I woke up at 5 today because I wanted to go to the onsen in the bus but I was like nah never mind, I’m fine so then I went back to sleep. we all woke up and went immediately to breakfast and once again it was a buffet! We showed our ticket pass to the lady before we all walked in as a group to go eat. This time we were categorized in to table, and I guessed those that wanted to move moved. I realized this here and now was all of our last meal at a hotel. I also realized that no matter which hotel its been at, I have been eating white rice everyday for every single meal and I have been loving it! I got white rice, salad, croissant, some egg, oranges and apples and my last apple juice from there. Something about that apple juice is just so magical, it takes so good like nothing else. We really do be eating good before the day starts. So when we finished breakfast we had to pack all of our stuff and meet back down to leave. When we were all there, the bus picked us up and this time they put all of our luggage in a different truck, which is because the bus is way too small for all 22 of our suitcases, so a little extra help isn't bad. So then we went on our way to the shinkansen station! Sensei already had our tickets in an envelope and he handed them out. It was a 3 hour ride, whom of which I did some work in. Then when we finally arrived to the station, we took the stairs and went down, and there was a bathroom place. This is where people go in to the bathroom and it just built the suspense of meeting our KJ Host Student. We took a group photo and on our way we went! Immediately we saw alllll of the host students and they were holding up a sign that said "Welcome ____". That is when I saw Ayu! Last year Ayu was in a different persons home, but I guest hosted her for one day in my school meaning that she followed me around for one day and then at the end of the day she returned to the host student. We really had fun that day, she really enjoyed herself, that's why we were both so excited to see each other. This is where I met her dad and he was so happy too, they were both just very happy to see me and that made me happy as well.
I had to make a quick stop to the ATM to get some final withdraws, and I have never used an ATM that is not of my cards company so I was kind of nervous. Ayu then changed the language to English and that was so nice. Then it did work, I got my money and was on my wayy. When we finally drove down, we went to their house and when I walked in, the mom greeted me with hajimemashite and somebody, tell me why, I had a whole panicking moment, but I said it back so that was okay. So we said our hello's and I took off my shoes before I walked in to the floor, something I'll have to get use to. I walked to the room that was immediately to my left and there was tatami floor and a little. I took our the omiyage I had brought back from Chicago and Aomori, Japan and gave them to them. They also had presents for me! I got a lunchbox that is similar to Ayu's, it came in a little bag and I also got chopsticks, and two bowl. They were all so cute! I really loved them all.
It was already pretty late so we ate dinner. I made my dinner too! It was a big sushi roll and I made it from scratch. The mom put out the rice for me to put on my roll, then I added egg and cucumber, no fish or tuna though. And then I had to fold it with the sushi maker roller. It was a whole feast and it looked delicious. My sushi came out looking like a whole triangle while theirs was all squarish but that was okayy it tasted really good! The second the mom was putting stuff in to my plate I had asked to go to the bathroom and that's when I broke down in tears. I was homesick. I missed my mother, I missed her food and the way that Ayu's mom placed it in to my plate was the same way my mom would, she would try to over feed me too. I missed my family, my father as well as all 4 of my siblings. I just couldn't resist the tears. After like 5 minutes I had to go back to the dinner table and eat. I apologized for leaving like that but they said it was fine and that they hope I will be okay. I stayed strong during the whole dinner, it was so delicious.
After dinner we went in to the room I would be sleeping in and the mother brought in so many blankets and one big bed comforter at the top and placed them on the floor. Me and Ayu's were right next to each other. Back in school in America, our teacher would say that we should be prepared for the cold temperatures that happen at night, but they had a heater at the top of the ceiling which had a remote controller to it, so it was pretty warm. So this is when I had some time to relax I texted my older sister after dinner and she gave me some comforting words.
After this I was starting to feel weepy again so Ayu kindly brought me tissues and set the trash can next to my pillow just in case. I love her so much. So after such a tiring day I finally was able to get some rest and go to sleep, waiting for whats in store for tomorrow.
Monday, February 3-
Today I woke up at 5AM. Last night I was working on my presentation but I fell asleep around 10pm. I was so exhausted from last night because I slept at 2AM to catch up on blogs
I ate breakfast, it was like a feast. There was a big piece of bread, bigger than my hand. It was baked and the mom put out cheese on it. It was so good! Then there was also soup, potato salad and I drank an orange juice. It was great! I still have to get accustomed to not being awkward when I say gochisōsamadeshita which is what Japanese people say after eating as thanking the person who made the food. When I did say it though, bird parents said hai as in no problem/your welcome! It was great. After breakfast me and Ayu quickly had to change and her father was outside in the car. So we left for school at 7:30. We then drove to Nagaoka train station and then I used my train rail pass to get through and then once we got on the little JR train I saw them, a whole bunch of the high school students were already on the train. I thought we were all going to the same school but then I saw some get off at different stations and then noticed they are all wearing different skirts, meaning they are going different ways. Our school is a 40 minute train ride away and today I got to sit! So in the meanwhile I was working on presentation materials independently.
When we finally reached the end of the train station, we got on a bus which was free for the high school students and only for them but the man knew I was from a different school, maybe even from a different country, so he let me in like that. So me and Ayu sat all the way in the back and when it was time to get up, those that were standing got off first, and then it was the ones that were in the back and everybody waited and waited as it went along the lines of the bus. They were very patient.
School- When I entered the school, it was really cold!
Since it was Monday, today after school was Tea Ceremony Club! It is something we do back at home every Wednesday and I am a member. We all had to sit on our knees. The whole thing was different though, the main instructor was an elder lady and she was wearing a whole kimono, she looked really beautiful. The students were the ones performing the whole ceremony though. The one making the tea with all of the instruments kept speaking to the girl that was sitting on our side. There was a lot of bowing and we ate matcha mochi! It tasted soo interesting. I didn’t really like it but I had to fight through it since I didn’t know what else to do with it. We all drank the tea and at the end they offered for 5 people to make tea. I wanted to go but I let someone else do it instead. We watched and it was pretty normal and when we left, I saw the room where they make the tea. There were sooo many bowls and tea and it looked like a pretty fun little room.
When we left the school we got on the little bus! It took us straight to the train station. I saw like 6 more of my high school friends as we were leaving. I love seeing them, being in a school with a whole new world, different rules, and people, it’s just great seeing my people and especially the senseis too, it’s great.
We went into a waiting room and waited for the train to come. When it was coming, we came out and somebody pressed the door open and if you’re the last one getting off, you have to press the button again to close it shut. That’s something new too. At home, the doors just pop open and if you’re left out then dang that’s tough, you’re left out.
On the train was one of my school friends Jack. It was him and 2 other boys, one was his host student, so they were cool to chat with. It was nice being able to interact with friends outside of school. We all got off at Nagaoka station, and then Ayu’s dad picked us up. We then went to the supermarket! Its name is marui, Anddd that’s where I bought a lot of things. Even though it was a place for food, I bought like a whole 2 bags full with a bunch of snack
We did せつぶん which is where they throw beans to the año which is devil in Japanese. You throw the beans for good fortune. It was funny, the dad was trying to block the peanuts with a stick, looked like some sort of kung fu. It was really fun though. When we finished that, we picked up the ones that we threw on the floor and then ate them! They weren’t dirty though because since it is a peanut, they are covered, and I love peanuts so I ate a bunch.
So after this we ate dinner which were some leftovers from last night and then more rice, yay! So then after dinner I stayed up working on my presentation for tomorrow which is about Saint Valentine's Day. Ayu was so helpful in the process. She heard me say my presentation and she helped me! It was super helpful because now I had learned the newer and even better ways to say what I wanted to say. After a while, I finished, got up under the 2 layer of sheets and slept myself away.
Tuesday, February 4
Worked on the presentation until around 12 then I fell asleep. This morning Ayus alarm woke me up, but she kept snoozing it which I loved but then when it would sound it would get louder...then Louder...And LOUDERRR until finally it woke us up.We ate breakfast and headed out as soon as possible before 7:30 because the train arrives at 7:47.
When we left the home we took a picture! Daily picture before leaving snow and it was snowing! Ayu said it would be cold today and there was a little snow. Luckily I brought my boots. They’re actually my sisters and at first she didn’t want to hand it over because it was snowing in Evanston but she did and I really appreciate it and really have been using them like daily in this cold weather.
Today was gym class with Ayu! They don’t have locker rooms, the girls changed in the classroom and the boys outside. It was only the second year that I was having gym class. Those from Evanston went upstairs and started playing badminton and then went downstairs to play volleyball and basketball. After a while of playing badminton I went downstairs to see the basketball game. One of our students was really tall so he really scored easier. It was fun to see both school teams play together. When the bell rang it was the students that picked up the equipment. In our school it's sometimes even extra credit if you do that, but they do it because they have to and it's just really nice.
Today we also had our all slideshow presentations, they were so much fun, not just mine but everybody else’s. The students were really participating and it was fun to see when the other groups would get everybody’s attention and it would be active and ah it was just great. My presentation went better than I thought, I memorized more than I remembered and then we had a quiz at the end of ours and we had the students call out the answers. So it was good to just know that they were listening and were able to answer questions from a short test.
This presentation really got a lot off of people’s chest, it's over so I didn’t have to go home and sleep that late today. It was a good day and I am really looking forward to tomorrow.