Hello!

My winter holiday in Japan was not disappointing at all. Christmas and New Years are very different here. Christmas Day is not actually celebrated in Japan. Instead people eat Christmas cake on Christmas Eve. My host mom Made the cutest cake! It was delicious.

New Years Eve and New Years Day are also different in Japan. On New Years Eve there is a special countdown much like the ones in Canada with a live concert. The concert consists of a balance of new music and new artists as well as old and more traditional ones. Once the countdown is over everyone goes straight to bed because the real celebration is on New Years Day. One New Years Day, everyone in the family gathers around for a special "brunch". There was so much food! After brunch we went to the small temple. It was a very interesting and different experience. I got to make a wish and shake a big rope with bells on it. I also got a slip of paper with my fortune on it.

Another highlight of the winter holiday was that i got to see my host sister and her boyfriend who both live in Osaka. We had a great night. We went bowling and took purikura (a Japanese photo booth) and played in the arcade!

I also enjoyed skiing with my host family!!! TWICE! It was so much fun! I cant wait to go again.

Hello!!!


Time for a fresh update now!


First of all it is almost Christmas so.... Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!!

On to the update. I have been laying low for a while and enjoying my new host family :D I spend a lot of time at home just studying Japanese! I recently took the level 4 Japanese language skill test and I am excited to find out in February if I passed or not. When I am not studying Japanese I like to visit with my host family! Since my Japanese has been gradually getting better all I want to do is talk to people and I think talking is one of the best ways to keep the progression moving!



My birthday was a good day!! My host mom worked so hard making cake for me and all of my friends!! And then after that we went out to Karaoke!!!! And in the Evening I enjoyed a nice dinner with all the Rotary members! They gave me flowers and a cute new outfit!!!!







The day after my birthday my family took me to Nagoya! I spent the first day with my host sister and her boyfriend at an amusement park! We rode sooooo many roller coasters!! The second day we went shopping!! Because it was my birthday, everyone was buying me presents! I want to thank them so much! I loved everything!





Last week I went to Tokyo with my school! It was a great experience! On the first day I went to Uenokouen to see the zoo! Nobody from my class chose the same trip so I had to make new friends! It was fun!!





On the second day we went to make a traditional Japanese craft! It turned out so nice!! And in the afternoon I was reunited with my class to spend the remainder of the day at Tokyo Disneyland!









The final day I talked with my friend the entire way back from Tokyo on the train!! It was a great trip and it really helped me to break the ice!




These are some of my friends from class!!






This is my class teacher! Motoki Sensei

Hi all!

Hisashiburi ne?! (that means it's been a while hasn't it?!).

So much has happened since I last filled you in. I have made the change to my second host family already. I love them! They don't speak any English but it's OK because I am able to understand what they are saying now! Communication is difficult but I can do it!

This is my new host family!

Okay so update time... I was in a fashion show for snowboarding wear! SO COOL! I never thought I would be a model in Japan!

Also my previous host mother's brother's wife took me to see some traditional geisha dancing. It was beautiful to see! There were so many colours!

This is me and my first host mother

School is getting better and better all the time! Finally I am conversing with my classmates in Japanese! It is so great! I have made so many friends at school and outside school! Everyone knows my name! It's crazy! Also on Halloween I baked cupcakes for my entire class!

Soon it will be my birthday! I will be 18 and Rotary wants to celebrate it with me :D I am happy! And my host mom wants to make me a cake and have some of my friends over!

Take care until next time!

Konnichiwa!

This was a fun two weeks!

I was invited by the Rotary Club in Takaoka to participate in a festival! All of the other rotary exchange students were also invited so we got a chance to get to know each other better!

It was a lot of fun. We had to dress up in these outfits called Hapi (pronounced Happy) and push one of the traditional festival floats! Sorekara (and after) we walked around and visited all of the shops set up in a long street. There were so many people there!

After that I went to Tokyo for the weekend! Tokyo is AMAZING! there is so much to do! My first day there my host brother Hiroshi lead me around. We went shopping and went to Kareoke and out for dinner with his friends!

My second day in Tokyo, my friends from yokohama came to Tokyo. They took me to a theme park and out for lunch and shopping in harajuku! We took so many pictures!!

Woah! OK so i have been a little slow in updating this!

so on the 13Th and 14Th i didn't end up going to Tokyo... but i did go sailing! Horie-san (rotary member) took me and the American exchange student Mike, sailing! it was awesome! We saw fish jumping! it was very exciting!

My host mom took me to Kanazawaon the 15Th because it was a school holiday! She took me to The old ninja building and also a very beautiful garden

This weekend i went to Osaka and Kyoto with my host mom and her friend! We went to universal studios on Saturday in Osaka. It was so neat! everywhere you look is like the set of a movie.

Sunday morning we went to the Osaka aquarium!! It was beautiful!! I saw so many cool fishies! :P

Later We took the train to Kyoto! We saw some really cool temples and castles and walked around. The next day we went to more temples and then went shopping!!!! shopping in Japan is sooooo fun! There are so many cool things to buy! I am going to run out of money

Hey again!!

so this was a very very exciting weekend for me :D My host mom took me to Hakuba to see the mountains! We went with a group of her friends from her ladies choir. They were all very nice ladies! On the first day my host mom took me to the site of the 1998 winter Olympic ski jump!!! it was HUGE!

we went up and i got some great pictures and we even watched some people go off the jump!! I didn't know they could do that without snow but apparently they can. In the evening there was a concert at my hotel. It was great! We got all dressed up!! Everything was so professional and the musicians were extremely talented! WOW!

The second day we all went up the mountain! The view was amazing! Japan is so beautiful!

Next weekend I'm off to Tokyo!!!

I'll report back soon!!

Hey all!! so this was a very very interesting start of the week!! first off I bought a new cell phone!!! it is super nice!! And the instructions are in Japanese of course ha ha.

The next day was my FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!! I can't understand very much at all but i am trying. On my first day of school i had to do 3 speeches! one for the teachers one for my class and one for ALL the grade 2s(grade 2 is my grade which has 16 and 17 year old students). After school i went to my first Rotary meeting in Japan!! And i did yet another speech! ha ha Japanese like speeches i guess! Anyways i met the rest of my host fathers for the year there and they all seem like very very nice men!

After the meeting i went home to clean up and DRESS UP!! My host mom asked a very nice lady if she would help me wear my yukata! It looked so nice!!! We went to see the Owara dances which are very very famous in Japan! I was the only non Asian person there.. SERIOUS! and everyone wanted to take a picture with me! And the Owara dancers themselves came up to talk with me... not that they could say much.. haha.

The next day I went to school and then my host brother took me out for Kareoke!! which is an absolute BLAST! I have to admit that i almost did not try it but i am very glad i did! anyhow.. it is late and i am super sleepy!! OYASUMINASAI!!