After lunch we all headed to the New Zealand student classroom (a classroom just for us which is also known as seminar room 32). As soon as we entered, everything was laid out with paper on the desk and the calligraphy teacher waiting for us. Our main activity today was doing calligraphy and writing in Kanji. Writing in Kanji was really really hard, especially with ink and a brush . The teacher wrote our names both in Katakana and Kanji. Katakana was mostly easy because of less line dashes. However, kanji on the other hand was hard. At first trying to mimic the teachers exemplar was difficult but as I kept doing it, I eventually got used to it. I had managed to write quite a lot of stuff such as my name, my buddies name, my surname etc.
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| | Tanabata is one of the many known festivals in Japan. Tanabata represents the yearning of two star crossed lovers who separated after marriage and only the opportunity to meet each other once a year on 7th of July. Princess Orihime was a weaver who was lonely making her sad. Her father decided to take things into his own hands and arrange a marriage with Hikoboshi who was a cow herder. They both fell in love so much that they neglected their jobs. People got angry which angered her father causing him to separate them. Seeing princess Orihime sad lead to her father making this decision that they were allowed to see each other only on the 7th of July. This caused them to work hard and get their done as they patiently waited for this day to come. During Tanabata people make wished and tie it on the bamboo tree hoping that their wished can be heard. |
In Jishukan, the only day the students get a day off is Sunday. A Sunday for Jishukan students is considered a weekend. Lucky for us it was the 7th of July where in Japan it is the day of Tanabata festival. After spending time with my family, my buddy Rie and me caught a train to Hirastuka where we met up with all our friends. Here I got to meet some more new friends.
The first group of friends that I made were Rie, Issa, Mitsuki, Mahiro, Suzumi, Rena and Yuhi. These are the names that I will forever remember. They were all really knid and fun to be with as they always kept trying to know more about me as I was trying to know more about them. Interesting things I found out was that Issa has been to New Zealand and Australia for an exchange and he has really good English. Mitsuki loves tennis and has cute English. Mahiro is the scholar in Jishukan, he can speak English really well and in the future he wants to be a doctor. Suzumi loves dancing and we both love Kpop, Rena loves to play basketball and Yuhi loves baseball as he is huge a fan of Hanshin Tigers. This group of friends, I would never forget them as they were the ones who helped me the most in Japan.They treated me as part of their group. They taught me the everything from do's to the don'ts. We gossiped about Who is dating who and Who likes who. I made such wonderful friends, as were always there to help me out in times of need. They will forever be remember!!!
We walked to the mall where my friends took me to an arcade. My first impression was WOW!. I love arcades so this was like heaven for me. This arcade was really big and colorful. All the boys had a go to the claw machine, unfortunately no one was successful. After a while of roaming around in the arcade, the boys decided to have a competition with me at Mario cart. I was really fun and sadly I came third. | |
Overall today I made lots of new friends, I wore a yukata for the first time. Wearing a yukata is really hard especially if it is a windy day and you are walking. Bad experience. Some other experiences that I had was going to a haunted house. Initially I thought it was going to be scary but in reality it wasn't that bad. My buddy who was scared to go, ended up crying. If she thinks that this was scary, I doubt she would want to go to spookers in New Zealand. 😂
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Today, I got to experience a new culture. I wore a yukata for the first time, I walked for 8 hours and most important of all, I made new friends, whom I will forever cherish and remember.
Today was a Sunday. This meant 'NO SCHOOL!!!' 😁😁😁 In Jishukan, a Sunday was weekend for the students. The night before Okasaan told me " don't worry, you don't have to wake up early. You can sleep in". I am glad she said that as I was able to catch up on sleep that I missed out on over past 3 days.
Waking up around 9ish, I changed and had breakfast. Since, later on the day, my buddy and I were going to the Tanabata fesitval, we changed into Yukata's. After fully getting ready, we headed out. Otosan took us out to for a drive where we headed towards Odawara castle. The castle was sooo HUGE and BEAUTIFUL. After the castle sightseeing, we rested for a while. Following on from that we headed to a resturtant in that area that was famous for their Soba (cold noodles). It was my first time eating soba and it actually Oshii. I loved eating the tempura maybe it's cause I really love eating shrimp. Overall soba was pretty nice. During the meal, we got into conversations such as they were asking me about famous foods back in New Zealand to how I am finding Japan right now. It was cute to see my parents trying their hardest to talk to me. One thing that was amazing about Japanese was their excellent customer service. The lady forgot my buddies order and when my okasaan reminded her she felt so bad that she kept on bring free drinks and desserts. Even we we finished and was leaving, the chef also came out and apologised for their mistake. I was impressed at how good customer service in Japan is.
After lunch, me and my buddy separated from our parents. Saying goodbye to them and with only 3 minutes left, we began to run. I am going to say this a lot, but Yukata is honestly really hard to manage. Especially if you are running and the slit keeps opening up. Just barely making it to the train station, we caught the next train to Hirastuka, where our friends were waiting for us.
Wearing a yukata and walking around, I felt a bit awkward but my buddy told me not to worry as it was quite normal. One thing that I have come to relaise is that wearing a Yukata is REALLY DIFFICULT. I don't know how people in Japan manage that.
😂😂😂
The First day of school ended on a good note. Even though we were all half dead by the time school finished, we eventually got through it. |  |
 | After school, we headed for to the bus stop by school. It was cute how as we were waiting, Jishukan students approached us, started talking to us. Getting on the bus, we went to Aiko-isida station where we took the train to Oyama. When we got to Oyama, we were all amazed at the beautiful scenery and the many colourful shops along the way. Oyama is known for it's shrine as it is also referred to as 'The Holy Mountain' by the locals. |
Reaching the top, the one thing that went through my mind was WOW! The view from the top was absolutely amazing. I could literally see all of Kanagawa Prefecture.
I thought 'YAY, no more stairs' . Unfortunately I was wrong. We still need to climb more stairs to get to the shrine. At least it wasn't that long and bad. My buddy and Shareek decided to keep us entertained by having a race to the top. Shareek ended up winning but it was funny to see my buddy struggling to catch up. 😂 Getting to the top, we went to the entrance which was a Tori gate. There was a big circle in the middle, where Ono sensei explained to us that we need to pray they step over the circle to enter the house of the gods. Thankfully Ono sensei was with us to explain to us the rules and make sure that we do not do anything wrong. After looking around, and taking lots of pictures, we decided to head back to the cable car. From there we walked back down to the bus and went to find Memory and Yuki sensei.
After that LONG AND TIRING WALK, we headed down to a shop which was famous for their shaved ice. As soon as we walked into the shop everyone began to reunite with their buddies. However, for me, my buddy was with me the whole time so it wasn't much of a reunion. I can honestly say this but SHAVED ICE IS NOW ONE OF MY FAVOURITES! 😍 We decided to go for a strawberry flavour and honestly it was the best. No wonder this shop was famous for it's shaved ice!
After enjoying our shaved ice, we caught the bus again to the station. In the bus, we encountered grade 1 Jishukan students. They were soooo cute. Even though they couldn't speak English well, they tried to get into a conversation with us. The bus ride became more enjoyable as the students kept us entertained. Getting off the bus, we all said goodbye and headed our separate ways. My buddy and I caught the train back home. Afterwards I got more relaxed, we watched a movie and I got to know more about my family. I also got to meet her sister who came from Tokyo.
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Today was the first day of school. Even though I was physically tired, I was always mentally awake. I got to meet new people and experience Japanese culture. I am really grateful to be given this opportunity to be here because this is honestly an opportunity of a life time and I will forever cherish these memories.
😁😁😁
BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP!
That is the sound I wake up to everyday. Waking up was the most difficult part. The night before I asked my buddy what time she normally gets up and her reply was 5:30am. 😱. I am a person who has never woken up that early just for school. I am sure you guys can imagine how hard it was for me to wake up the next morning.
Lucky I had gotten up by 5, still half asleep, I got ready for school. I came out and was greeted with a smile☺and a Ohayo from my Okasaan. Placed before me was breakfast and I can tell you this. It was Oshiiii ! After breakfast, my okasaan handed me a cute bento. It was my first time getting bento. I was really excited for lunch to come.
Leaving the house around 6ish, we headed to the car Okasaan was going to drop us the train station. After 10 mins drive we had successfully arrived at the station. We then headed to aiko-ishida where we had to walk for 15 MINS just to get to school. My routine everyday was......
A 10 min drive, 30 mins train and 15 min walk everyday.
This is the reason why I had to wake up everyday at 5 in the morning. Even though most of the time I was half asleep, I had my buddy and friends to accompany me and try and keep me more alive while walking.
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First day of SCHOOL On SATURDAY. What can I say. It is completely different to the school that I have been attending for 5 years. For starters, we had school on SATURDAY. Arriving at school, I had to walk up flight of steps, to the very top just to get to my buddy classroom. My buddy first gave me a tour of the school then took me to the LOCKER ROOM. Following from that we headed to the cafeteria (yes they have a cafeteria and not only 1 but 2) where I met her friends Issa, Mitsuki, Takuma and Yuta. The first thing I notice is that they all walk in with books in their hands, studying before school even started. I doubt you would find someone in New Zealand doing that. I had gotten into conversations with them such as they likes and dislikes, what clubs they do and hobbies. |  Mitsuki (in the front), Issa, Takuma (by the door), Yuta (hiding behind Takuma) |
The first day consisted of us heading to the library where we introduced ourselves to some teachers and made some name tags. We were also given a tour of the school (my second time) then we headed to a 4th grade class where we had English with them. They were honestly so cute 😍 During this class we had a quiz where we had to guess the company based on the slogans. Finishing of the lesson, the class thanked the teacher and finally it was lunch time. This is something that I was looking forward to.
AWWWWWW! Is the first thing that I said as soon as I opened my BENTO. My Okasaan is so cute. She made me such as cute bento.😍😍😍 As soon as I opened it, I was greeted by a winking girl. The bento was not only cute but it was really delicious. Thank you so much okasaan
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Following our lunch, we were given free time so we decided to go and walk around. Yes we got a few stares her and there. However, they were not shy at all. They would come up to us, greet us and ask for our names. Slowly we were getting eased into Jishukan and the environment around us began to feel like home. We knew that these two weeks in Jisukan was not going to be hard because there was so many people who would be helping us and making us feel more comfortable.
Overall, with the lack of sleep and the tiredness, Our first day at Jishukan was fun and memorable.
Even though we had been travelling around Tokyo. That feeling still didn't hit me that we were finally in Japan. That was until it was time to get ready and go to the train station to meet Ono sensei.
It was finally time. After getting more freshened up, we headed to the train station making our way to Aiko-Ishida. At the train station, Ono sensei (a English teacher as Jishukan) was waiting for us. Seeing Ono sensei, It finally hit me. I was actually in Japan!!! and in the next few minutes I was going to come face to face with my buddy and her family. After meeting Ono sensei at the train station, we headed towards the school bus that would be taking us to school. It was around a 10 min drive but we eventually got there. We were all relieved since we had an opportunity to sit down after hours of walking and standing on the train. As the school was coming near, I was getting more and more nervous. We were going to meet the people that we are going to be staying with for 2 weeks. We had to make a good impression. I know that not only me but the other 5 applicants were felling the same things that I was.
Once we finally got inside, the first faces that I was welcomed with was Mai, Suzu and Ren. Seeing them made me feel relieved and happy. Walking through the corridor, I saw everyone one walking up towards their buddy and greeting them and I was just standing their awkwardly trying to find my buddy. The first thing that came into my mind was "I think my buddy forgot about me" 😂😂😂
2 mins later, I see my buddy running towards me with a big smile on her face. Seeing her made me feel relieved as she 'didn't forget about me'. After introductions we said goodbye to Mr Ali and the other exchange students and headed home.
The car ride was not as awkward as i thought it was going to be. To get the conversation started I asked her "what food she likes", "what is her favourite sport", "her hobbies" etc. I thought that we were going home. Instead my host mother took me to the supermarket. Japanese supermarket is similar to our normal countdown that we have in New Zealand. My buddy and her mum took me shopping where they bought some foods that I like. This was something that I was not expecting. During this they got to know my food preferences and the things that I like.
Afterwards we headed home where I met her dad, her brother and her dog (shokora). It was nice getting to meet the family. I found out that her brother is an Otaku so we bonded by talking about ANIME and MANGA. Her family didn't speak much English but it was cute how they tried their hardest to speak to me even if they were using the translator app. The rest of the night, I got to know my family more as they asked me questions and I asked them questions. Then I headed off to be bed as the day was really intense and was eager for the first day of school.
Overall, I loved my new Japanese family as they did everything to make me feel more at home.
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From last year, the things that we constantly heard from the students was "It was so HOT in Japan". They told us to take lots of summer clothes and lots and lots of sun cream. However, what we experience when we first landed in Japan was totally different to what we we told. Getting of the plane, it was not as bad as we thought it would. There was a bit of humidity but it was not that hot. Thanks to Mr Ali and his limited Wifi, I called my family and let them know that I had safely reached Japan.
Getting out of the airport is where the difficulty began. The time we got out of the airport, it was rush hour time. This meant that the trains and the buses were going to be really packed. Once out of the airport, we heard to the train station as from Haneda we headed towards Shinjuku which was one of the busiest places in Tokyo. On the train, we were getting pushed and pulled as we constantly had to keep saying "gomenasai"(sorry) to everyone we would push. Since I was carrying my 22kg luggage, it made things a lot more difficult. Arriving at Shinjuku, we had our breakfast/lunch which was udon. It was actually nice as it was one of the first Japanese food that we had. Following from that we walked for hours until we met one of my Ali's colleague. We took an hour rest and I am grateful that we did because we were all really tired. Following from our rest we headed to another train station to make our way to Mr Ali's hotel. Thankfully, this train that we took was not that crowed which meant that we were not getting pushed. At Mr Ali's hotel, we freshen us and had showers so that we look somewhat presentable when we meet our buddies and our host families.
The time had finally come where we had to catch the train to Akio-Ishida, where Ono sensei (a English teacher at Jishukan) was waiting for us. We were now finally able to meet our buddies whom we have been talking to for the past 9 weeks.
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😁😁😁
Saying goodbye is always the hardest thing to do. I know it was hard for me. Especially since it was my first time being away from my family for this long. ALONE 😱😱😱 . The time had finally come where my finally rushed me to the airport getting me ready for my departure. As we entered the airport, we met the whole group. Packed and ready, my excitement began to overflow. Saying goodbye to mys friends and family was hard because I was going to have to survive two weeks without them, especially my family. But I was excited to be introduced to a new family that would take care of me for two weeks.
In this 16 hour plane ride, I can honestly say that it was difficult. Me being a person that has never sit for that long, this flight became one tiring and difficult flight. Sleeping was also difficult as I became to reminisce the comfort of my own bed back home. But what can we do, part of this exchange is to experience new things and I can confidently say that I have now experienced a 16 hour plane ride.
AM I READY?
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The day has finally come. Today is the day that we are going to be sitting on the plane for 13 hours making our way to our buddies who are expectantly waiting for us. Early this morning my buddy messaged me inquiring about my flight and when I am going to come. She is so cute!
My packing...UMMMMM!!!
Eventually I got there. After hours of taking things out, putting things back in, I am finally packed. Now I am ready to embark on the journey to Japan. I don't know what I feel. I am excited and nervous. But then it still hasn't hit me that in a few hours I am boarding a plane. I am really excited to meet Rie and her family and friends along with finally being able to experience Japanese culture in person. This still feels unreal to me!!!
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