The day had finally come. Today was the day that no one was looking forward too. It was going to be the last time where I would walk up at 5 in the morning, get to school by car, train and walking and being greeted by the smiling faces of the students and the teachers. 

The school day began normally. I waited for ISSA at the train station and we both walked to school. ISSA is one of my best friends that I made in Japan. He is someone that I am never going to forget. Sadly, he was unable to come to the farewell party due to his badminton match. We had a normal school today, However, today everyone was going around giving gifts and saying goodbye to our amazing friends that we had made in these two short weeks. I wish we were able to stay longer! 

Before the photos even started, our faces were all drowned in tears. Saying goodbye is always the hardest part. Even though we were only here for two weeks, these two weeks were the best. As soon as we walked in to the cafeteria, we were welcomed with our suitcases on the side. That is when reality officially hit me that  I was going to leaving soon. The farewell party was fun where I got the opportunity to talk to my friends and reminisce all the memories that we made together over these short two weeks. Doing a cultural performance and giving a speech in front of everyone is what I was dreading the most. But I am glad that in the end everything worked out well. Not long after that I was drowned in tears while hugging Rie and saying goodbye to everyone. By the time we were on the bus, my was were puffy from all the crying. Honestly these two weeks felt so short. I wasn't ready to go back home. I am honestly grateful to be given this opportunity to come here as I made a lifetime of friends, family and memories. 

I am really grateful that I was part of this wonderful family. Everyone was really welcoming and loving as they treated me as their own daughter. They made me feel like a part of their family. The took me to a lot of places such as restaurants and lots of places to go sightseeing.

Daiki
Daiki is not only Rie's but also my older brother. Even though, I didn't get much opportunity to talk to him, the times that I did, I really enjoyed it. Daiki was a Otaku( a person obsessed with Anime and manga) so we were easily able to bond over manga and anime. I wish the next time that I have an opportunity to meet him, we can talk lots.  😭

Chiho
Chiho was Rie's older sister. I remember she came home the next day to see me. She treated me like her younger sister and it was easier to communicate with her as she knew some English. She is just a lively person and even though I hardly got to see her that much, the times that she was over, I really enjoyed with her. She even came to the farewell party to say goodbye to me 😭. We also played with fireworks together. 

Taku chan
Taku chan was Rie cousin. He was a person in the family who was able to speak English that is why we were able to bond and become friends quickly. At first it was awkward between us but eventually we became good friends. We had a lot of fun times together and i also gave him an English quiz where he did really good. 😭

Mama 
Mama, what can I say. During these two week with her she treated me like her real daughter. She told care of my needs, likes and dislikes and made sure that I was well and OK. Due to our language barrier it was sometimes hard to communicate with her but we both tried our best. Every morning, when I would wake up, breakfast would be prepared on the table and my bento would be made and ready. Mama was really lively and fun to be around. She took me shopping and sightseeing as we had a lot of fun times together. These two weeks were really short to express how grateful I was for her taking caring of me and making me feel like a part of her family. I am really going to miss her a lot. I wish I could have stayed with them longer. 😭

Papa 
PAPA. I became another daughter for him. He would always introduce me to his friends as his second daughter. Papa was always fun to be around. Every morning he would leave early to work but after schools he would be sitting on the couch welcoming me back home with a big smile on his face. That is something I am going to miss a lot. Papa was always making jokes and trying his best to talk to me. Even though language was a barrier, it was cute how he was using google translate to try and talk to me. Even though it was hard, we still managed to have lots of conversations together. He was sometimes joke around with me as he treated me like one of his real daughter. Papa is someone that I am going to miss the most. 😭

Rie
Rie, Rie, Rie. This is the name that I am never going to forget. I still remember how we were one of the first buddies to start talking to each other. The moment we had met, we had instantly gotten along with each other. She was like another sister to me. We have had many ups and some downs but in the end we always worked through it. There were times were we sometimes play fought with each but that is what sister do.I am really grateful that i had a buddy like her. She was an amazing buddy who was always looking out for me and making sure that I was OK. She introduced me to her friends and made sure that I never felt left out or alone during my time in Japan. At school she would always worry about me during the lesson wondering whether I was bored or not but I would always tell her that it is ok. Whenever we would go out with friends, she would always always worry about me and keep checking on me so that I don't get lost especially during Hanabi and Tanbata. It was cute to see her like that.  During these two weeks, I had made many memories with her that I was never going to forget.😭😭😭

Throughout my time here at Jishukan, I had made many friends whom I will forever cherish and remember. The first group of friends whom I would always remember is SUZUMI, RENA, MAHIRO, MITSUKI, YUHI and ISSA. They were the ones who helped me the most throughout my stay here. They made me a part of their group and made sure that I never felt times. We had many times of laughs and humor as these are some of the memories that I would never forget. 

Jishukan is an amazing school to be at. Every one was kind, friendly and really welcoming. They made us feel like we are a part of Jishukan. There was many things that I loved about Jiskukan students but one thing that I really loved was how they were soo nice and kind to us. Even though it was only two weeks, the treated like a part of their family. I still remember, when I would be sitting and working after school while waiting for my buddy, students would randomly come up to me and start talking to me. They made sure that I never felt lonely. My friends were also help hide me from the teacher so that I was able to sleep when I was really tired. I am really grateful for that. 

All the friends that I made over these past two weeks, I will always cherish and remember them. Thank you to everyone who has made this experience memorable and fun. 
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​We got home around 1 pm and honesty I was dead tired. After a HOT and RELAXING bath, I headed off to bed. Saying that I got enough sleep was an understatement. With only less than 3 hours of sleep, I had to wake up at the next day at 5 for a long and tiring day at school. Thankfully, my host mother was willing to drive us to school the next day so I got the opportunity to sleep in the car. 
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Overall today I really enjoyed watching the fireworks with my friends. I got to eat more yummy food aswell as getting to know some of my friends more. The memories that were made at Hanabi will never be forgotten. 

Today was Monday 15th of July. The 15th of July in Japan is known as "Umi No Hi" (Marine day) . This is a Japanese national holiday. For us New Zealand students instead of considering it as a long weekend, we considered it as a normal weekend. Why? because this meant that we didn't have to got to school for two days. The purpose of this holiday is to give thanks to ocean because Japan is based as an Island nation. Making use of this public holiday and no school, we had a cultural experience of Japanese sweet making. Today we were going to make transitional and famous Japanese sweets. ​​

​​We all went to Reo's house as his dad was a pastry chef, so he was going to teach us how to make Japanese sweets. Today, we were going to be making MANJU. This is a Japanese sweet with red bean filling. Before we actually started making it, we had a little bit of practice. Even though, we were not there yet, we started making the real thing. It was hard at first but eventually, it came around. I actually ended up making some good ones.

Reo papa, put the sweets in the oven and told us to wait. While we were waiting for our sweets to be made, Reo mama took us to their store. WOW! was all I could say. As soon as I entered, I was embraced with the smell of delicious mouth watering sweets. We were also given permission to choose a sweet of our choice. I choose a sponge cake, it was good. Once our sweets were done, we went back and packed the sweets. It was now time to head home and get ready HANABI
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THANK YOU TO REO FAMILY
for allowing us to come to their shop and making sweets. Thank you for teaching us how to make it and allowing us to taste test some.

When I talked to my buddy, I still remember that one of the first things she asked me was " Do you like Disney". I replied with a smiley emoji saying yes. I didn't know that she was planning to take me to Disney land in Japan. Some differences is that we don't have a Disney land in new Zealand and the second one is that they have 2 Disney attractions. One is Disney land and the other is Disney sea. My buddy took me to Disney sea. 

With less than 5 hours of sleep, I woke up at 4 the next morning. The night before my buddy told me, "Don't worry, you can sleep on the train and bus". So waking up early in the morning we caught the train to Ebina where my other friend, Mitsuki was waiting for us. Following the train ride, we got off and headed towards the bus that was going to take us to TOKYO DISNEY SEA. We also caught up with Yuhi and all 4 of us made our way to DISNEY SEA. 

It was my first time being at Disney land. I loved it. We stayed there the whole day where in the end I also got the opportunity to watch an amazing parade. I went on a lot of rides and personally one of my favourite ones was the TOWER OF TERROR. Even though I was really scared, it still really enjoyed. In the end of the ride, I honestly felt sorry for Mitsuki that he had to deal with me. Me being scared, held his hand very tightly turning it pink. Again I am really sorry about that Mistuki 😂
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Overall, today was a really really fun day. I went on lots of different rides, even some scary ones but it was worth it. Next time I come back to Japan, I want to go check Disney land out. 

Another cultural activity that was planned for us a tea ceremony known as Sado. Not only was it our first time but it was also our buddies first time attending a tea ceremony. 

Since today was a Saturday, school finished early. To make use of this early finish, we headed over to the tea ceremony teachers house. It was quite a long walk from school but we made it there eventually. Especially in this humid weather, by the time we had gotten there, we were all hot and sweaty. Once we got there, we got introduced to all the teachers and helpers. After introductions, it was time to change into our Yukata's. Wearing our Yukata's was something that we were all not looking forward to. Maybe because it was really hot and we were all crowed in a small room with a hot water boiler right next to us.  
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SITTING ON THE GROUND, ON OUR KNEES FOR 30 MINS was a really big struggle. I know that not only New Zealand students but also the Japanese students were struggling. Especially Satoshi, it was cute to see him turn red. Thankfully it was not that long so once we drank the tea and ate the cake and the ceremony was complete, we were given the chance to stand up. Everyone sighed with relief with the English interpreter told us that we can stand. 

Once the ceremony was complete, we were given to opportunity to make green tea ourselves and serve it to our buddies. It was a wonderful experience as I learned how to make green tea the traditional way. One thing about green tea is that it is really bitter. So drinking it twice was not helping. 😂

Translation: 
THANK YOU FOR THE MEAL
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​Cooking is another activity that we had during our time here at Jishukan. Even though I am not a good cook, luckily the food that I made turned out..... OK! (The only thing that I know how to cook is probably eggs and 2 minute noodles.) 😂 It was fun to cook with younger students as shockingly they were all better than me at cooking. This just made me realise how bad I am at cooking. I am sure that not only me but also the other New Zealand students felt the same way.  

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Overall, Today, I learned that I can actually cook (with the help of some friends ). I had a party with the student council and learned how to cook some Japanese food. 

​During these classes, the teachers would set out activities and lessons where we got the opportunity to interact with everyone. Some of the activities that we had were quizzes where Jisukan students only had to speak English. It was really cute when we did quizzes with 1st and 2nd grade students because they were not allowed to speak Japanese so they tried their hardest to translate it to me in English. 😍. The students tried their best to get to know us by asking questions. LOTS AND LOTS OF QUESTIONS, such as " Where do you live in New Zealand" , "what is your favourite Japanese food" " what are your hobbies" etc. Not only did we answer their questions, we also got to share things about New Zealand. Many students did not know about New Zealand. They were really interested and intrigued on the things that we were telling them. We shared the Maori culture. Me and Memory did a hongi as a demonstration. It was funny how the students were shocked and amazed at the same time. 
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I was really grateful for the students in all of these classes who were always helping me out and just talking to me. Getting out of my comfort zone, I had met lots of new people from the ages of 12 to 17, making lots of memories with them. 
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😁😁😁

Today, Jishukan students were having exams. Being a very loud group, we decided to get out of their way by going on a school trip that planned out for us. However, instead of just Aorere students going, our buddies came along as well. Along with Ono sensei, Yuki sensei and Mr Ali, Mr Pierce also joined us.  ​ After making sure that everyone was here, we headed off. During the ride everyone began to fall asleep. I guess we couldn't really help it especially when we would have to wake up really early in the morning everyday.  When we got inside, we had to cleanse our bodies. We did this by washing our hands with the water. By doing this it showed respect to the gods. I honestly didn't know what I was doing. 😅 Thankfully my buddy was their to guide me through the process.

Kamakura was honestly a beautiful place. There was a Buddha in the middle where my buddy told me to say "Daibustu". Daibutsu is referred to as a giant Buddha in Japanese terms. We had this amazing opportunity to walk inside the giant Buddha. After having our lunch, we walked to the rail way station where we were going on a tram like train. The tram was so cute. Getting off at the heart of Kamakura, the teachers gave us free time. We all were given 30 mins to do some souvenir shopping and go sight seeing.  It finally came to the hard part of this school trip. We had to say our goodbyes to Mr Ali and Mr Peirce. Mr Ali was going to be leaving us for the whole of next week. We all got really emotional as everyone tried to hold their tears back in. 😂 Especially Chris. Being the baby of the group, he was trying so hard not to cry. (I am sure he did after we all left even though he keeps denying it) 😂😂

After saying goodbye, we all went our separate ways. Luckily we didn't have any club activities today so me and my buddy headed home. 
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Overall today, I learned more about the history of Japan. I got to see lots of historical settings. I went to a Kamakura, did some souvenir shopping. There was lots of laughs and tears as we said our goodbyes. 
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😭😭😭