2/9-2/11

“Why fit in when you were born to stand out?” 

―Dr. Seuss

And We Danced- Macklemore (this song is only on here for the chorus because the chorus describes what the exchange students did on our trip!)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2p5-fxTgDNg

My host family is the most wonderful host family! Back at the beginning of my exchange Otousan and I went speed walking around the neighborhood and went to the top of the hill nearest our house. At the top we discovered a cute little restaurant with a  very nice owner who gave us a tour even though it wasn't open to customers at that time. Since then I have really wanted to eat there. My family made reservations for February 9th! We walked to the restaurant and got a table next to the window with a beautiful view! The lunch menu was pasta or pizza and it was delicious! After our meal we were able to go out into the garden area. My host family also bought me a pair of earrings from the restaurant as a going away present since I am moving soon. They are so sweet!

On the 10th I had an all day trip with Rotary to Ise Jingu. My day started at 6:30am and I didn't get home until after 11pm. The day basically went like this:
-sit in a tiny bus for 3 hours with a bunch of exchange students (eating sweets, playing games, talking, and jamming out to music) and a short break halfway through the drive
-visited the outer part of Ise Shrine (praying and seeing a sacred white horse)
-ate lunch at a traditional Japanese style restaurant
-20min of speed shopping in designated groups
-visited the inner part of Ise Shrine (praying, cleansed in the sacred river, touching sacred powerful trees, seeing two chickens in a tree, and crossing over a bridge made of recycled wood from old shrines)
-group pictures
-back to the bus for the drive home, another break halfway through (dancing and shopping), dinner on the bus ride home
Ise Jingu was interesting to visit because it is one of the oldest shrines. It is connected with deities and has a very important connection to nature. Being that the shrine is so old the design is a bit more simple than more modern shrines. The shrine is also rebuilt every few years so that the deity can move. The older shrines that are unused, since the deity moved, are taken apart and rebuilt into things like the bridge over the sacred river.

Monday the 11th was a national holiday so my host family and I went to see Les Miserable. I thought it was a wonderful movie! Very well done. We watched it in English with Japanese subtitles. After the movie we did a little shopping then returned home and just relaxed the rest of the day.

Overall I have had a very good past couple of weeks! It is crazy to think that: 1. I will be living with a different family soon (still not sure of the exact day that I am moving) 2. I am almost at my 6 month mark of living in Japan 3. I will be returning home in only four months! I have finalized the date and will be back home in Minnesota June 8th. The idea of going home is mixed emotions. My plan is to just keep living in the moment, experiencing as much of Japan as possible, and dealing with the emotions of leaving this great country as time gets closer for me to leave.

“How did it get so late so soon?” 

― Dr. Seuss

Sayonara from Osaka, Japan.

2/2-2/8

“You're off to Great Places!

Today is your day!

Your mountain is waiting,

So... get on your way!” 

― Dr. Seuss 

And a mountain is where I went! On February 2nd I went with my soon to be host dad and Vale to climb Mt. Kongo. It is the tallest mountain in Osaka, over 1,800 meters tall. Hiking up the mountain we took the difficult path which actually turned out to be literally climbing a mountain. At times there wasn't even a path, you just followed the red tape marks. We crossed a stream, walked on ledges overhanging massive drops, climbed up rocks, hiked through snow, ice, and mud, and stumbled over fallen trees... I was in HEAVEN! SO MUCH FUN! The day we went hiking was the warmest day we have had in a really long time- we were sweating by the time we got to the top. Once at the top we had a little snack and took some pictures. It was a little unfortunate it was so warm because there was also a lot of fog and you couldn't see much. The climb down we took the easy stair path which still turned out to be a bit of a challenge because it was covered with ice, slush, and mud at different sections on the way down. Thankfully we had special boots and spikes to keep us from slipping too much. It is safe to say that when I got home I was exhausted and sore!

The next day I went to a place called Round 1 with Mark and Ma-chan (my art teacher- Nishinaga sensei). Japan doesn't really have any open space for recreational activities. So, Round 1 is the place to go! We played soccer, volleyball, rollerbladed, batting cages, mechanical bull riding, etc. Then we went to Makudo (McDonalds) for a snack, quick stopped at a book store, then went our separate ways.

On the 7th I attending a Rotary Meeting. It was Jaimee's first meeting with us and it was a great meeting to be at. We were at a restaurant, the Rotary Governor told a lot of jokes while we waited for our food, and I didn't have to give a speech!

On the 8th, exactly one week after Jaimee's welcome party, English Speaking Club had a sayonara party for Mark. Mark's last day was very sad for me, he has become one of my best friends these past 6 months. It is strange to go to school and not have him there making his snarky Irish jokes. On the positive side Jaimee and I keep each other pretty entertained! 

Sayonara from Osaka, Japan.

1/26-2/1

Time still ceases to amaze me. Being an exchange student I feel like I have all of the time in the world- whether it is because I have a ton of free time or because I get to experience so much, I couldn't say. One moment I could be sitting at home bored and the next thing I know three weeks has passed and I realize I have actually been really busying doing things! That is the case since the last time that I blogged. My solution for this long time gap is to have a separate post for each week so that I can break down what I have been up to lately.

“If things start happening, don't worry, don't stew, just go right along and you'll start happening too.” 

― Dr. Seuss 

The week of 1/26 to 2/1 had a pretty surreal  "where one 'life' ends another begins" feeling. On the 26th I had to say goodbye to a fellow exchange student friend. She was here through a different exchange program that only lasts for 6 months. While the actually saying goodbye part was hard, we threw an amazing sayonara party. The day started with all of the exchange student friends meeting in the city and doing karaoke (it was my first time!). A couple of things to note about this: 

1. Exchange students are AMAZING at karaoke... 

2. As exchange students we were able to sing in multiple languages!

3. We were put in the Ethnic Room. Coincidence? 

After we sang for a few hours we met up with a teacher and some kids from their school (I was the only one from a different school), making our group around 20 people, and went to Okonomiyaki. So tasty!

The 27th was the exact opposite kind of day. Mai and I went to Mami's house to welcome Jaimee, the newest addition to our Rotary Exchange Student Group (*Mami is leaving for her exchange to Australia in March and Jaimee is from Australia). We listened to a lot of K-pop, played cards, and ate a lot of sushi!

On the 31st we had the finals for our mini soccer sports festival. It came down to my class being tied for first place! Unfortunately we weren't able to pull off a win during the PKs, putting us in second place. The great thing about Japan is that no one was sore about losing. Everyone was just happy that we got to play and that the weather was really nice for our games!

The English Speaking Club at my school held a welcome party for Jaimee. The party basically consisted of us eating a lot of Japanese snacks and speaking English- not too shabby!

Then I got to go home and eat cake for my host sister, Hiroko's birthday! The funny thing is Hiroko is actually in Minnesota right now on exchange- so we took pictures and video of us singing happy birthday to her with her cake. The cake was a delicious chocolate roll cake with whipped cream and cherry (probably) filling.

Sayonara from Osaka, Japan.