“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!)
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.
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