i can write a paper in japanese!!

Granted, it’s at like, a second grade level.  But it’s definitely a start.  Trying to express college level ideas when you have a second grader’s writing skill is extremely difficult.  But I think we’re getting better.  I think I’m beginning to think more in Japanese.  Some of my classmates write the paper in English and then translate it into Japanese, but I don’t’ feel like I can do that.  I have to write it straight in Japanese from the very beginning.  I hope I’m getting better at this language.  In two weeks our program in Japan hits the half-way mark, and it doesn’t seem like we’ve been here for a month and a half or however long it’s been.  Why is it that the Japan portion of the program goes by so quickly when the Hawaii portion seemed to drag on and on?  I’m so puzzled.

On the 28 we’re going on a field trip!  We’ll be going to Kobe, Hiroshima, and Kyoto.  It’s going to be very exciting, and our sensei said we’re going to be staying at very nice places, and we have to thank Papa Freeman for giving us so much money.  I fully agree o.o  But I emailed Sayori and she said we’ll probably be able to meet each other in Kobe because she doesn’t have classes on Fridays.  Happiness!!!!  I haven’t seen her in such a long time, and I’m sure her English has gotten really good, and now that I can speak at least a little Japanese, we should be able to talk to each other :)

This week went by really slowly, but it seems like it went by kind of fast.  That’s really strange to say.  We had a lot of fun at fight club on Tuesday.  Ele and I went, and we were practicing how to defend against a katana attack, and we were working with Takashi Captain the whole time.  In the middle of practice he said we were going to take a break and we started practicing Aiki, which is this method where you use as little energy as possible.  It’s really all about taking the energy that your enemy is using to attack you and redirecting it to use against them.  It’s sooo much fun, and Ele and I ended up just scrapping, and whenever we would get into a certain position Takashi Captain would come in and show us a move we could do to get out of it.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen him smile and laugh so much.  It was really fun :)  But, Tuesday is the only day we went ^^;  I feel really bad about that.  Oh!  Thanks to fight club, I can touch my toes now!!  It’s very exciting.  I like it a lot, and I hope I can find a branch of it in Hawaii, because I’d love to continue it.  If only I could remember the moves correctly…

On Wednesday we had a ninja party for Ele!  It was really fun, but we got all wet and cold going to pick up chicken and her cake.  We did end up having a lot of fun though.  Then after the party Tyler wanted to play ninja, so we turned off the lights on the second and third floors and were hiding from him, but the sensei saw and thought it was the crazy old lady again.  So… we don’t get to play ninja anymore.  But we HAVE discovered that for seemingly no reason at all, Japanese people pop fireworks in the summer, just because.  Not anything big like we have at home.  Mostly just sparklers, I think.  But we’re doing fireworks next weekend with our Japanese friends :)

Also, we found a little arcade down the street a while ago, and I keep winning the racing games, which is a little unsettling, because I’m playing against people who actually have a license…

We went to talk to an English class too.  They were so nervous.  I swear, there’s like thirty people in that class, and three of them are girls.  That pretty much explains the whole demographic of the school, actually.  On Monday we’re going to sing karaoke with them, but only English songs, because their teacher said so.

Everyone is trying to get all their homework done tonight because we want to go to the ninja castle temple tomorrow :)

Jaa <3

look what i can do!!

先週(せんしゅう)の火曜日(かようび)の夜(よる)カラオケ(からおけ)をしました。日本人(にほんじん)の友達(ともだち)とロブ(ろぶ)さんとカラオケ(からおけ)に行きました(いきました)。午前(ごぜん)１２時(１２じ)から４時(４じ)までカラオケ(からおけ)をしました。カラオケ(からおけ)はとても楽し(たのし)かったです。たくさん日本(にほん)の歌(うた)があります。アメリカ(あめりか)の歌(うた)もあります。日本人(にほんじん)はアメリカ(あめりか)の歌(うた)が好き(すき)ですけど日本(にほん)の歌(うた)の方(ほう)が好き(すき)だと思(おも)います。私(わたし)も日本(にほん)の歌(うた)の方(ほう)が好き(すき)です。歌(うた)ったあとでこの写真(しゃしん)を撮(と)りました。私(わたし)は日本(にほん)に来た(きた)時(じ)からカラオケ(からおけ)をしたかったです。日本人(にほんじん)はカラオケ(からおけ)が大好き(だいすき)で私(わたし)も大好き(だいすき)です。日本人(にほんじん)にとってカラオケ(からおけ)はとても大切(たいせつ)です。自分(じぶん)の歌(うた)が下手(へた)でも大丈夫(だいじょうぶ)です。みんなはとても優しく(やさしく)勇気付けます(ゆうきづけます)。カラオケ(からおけ)は人間(にんげん)関係(かんけい)を良く(よく)します。誰(だれ)もがカラオケ(からおけ)でハイテンション(はいてんしょん)になって雰囲気(ふんいき)が良い(よい)です。カラオケ(からおけ)は楽しく(たのしく)友達(ともだち)を作る(つくる)ことです。これは日本(にほん)の良い(よい)ところです。私(わたし)は新しい(あたらしい)日本人(にほんじん)の友達(ともだち)が好き(すき)です。私(わたし)はまたカラオケ(からおけ)に行きたい(いきたい)です。カラオケ(からおけ)も私(わたし)の研究(けんきゅう)に役立ちます(やくだちます)。早く(はやく)読む(よむ)練習(れんしゅう)に役立ちます(やくだちます)。




Translation:
Last week Tuesday night we did karaoke.  We went to karaoke with our Japanese friends and Rob.  We did karaoke from 12:00 AM until 4:00.  Karaoke was very fun.  There were many Japanese songs.  There were also American songs.  The Japanese like American songs, but they prefer Japanese songs.  I also prefer Japanese songs.  After we sang we took this picture.  Ever since I came to Japan I wanted to do karaoke.  Japanese people love karaoke, and so do I.  Karaoke is very important to Japanese people.  Even if you are bad at singing, it's okay.  Everyone is friendly and encouraging.  Karaoke is a good way to develop human connections.  Karaoke creates high tension and a good atmosphere.  Karaoke is a fun way to make friends.  It is a good point of Japan.  I like my new Japanese friends.  I want to go to karaoke again.  Karaoke also helps me to study.  It helps me learn to read quickly.


I write like a second grader, yes.  But I can write!!

sleep is for SISSIES

I love going to that preschool. I also really love fight club.

On Friday after preschool I didn’t go to fight club because I was pretty exhausted.  But that night a bunch of our nihonjin friends came over and I did nails for everyone :)  It was really fun.  Their nails are amazing. I’m very proud of myself, if I do say so :)

On Saturday night we had a movie night!!  Ele and Sher and Tasha and Marikriz and Rachel and John and Tyler all went into Tyler’s extra room and watched Pocahontas.  It was sooo much fun and we were all laughing.  And apparently, Marikriz was telling people that when we went to the onsen I looked like a water nymph, so now everyone is calling me a beautiful water nymph.  It’s kind of funny, actually :)  So when Pocahontas jumped through the waterfall they went, “Ohhh, it’s Nai’a it’s Nai’a!!”  Then some people went up to their rooms and some of us stayed down in the room.  It was almost like having a sleepover.  Sooo much fun.  Then the next morning I woke up to call people, but my phone card ran out of minutes, and it made me sad :(    All of Sunday was spent on homework.  Kind of.  I personally kept getting distracted by youtube and That 70’s Show.  Tyler and John and I ended up in the lounge at like, 2am.  We finally found out how to make the Skype credit work, so I got to call my mommy for mother’s day :)  So much happiness.  Anyway, I ended up staying up all night doing homework.  I finally went downstairs at like, 7:30 in the morning or something, and when Ele woke me up she was like, “It’s 10:30, we gotta get to class.”  And I pretty much freaked out, threw on whichever clothes I found first and ran to class.  SO much panic.  Then during lunch I came back and took a shower because I felt gross and then we went to go pick up our alien registration cards :)  Now I can get a cell phone!!  We asked Fudano Sensei and she said she’d get info on AU and SoftBank so we can compare the two and pick which one is better.  We went to a store near the city hall and got aprons for our cooking class and super soft pillows that will feel amazing when we sleep :)  So much happiness.  I didn’t go to fight club today because I’m running on 3 hours of sleep and almost no food, and was sure I would faint if I did go.  But I’m definitely going tomorrow.  I miss it.  For tonight, I’m going to take a nap, eat dinner, and do homework.  That’s the plan, anyway.  :)

Jaa <3

back to the real world…

I’m really bummed out that Golden Week is coming to an end :(  It’s been so nice to not have to do anything at all.  And I really mean that.  Like, after we went out to lunch with Rob-san on Saturday, we did absolutely nothing for the rest of the day.  And Sunday.  And Monday and Tuesday too.  We really didn’t do ANYTHING.  But then, these past 24 hours have been pretty packed with amazingness.

We were waiting around for the Tokyo people to come back on Tuesday night., just waiting and waiting and waiting.  Kazuki and Keiichiro showed up and they were hungry so we went to Keiichiro’s house to have noms.  He made us okonomiyaki and there was also this soup that tasted kind of like curry that was really spicy.  And then we went to the conbini and had ice cream :)  I swear, I eat WAY more ice cream here than I do at home.  I think because it’s so easily accessible. 

When we got back from Keiichiro’s house Hideki was here.  And then more and more nihonjins just kept showing up.  And then Rob-san showed up.  And I was thinking that it was all a coincidence that all our friends finally showed up again on the same day, but apparently the people that had gone to Tokyo had planned a karaoke night but no one told us.  Then the Tokyo people came back, and we were all SO HAPPY to see them.  ^.^  I’m really glad they came back :)  And then we all went to karaoke.  Our nihonjin friends put us all in their cars and we drove to the karaoke place, which was like, 5 minuets away.  By car.  Then we sang karaoke.  From about 12 to 4 in the am.  It was absolutely AWESOME, AND I sang Japanese songs.  Lots of Arashi.  I really really loved it :)  It’s totally school related too.  It’s an exercise in reading fast.

We were supposed to go to the zoo the next day, except everyone went to sleep at 5 and woke up at like, 12.  So that was out.  But then we caught a train to the beach instead!!  It was really really good to be at the beach again.  I missed it so much.  But the water was FREEZING.  So I didn’t go swimming.  I did draw in the sand though, and we took lots of pictures on multiple cameras :)  We met these two high school girls too, because they kept looking over at us so we asked them to take a picture for us, and then they still kept looking over at us, so we called them over and talked to them.  They’re really adorable <3  Then when we were leaving the beach we saw them putting on these gigantor heels.  I don’t understand that... all the girls here wear high heels.  I mean, I know you’re short, but that can’t be comfortable...

We ate at this burger place for dinner that had fabulous Engrish, and then went to Baskin Robins for dessert :)  After that Takaki came over and brought as an omiyage.  It was mocha wrapped in azuki beans.  So AMAZINGLY delicious.  I love.  Then we stayed up really late and watched Anastasia and I painted nails :)

And now, I have school in two hours >.>  I want my vacation back.  We had so much fun...

bathing will never be the same again

I’m really really bad at updating this.  I was awesome at updating this when I first got here, but lately I’ve been lacking.  I’m sorry :(

Monday night was absolutely terrible xD  None of us did ANY homework last weekend, so we all stayed up suuuuper late to finish it.  I didn’t go to bed until like, 4.  But that’s also because I was talking to mommy and Falcon on skype :)  And then for our photo class we went to walk around Kanazawa by Maruei Market and Takashi came with us and we all walked around and took pictures.  And then Ele and Tyler went to the club but I was too tired so I never went.

Oh wow wait, I have to go all the way back to Sunday?  Damn >.>

Okay, well Sunday we went with Sari and Mami to Kanazawa Eki, where they have this huuuuuuge department store.  That’s the thing, by the way.  They don’t really have malls in Japan.  They have department stores.  HUGE ones.  Like, six or seven feet tall.  And there are millions of different shops and they’re just all spread out through the floors, and there aren’t really any doors to any of the shops.  They’re all just kind of big and open.  Some of them have walls, but mostly you just wander from one store to the next.  It was a lot of fun, and we ate lunch at this Italian restaurant where they had the most amazing honey toast.  So wonderful :)  I absolutely loved it.  And we had a lot of fun with Sari and Mami :)

And I don’t really remember what we did on Sunday night… hmm.  OH!! No, I remember.  Sunday night Savannah came over and watched HanaDan because she was watching the Japanese one and had nooooo idea what was going on.  I need to finish watching that with her.

I also need to clean my room.

So on Tuesday in class we were all completely dead from staying up super late and our Senseis were like, “O.o??” 

Then Tuesday was the first time I went to fight club.  Oh.  My God.  SO MUCH FUN.  I love it.  We did conditioning and stretches and stuff and I was in SOOOOO much pain for the next few days, but it was really awesome.  We were working on… taijutsu?  That day.  So, defending yourself when your enemy has a weapon.  Specifically, a katana.  Before we did that though we were practicing tumbling and doing all these rolls, and Ele wasn’t doing it because she was scared, I guess.  So, the one time she finally does a forward roll, she ends up kicking me HARD in the nose.  I was totally okay; no blood or anything.  But it’s just kind of suuuuper funny.

I love my club.  By the way.  They’re so very awesome.  I like them a lot.  When we’re in club they’re all really serious about it, but afterward they loosen up and talk to us.  We were talking story with them for like, an hour after practice on Tuesday.  And Mami is in that same club with us!! And girl is bad ASS.  I love it.  So we invited them to go eat sushi with us, and they were all, “Oh yeah, sure.  Tomorrow.”

So Wednesday after school we went to club again and we were practicing ON THE ROOF.  Barefoot.  And it was fine while the sun was up, because the sun was actually out, and it was a beautiful day.  We were practicing with these long spear-like sticks that were flattened and curved at one end, because it’s like a spear with a katana on the end.  Bad.  Ass.  But after the sun started going down it got really really cold >.>  And I think I caught a cold >.>  So after practice we were going to sushi but Takahashi Captain didn’t come with us.  But we went to sushi and it was super fun, and then when the bill came the guy that was highest rank TOTALLY snipped the bill and told us it was only 500 yen because the Captian had given him money to pay for the meal o.o  And he didn’t even go!!  That’s so ridiculously amazing.  We have to take them all presents on Thursday when we go back.  OMG.  So I was taking pictures of them with my DS and playing with their faces and put cat ears and whiskers on one of the white belts, and showed it to everyone and they all went “Ah, neko-chan neko-chan!!”  And he put up his hands and went “Nyan!”  And I died <3 <3 Sooo cute.

Thursday morning we left to go to Yamanaka Onsen.  I.  LOVE.  It’s so amazing there.  They picked us up from the train station and took us to the hotel, and when we got there we went straight to the onsen. I loooooove it there.  It’s so beautiful, and since I like being naked anyway it was totally perfect.  You go into the room and wash yourself, and after that you go into the hotspring, and it just feels SO wonderful.  All my baths from now on will be sub par. I really want to go back.  Like, right now.  And THEN we had this AMAZING crab dinner that they set up for us, and then they set up our beds for us and everything!  I went into the onsen three times while we were there.  It just felt soooo amazing.


Edit: THEN ON THE WAY BACK, I FOUND A PURIKURA BOOTH IN THE TRAIN STATION!!!!!  Apparently there's one at 109 in Korinbo too.  I will go.  With nihonjins.  It's my goal  :)

I’m so glad it’s Golden Week.  I want absolutely nothing to do with school right now.  Rob-san is bringing over one of his students in like, six hours.  And I think I should have at least four hours of sleep to be functional for that.  So, I’m going to cut this short.  And try to remind myself to update more often and more thoroughly.  I just have no time for computer-ing anymore.  Ele says it’s a good thing o.o

Jaa <3