Going home. Day 13

Saturday, July 21st:

Today, we had free time in the morning, before leaving after lunch. Kayla and I and a few others just walked around Osaka, enjoying our last hours in Japan. We came back to the hotel to have our bags checked into the bus.

While we were waiting around, I saw a mother, and 3 children walk across the lobby by us. One was a baby in a stroller, and the other two were little boys, I would guess about 4 and 2. I could tell that the 4 year old boy was staring at me, and he tugged his mom's hand. He whispered something in her ear, and she chuckled and stopped by me. The little boy looked at me and said, "Hello, what is your name?" in English! I told him, and he started asking me a bunch questions in English, that his mom would whisper how to say in his ear. He asked where we went in Japan, and if we had fun, and I answered in Japanese. The 2 year old looked just as interested, but much more shy.

When they had to go, I asked if I could have a picture with them! :) I tried to say something to the younger boy, but he hid behind his mom! Haha. But he wanted to be in the picture anyway. :)

Me and the little boy who talked with me! :) And the shy boy, and baby on the right!♥

After gathering, we had lunch in the hotel. We had some really tasty chicken, and it was a good last meal in Japan. We got on a bus, and rode to the airport to come home. :(

Our lunch, yum!

WE DON'T WANT TO LEAVE!!!

It has literally been a longer day than usual, and I am extremely tired. It's Saturday now, but I'm leaving for Italy on Monday! Ahh!

Chilling in Osaka. Day 12

Friday, July 20th:

This morning we left Kyoto and headed for Kobe/Osaka. We visted a Kobe Disaster prevention center, like the one in Tokyo. This one was more focused on the earthquake from 1995. It was really interesting!

Then we went to the Osaka Castle, and had たこやき(octopus)!! It was really good!!! We went into the palace, to the 8th floor, and out on a deck. It was really pretty! Such a great view.

Outside of Osaka Castle!

Lunch!! :d

The palace!

A closer view.

Serina and I, at the top!

Panoramic view! 

Another view

Then we checked into our hotel, and went to a Kizuna debriefing meeting. We did a questionnaire, discussion, and presentation. I was on of the presenters again, with Tom. It went really well. :)

The meeting room

Dinner! Curry rice is sooo good!

We ate dinner, and we were free for a couple hours to roam around the area of the hotel before room check. I taged along with Tom, Emily, and Abby, and we found a ferris wheel. We went on, and got a wonderful view of the city. It was super high!

A view of Osaka from the ferris wheel

And again.

Next, we looked for Karaoke, but it was too long of a wait for a room. We were heading back to the hotel, when we happened upon Adam, Tara, Lauren, and SETSUNA!!! She was the Kennedy exchange student last year!

She brought two of her friends, Anna and Kurumi. We walked around and found a Dance Dance Revolution machine outside of an arcade, and I played with Anna! It was so fun! We walked around more before going back to the hotel. We said goodbye to Setsuna and her friends, and took pictures with each other.

Anna and I playing DDR! :)

Setsuna, me, and Anna!

The whole group, minus Kurumi. She had to leave early :/

I wish it wasn't my last night in Japan. But this trip has been wonderful. I am coming back for sure. I have so many friends here, new and old! I will miss Japan!!

Nijojo, Golden Palace! Day 11

Thursday, July 19th:

Today, we had a hotel breakfast, then went to the Nijo Castle. It was very cool, but unfortunately they did not allow photos to be taken on the inside. On the bright side, I finished buying souveniers at the gift shop there!

Nijo Castle! No pictures of the inside :/

A pond outside of the Nijo :)

Then we went to the Golden Palace, which was so pretty! The entire grounds were beautiful too. After that, we had lunch, and went to an outdoor mall and had freetime for a couple hours. Alyssa and I found a store that carries K-POP merchandise! It was so fun, because there's nothing like that in America.

The Golden Palace!!

Our lunch! Sushi and Udon noodles :)

The K-POP store!

Next, we went to a Manga museum, which I enjoyed a lot. I've never read Manga before, but it was still cool. I picked up an English version of 花ゆり団子(Boys over Flowers), and started reading that. It was super good, and now I want to read it when I get back to America!

After that, we returned to the hotel, went to dinner, and then had more freetime in the area. Kayla and I went to a Ramen shop, and then just walked around a big mall.

Cool stairs at the mall!

Movie poster for Brave!!!

Then I did a lot of packing. Tomorrow we leave for Osaka. Tomorrow's our last night in Japan. :(

Leaving Kofu :( Hello Kyoto! Day 10

Wednesday, July 18th:

This morning, I got up for the last time at my host family's house. It was sad! I gave Mio a hug before she had to leave for school. My mom gave Sakina and I a ride to school again, and I said goodbye to her. I said, "きずなとごえんがつづきますよに、” which means, "Let's keep in touch!" We hugged, and she left. :(

Sakina and I went to the library, and waited there and socialized for nearly 30 minutes before the bus arrived. Everyone was sad that we had to leave. We really only had two days with our families, and we wish we had longer. Sakina had been saying she was going to miss me since last night.

We went outside to load our bags on the bus, and I took one more picture with Sakina, and she gave me a hug. Several of us were kinda-sorta-crying, including myself. We finally went on the bus, and waved goodbye to our new friends, until the bus pulled away.

Sakina and I! :) Oh, and a teacher totally photo-bombed us!!

It was really bittersweet, and even Kayla was crying!

After the tearful goodbye, we went to a pretty temple in town. Followed by a tour at a castle. As we made our way back to Tokyo, we ate Bento(lunch) on the bus. We arrived at the Tokyo station, and got on another bullet train to take us to Kyoto.

The temple we visited!

The view from the top of the castle we visited!

Another view!

Our bento! It's basically like a sack lunch.

The first thing we did in Kyoto was see a theater performance, showing several different aspects of Japanese culture. It included tea ceremony, traditional music, a puppet play, acting skit, and more! It was very cool.

Tea ceremony demonstration.

The play skit. It was very funny!

Geisha!

The puppet show!

Then we went to an Italian restaurant for supper. Ironic right?

Kayla, Rebecca, Alyssa and I sat in a booth together, and enjoyed a few different pastas, served family style. We also conversed with a guy and a girl (Japanese locals) who were seated in a booth next to us. We had a long and awesome conversation, where we all spoke Japanese! :D They were so cool and nice! :)

Our dinner!

Tepei and Ayana, the two we talked to! :)

Tomorrow we'll be touring places in Kyoto, and shopping some more! :)

School and new friends! Day 9

Tuesday, July 17th:

This homestay is too short! I'm so sad!

This morning, I had rice, salmon, and pork for breakfst. My hostmom packed a lunch (べんと) for me, and drove Sakina and I to school.

We went to the same auditorium room, and there were speeches, and we did self intros. I stuttered so much in mine!!

But then the Japanese asked us questions in front of everyone. A guy asked what we had for breakfast. I raised my hand, and answered in Japanese. However, the word for salmon happens to be the same as alcohol. I knew this, but I figured he'd understand that I mean salmon.

Long story short, I was wrong. As soon as I said, "さけ," he and everyone in the room gaped at me, and Sensei started cracking up. He took the microphone (yes, this was said in a microphone), and explained what I meant. It was soooo embarrassing, but soooo funny!

Apparently, there is a slight enunciation difference between salmon and alcohol. I still don't know the difference. -.-

After that, we watched some video clips from the school's culture festival. There were dance performances, singing performances, acting, and martial arts! It was really cool.

The auditorium room

Then we paired up with a Japanese student, and talked while watching some chemistry/culture presentations. My partner's name was Fumika! She was very sweet and kind. :)

Then we had group conversations. One American student with 3-4 Japanese students. This was very fun, maybe my favorite part. I met many people who love Harry Potter, and have similar music interests. The guys were cool, and the girls were sweet. Someone told me my hair looks like Hermione Granger's! Haha, I took it as a compliment. :)

Then we went to the library, and hung out. We ate lunch with our host brothers/sisters in their classroom, which was cool. The lunch my mom packed was really yummy!

The library.

Eating lunch! Yukika and Kayla!:)

My bento! :)

The classroom we ate in.

Our lunch group! :)



After lunch, we went to a temple nearby. It was really hot, but still fun! Next, we saw a Karate demonstration, which was super cool. Those girls were fierce! Then we listened to traditional Japanese music being performed. It seemed odd at first, but it's actually relaxing.

The Karate girls!

Posing with the Karate girls!

Girl who helped with the demonstrations. Pretty Kimono!

The guys who played music for us!

All of us! :)

Then we played a game at our table. Kayla and her host sister (Yukika) versus Sakina and I. There would be questions asked in English about something Japanese, or asked in Japanese about something American. Therefore we had to work with our host sister to get the answer first.

We got a pack of snack prizes after the game! This was my FAVORITE. It's ice cream coated in rice cake. It's sooo yummy.

School ended, and Sakina and I left with Kayla, Rebecca, Yukika, and Ami (Rebecca's host sister). We walked to a mall area, a one or two miles away, and we took pictures together in a Japanese photo booth! The booths are called Purikura, and are much cooler than the ones in America. You can doodle or add stamps to the pictures before printing them. Although, they add effects to you, so your face and eyes look a little different, like you're photoshopped. We took group photos, then Sakina and I got ones with just us. They turned out so cool!

Finally, a good picture of the outside of the school!

Hanging out after school! Becca, Kayla, Ami, Yukika, and me!

We bid farewell, and Sakina and I walked to the train station to go home. We rain into Savannah and her host sister, Emi, so we sat by them. My host mom picked us up from the train station, and we went to a convenience store to pick up ingredients for dinner. We ate grilled meats on a kabob, and curry rice! It was really good.

After dinner, we had fireworks! The littler ones that are illegal in Iowa, as well as sparklers. They are okay in Japan, so we set them off together. :)

After that, we went inside, and they gave me gifts!! Clothes, a manga, book, fan, keychain, and more. My host family is sooo sweet! I don't want to say goodbye tomorrow! :(

My host family!

Atsushi, Mio, me, Sakina, Eiko, and Achi (the cat)! :)