All Good Things Must Come to an End…

So we are officially down to one week before this semester is over…….and I can’t believe this is actually ending…..
It almost feels surreal……I know that the last days of the semester are coming up, but my mind does not want to process it.  I know that the full realization will hit me when I am on the shinkansen(bullet train) back to Narita Airport, and that I will probably cry my eyes out(at least internally) on the flight back to America.

These last 3 and a half months have been some of the hardest, most fun, and most motivating months of my life.  Not only have I been able to experience and learn so many new things, but I have also made incredible lifelong friends, and unforgettable memories.  This has been by far the best 3 and a half months of my life so far, and I can honestly say that I have very few regrets.  The only regrets I will have is not being able to stay here longer…..since I know the next 2 years will drag by until the time that I can return to Japan…..

Although I know I am beyond excited to get back and tell everyone back home about my experiences in Japan, I know part of me will still be in Japan, and I am guessing there will be many days where I wish I was back in Japan.
But the goal of returning in 2 years gives me the motivation and determination to finish college quickly, and return to Japan as soon as possible.

Sorry this post seemed to be a bit depressing, since I find myself reminiscing quite a bit as the end of the semester gets closer……
hopefully once I return to America, I can finish up some other posts that will hopefully be a little more cheerful, and slightly more informational, since I hope to cover some topics such as study abroad tips, culture shock, and other topics from a practical and real life point of view.

So, until then, じゃあ、まった～

by the way…..it’s Sakura(Cherry blossom) season here!~
here’s some pictures I took last week ^~^

Happy Accidents

It’s always interesting when a string of somewhat troubling occurrences result in something better than you could have ever imagined.
Today was definitely that sort of day.

So originally, my Japanese conversation partner and I had planned to meet and go to a city called Nagahama, since it was close, and at the time we planned this outing, I had not been to Nagahama yet.
However, as luck would have it, my home-stay family ended up being in Nagahama, so that kind of threw a wrench in our plans.
So, my conversation partner did a little looking and we decided to go to a difference city because it had a ropeway(cable car) that went up the mountain so you could look out over everything.  But first we decided to go for lunch.
My conversation partner wanted to eat at a locally famous ramen shop, but when we got there, the line was out the door.  So we scrapped that, and went to a different ramen shop, but that one was also super busy(for some reason, everyone decided to eat ramen today…..) so we ended up at a tiny little restaurant behind the second ramen shop.  I was slightly hesitant, since it seemed super tiny, and was kind of expensive…..but it ended up being the most amazing food ever……

it was Japanese style, which meant that there were a bunch of tiny side dishes along with the main course, rice, and miso soup.  The sides were fermented soy beans, lotus root(with some sort of amazing sauce over it that made it taste like meat) some sort of spinach and vegetable dish, pickled radish, salad, a square of tofu with sweet miso sauce, and yogurt with raspberry sauce and a mandarin orange it in.  I absolutely love this kind of meal, because it lets you taste a variety of flavors while still only eating a normal sized meal(although, it was definitely more than filling).  I think I would definitely go back again, even though it’s a little pricey…..the food, interior decor, and menu design make it worth it…

Anyway, back to the main agenda…..
After lunch, we went looking for the rope-way.  However, we soon found out that the way to the rope-way was blocked off because there was a festival going on.  This meant we had to park about a block away and walk.  However, this also meant we got to see the festival, which was AMAZING!!!!!
After doing some research, I finally found some information about the festival, which is called Sagicho Matsuri.
For this festival, people build massive torch floats, and decorate them with the animal of the year(from the Chinese zodiac, so this year is the sheep).  These floats are then paraded around town, and each is carried on the shoulders of a large group of men(and sometimes women).  The floats are super heavy, so there’s a lot of people for each float.
The floats are paraded around Saturday and Sunday afternoon, and then on Sunday night, they are all burned, hence the festival also being known as the “fire festival”.

If you want to read more about it, check out this website here.
Anyway, I had always wanted to go to a Japanese festival, but I thought I would not get the chance, because festival season is usually either around New Years, or in the summer, so when I found out we had stumbled upon a festival by accident, I was beyond excited.
If you ever have the chance to go to a Japanese festival, I highly recommend it!!!!!  It’s so much fun!!!!
They take street food to another level, and you can’t go wrong no matter what you buy.  It’s all hot and freshly made right in front of you, and it’s definitely an experience I want to have again…..
Anyway, so not only did we get to go to the festival, but we also got to go on the rope-way, since the festival was build around the rope-way shop, which I just realized was probably a very smart move business wise…..
Here’s a view from the top area of the rope way, where you can walk around and visit the shrine on the top of the mountain.

Anyway, all in all, today was probably one of the most amazing days ever, and I really want to go back to that festival again….
Hopefully I will have the chance to go to some sort of festival again before I leave….
Anyway, until next time!!
じゃあ、まった～

Home-stay : Part 3

This is the third and final post for my weekend home-stay with a Japanese family, so if you haven’t already read the other two parts, you can find them here(part 1, part 2).

This morning started out with breakfast, and then I was shown around the other house that the grandparent’s daughter’s family live in.  From what I gathered, the grandfather either built or bought the house, but realized that since he was getting older and his legs weren’t as good anymore, he preferred his old house since it was only one story high instead of two.  Anyway, after that, we set off for a city about 1-2 hours away to go on a short cruise on a ferry around part of the lake to see the scenery and learn about the history of both the lake, and the ferry.  Although, I mostly just enjoyed the ferry ride and watched the scenery, since I couldn’t really understand most of the history that was being talked about, since it was all in Japanese.
After that, we drove around for a while looking for a place to eat lunch, and finally settled on the restaurant that was right next to the college I’m studying/living at.
After we finished eating, we returned home for coffee and a last phone call to say good-bye to the relatives I had met before, and then we headed back to the college to finally drop me off.

This will definitely be an experience that I will take with me for the rest of my life.  There were a lot of things I knew, and a lot of things I didn’t.  I found out I know more Japanese than I think, but less than I would like, and the more I try to understand, the less I can because it makes me too nervous, and I end up over-thinking things.
And also, I honestly don’t know why, but in America, I really really don’t like kids……but here, I actually like kids…..so that’s something I learned….
Also, I learned that the average Japanese person knows less English than I thought, but obviously any English is more Japanese than the average American would know, so I guess I can’t complain….
I know now that even the students who come to my college knowing very little English probably know more than the average Japanese person, so I will not be taking that for granted anymore…..
I also realize that when I am in an unfamiliar place with no one who can speak English or translate, I speak very little……and I almost revert back to the way I used to be about 4 years ago……which is slightly frustrating, since I spent 4 years trying to improve on my ability to step outside my comfort zone, only to realize that when push comes to shove, I really haven’t improved at all……..

But, nevertheless, this was definitely an interesting experience that I would love to have again sometime in the future.
If anyone ever gets the chance to do a home-stay in the country that they are learning the language of, I highly recommend it!  It’s definitely a life changing opportunity that I am glad I experienced.
Well, until something interesting happens again then,

じゃあ、まった～

Home-stay : Part 2

Hello again!!!!
This is part 2 of my weekend home stay, so if you haven’t read part 1 yet, please check that out here(x)!

This morning started off with breakfast while watching a Japanese dubbed Korean drama.  Then we headed out for some sightseeing around the city, and walked around a few streets with some tiny shops that I will definitely be visiting again……
After lunch, we drove to see the host grandmother’s older sister(it always amazes me how close family lives in Japan), and I got to meet two of her grand nieces who(from what bits and pieces I could pick up) are either graduated, or graduating from high school and starting college soon…….at least I think……
All I really got was some bits and pieces about being 18 and other talk of school, so that’s what I eventually pieced together……..
Anyway, I always end up understanding younger people better…….I don’t know why……but I have a lot of trouble understanding the older people……
It seems like so far, the younger they are the better I understand them…….
But anyway, basically I got paraded around today and shown off as the “外国人お姉ちゃん” which basically means the “foreign older sister”, but here “older sister” is a polite affectionate term for a young girl/woman.  Although, they eventually figured out that I have a hard time responding to “onee-chan” all the time, and fially settled on either ニコルちゃん or ニコちゃん, which are just affectionate ways to say my name.
After dropping off my host grandmother somewhere (she said where and why, but I didn’t understand…) my host grandfather and I went to a Japanese garden to walk around and have tea until it was time to pick my host grandmother up.
Afterward, we went shopping for dinner, and returned home.  I tried helping with dinner but my host grandmother didn’t let me do much except chop off the ends of the green onions, and slice some sort of root into slivers………
Anyway, we had sukiyaki for dinner, which is rapidly becoming my favorite Japanese food……and something I’m going to miss dearly when I return back to the US, since it involves eating food dipped into raw egg, and we can’t really do that back in the US…..
I met another daughter and her two children, who were super shy at fist, until they realized I could understand about 90% of what they said, and we ended up sitting down and studying Kanji(the Chinese characters) together with the two kids I had met the day before who came over with their parents again.
I got distracted at one point when an English TV program came on(trying to teach kids English) and I got thrown for a loop of nostalgia when I realized how long it had been since I heard a TV program in English……..it was almost weird that I could understand everything without trying……..
After we finished studying kanji, and the kids finished cross examining me about America and what I like about Japan, we played cards again, and I got quizzed on my elementary school math(which I might have forgotten most of).  But in my defense, not only was I was never good at math to begin with, but I got pop quizzed in Japanese by a 9 year old, who had a calculator and was rapid firing addition/subtraction/multiplication/division at me in Japanese……which we quickly learned that first he had to teach me the words plus, minus, multiplied, and divided in Japanese.  Which, then not only did I to remember the words for the mathematical terms, but I also had to be on top of my numbers in Japanese………
Moral of the story?  If you ever want to test if you truly know the basics of math…….do it under pressure in a foreign language………
Anyway, one by one the others returned home for the night, until once again, it was just my host grandmother, grandfather and me.  Usually they go to bed around 10, but my host grandfather and I got caught up in a murder mystery drama that ended up going till 11…..
I was surprised at how much I actually understood, and how absorbed I actually got in the drama without realizing I was translating or understanding the drama without subtitles……
I somewhat regret not doing a semester home stay, since I can tell how much better my listening has gotten even over just 2 days and I’m going to miss the feeling of being part of the family, but I think if I had done a semester home stay, I wouldn’t have had as many opportunities that I did have so far.
I hope I can come back and visit soon…….
Anyway, I guess its time for me to go to bed, so till next time….
じゃあ、またね~

Home-stay : Part 1

Welcome to part 1 of my weekend home stay experience.  Part 2 will be posted shortly after this.~

So, I’m currently writing this on a note app on my phone, and by the time you guys read this, I will be back.  But since I left in such a rush that I didn’t remember to grab any study materials, and I don’t have WiFi, or my laptop, if I want to kill time, this is the only way I can write.

Anyway, for those of you who may or may not know, this weekend all the weekend home-stay applicants are doing our home-stays with a Japanese family for 3 days from Friday-Sunday.
Mine is from a city about 5 minutes away from the college I go to, and they consist of a woman, her husband, their two children, and her parents.  Although, it’s mainly the grandparents that I’m staying with.  The kids are adorable, and I get along best with the younger one, because since he’s young, he still uses “easy” Japanese, and I don’t have to worry about being formal with him when I speak.  Of course, the kansai-ben(dialect) makes things a little difficult, but I’ve managed to figure out the gist of most things……so far…..
So far the kids have taught me 2 new card games, and a boatload of new Uno rules that I’m pretty sure don’t exist anywhere outside this household…..
The mom I think used to be an English teacher somewhere (China?…..maybe?…) so sometimes she can help translate a little…….but not much…..
I thought that living with Japanese roommates for 4 weeks would have taught me how to communicate well enough in Japanese, but oh how I overestimated that………
I guess it’s one thing to live with Japanese people in an English environment, and it’s a completely different story to be in a completely Japanese environment where you literally cannot use English……at all……
Honestly…….it’s a lot more frustrating than I originally thought it would be……
Especially when your brain is super tired from trying to decipher Japanese all day, and decides to default back to English no matter how hard you try…..
As far as I can tell so far…….the mother, husband and kids don’t actually live with the grandparents…….they’re in a different house, but its super close, like 1-2 houses apart, so they stayed the majority of the time in the grandparents house today, and then went back to their house in the evening……
Anyway, I feel bad, because somehow I managed to create some sort of misunderstanding where I think they think I’m studying right now……..but the truth is, I didn’t bring anything to study with me………so…..yeah…..
I wish I were studying……but I actually finished all the homework for Monday, so it would have been slightly pointless anyway…….
Anyway, I’m getting super sleepy so I’ll continue my home-stay recounting after tomorrow….
So untill then,
じゃあ、またね~

Lost in Hikone

This morning, a couple friends and I set out to find Ryotanji temple in Hikone.  We knew roughly the area it was supposed to be in, but since none of us had ever been there, or seen it, we really had no idea what we were looking for.  But since it was really nice weather, we figured even if it took us a while, we would probably eventually find it.
However, we gravely underestimated how vague our idea of the area was, and soon we found ourselves biking around a remote area of Hikone, running into dead ends, woods, other buildings, and everything except Ryotanji.
Somehow, and I really have no idea why we ended up here, but we managed to find ourselves on a fairly high vantage point surrounded by a bunch of beautiful Japanese style houses and lots of bamboo, but still with absolutely no idea where we were.

  

I guess we had somehow made our way up onto the mountainside, and after much wandering and going up and down steep hills, we found a random sign that told us the vague direction and distance that we should go to find Ryotanji.
So we started following the path and after a lot more up and down biking, the path finally took us down the mountain side to the bottom, back where we started….
Apparently, when we started, we went too far down to cross the train tracks and missed it.  If we had crossed the train tracks earlier, there would have been a sign on the other side pointing straight to Ryotanji, but since we crossed farther down, we completely missed it, and thus took a very long, very scenic route instead….
So after about an hour of wandering around, we had finally found what we came to see.  I must say, it was totally worth it.  Even though I think Ryotanji is one of the bigger temples, there was hardly anyone there.  And even though it is pretty close to the train tracks, since there’s a lot of woods surrounding it, it feels remote and removed from the normal hustle bustle of the town, and it is surprisingly peaceful…

  

We were told that Ryotanji had a really nice Japanese garden, and we were hoping to see that, but unfortunately, there was an entrance fee, and we didn’t have time today, but we’re planning on going back another day when we have time, since we know where Ryotanji is now…
However, there was a cemetery in the back, which was really interesting to walk through.  Some of the grave’s were really really old, and others were brand new.
There was also a hiking trail, but again we didn’t have time, and none of us were prepared to hike, so we decided to leave that for another day.

  

after we were done walking around Ryotanji, we went over to the small shrine that was next door.
The shrine itself was really old and deteriorating, so they had constructed a warehouse looking cover for it to try and preserve it as best they could.

 

But luckily, the gaps in the wire in the front were just large enough to fit the lense of a camera through, so we could still get unobstructed pictures of the shrine inside.

and next to the shrine was a huge Sakura(Cherry) tree that was so large, that some of the branches were supported by posts to keep them up.
I can’t wait for it to bloom in spring!!!!!

Well, anyway, that was about it for today’s adventures, so until next time!
じゃあ、まった～

Time Flies

Wow, I can’t believe it’s already almost the end of February, which means, I have less than 2 months left here……..
Time is flying WAY TOO FAST……….I can feel the end of the semester creeping up on my day by day, and I really hate that….
I can’t begin to describe how these last two months have gone, other than to say that they’ve been the best two months I’ve ever had….and I know that when I finish, I am going to want to do it all over again.

Anyway, our school does a program for Japanese students to come to our school and learn English for 2 weeks, and during that time, they stay in the dorms with us.  So two weeks ago, I had my first Japanese roommate, and she was here for 2 weeks, and then she moved out this past Friday.  However, there are 3 of these 2 week programs, so today, I got a new roommate who I will live with for 2 weeks once again.
I must say, that at the beginning I thought that switching roommates every 2 weeks for 6 weeks wouldn’t be that big of a deal, but after these past two weeks, I learned that you can actually get very attached to someone over only two weeks, and I definitely spent Friday in a weird semi depressed state after my first roommate left.  So needless to say, I was slightly apprehensive about getting a new roommate.  Part of me was really looking forward to it, and part of me just wanted my old roommate to move back in again.  But, I’m sure I’ll enjoy these next two weeks, just as I did the last two…

Anyway,  things are getting harder, if that’s possible, not only is the Japanese we learn getting more difficult, but the things we are expected to know and do are also increasing.  Not that I really mind, since I think it’s interesting.

It is definitely interesting to actually live with a native Japanese person, instead of simply seeing and talking to them every day.  Not only does this allow us to see how native Japanese people live from day to day, but it also teaches us to find a middle point between our cultures.  It also forces us to use whatever we can to try and meet each other halfway communication wise as well.
Usually we settle into some sort of half Japanese, half English mix…which must be interesting for other people to watch…..

Anyway, I will try to update again, but I don’t really know what to write about anymore……since I’m not really doing anything super interesting.  So by all means, if anyone has questions, please ask away, since it would give me something to talk about….^~^

Well, till then,
じゃあ、まった～

Finally….

This post is very much overdo…..but I’ve been so busy lately, that I’ve barely had time to do anything….so hopefully I can remember things well enough, even though it’s been a little bit….

Anyway, so after I moved in and got settled, we took a placement test to see where we placed in terms of Japanese proficiency.  There’s Level 1 – Levvel 4, with Level 1 being beginner Japanese, and Level 4 being you’re pretty much well on your way to becoming(aka, there’s only 2 people in that class).  Luckily I placed in Level 2, which begins at about where my college’s Japanese 201 ended, so it was perfect.

Japanese class in Monday-Friday from 8:50-11:40 with tests on Friday on what we’ve learned over the week.  It is a language intensive program, and as such, expects you to study a minimum of 3 hours a day, which I can definitely see being necessary.  I think I will try to study at least 3 hours a day, which is not hard for me, since I really like studying Japanese, and I really don’t have anything else to do…
And when we’re not in class, we’ve had the chance to kind of look around a little bit and start to get to know the city…although, we still haven’t seen much of it.

On Friday, we went to Karaoke, and then Nomihoudai(all you can eat and drink for a certain amount of time).
For those of you who don’t know, Japanese Karaoke is not like American Karaoke at all.  In America, Karaoke is usually in a bar, in front of the entire bar.  But in Japan, you rent a room just big enough to fit how ever many people you have.  The room is private, and soundproof(for the most part), and it is way less intimidating…….unless you have a huge group….like we did….
but usually it’s not like that…..
Anyway, after that, we walked to Nomihoudai, where mostly everyone proceeded to get very very drunk……except for a select few of us who either didn’t want to drink, or couldn’t drink….and thus we ended up kind of in charge of herding the rest of our group back on the long 40 minute walk back to the dorm…….

Saturday was somewhat uneventful, as all the people who were drunk from the previous night slept in pretty late….
Sunday, we all got up early to go to Kyoto to see a shrine, and then to Nijou to see Nijou-jo(an old castle).  It was perfect weather to be out in.  It was slightly chilly, but the sun was out, and it didn’t rain until we were heading back to the dorm.
I made a video compilation of the pictures and some videos that I took of our visit to the shrine, so if you want, you can check that out here.

*This post is about a week behind……I meant to upload it right away, but I wanted to wait until I finished my slideshow, and I kept falling asleep while working on it because of the music I was using…..so sorry!!~*

Well then, till next time~
じゃあ、まった～

Getting to Japan

so……after 16 hours of straight traveling, sitting down and writing a blog post is not exactly ideal……especially when I haven’t slept in 16 hours…….and I have to get up at 6 AM tomorrow and it’s already 1 AM……but if I don’t write this all down now, I’m going to forget it…..

So the flight over would have been fine, since it was only around 10-11 hours……but we hit some pretty good turbulence for a lot of the ride, so for about 90% of the flight, I was super motion sick, even though I took drammamine before we took off…
but at least I kept my dinner down…..unlike the girl next to me……good thing I was absorbed in watching a movie when that happened, or else I definitely would have followed suit….

Anyway, we ended up landing about an hour earlier than was scheduled, however, somehow my suitcase was lost, and so I had to fill out a whole bunch of baggage paperwork to get it sent to my college when it finally arrives….
Also, lucky for me, the guy sitting in the aisle seat was heading to Tokyo Station by the same train I was, so we traveled together until I parted ways with him at Shinagawa Station(because he ended up deciding to go to the stop after mine)
at Shinagawa station, I booked it to the Shinkansen(bullet train) ticket machines, bought a ticket with a departing time 5 minutes from then(which probably wasn’t a great idea) and sprinted onto the train just as the doors were closing.
The best thing about trains is that even though you have assigned seats, as long as you end up in those seats, you can board on any car.  So, since I almost didn’t make it, I dashed onto the nearest car(which happened to be 6) and then as the train started moving, I walked down to car number 15.

Since for some reason my phone decided not to work internationally(even though I was prepared to pay international roaming) I couldn’t contact the person I was staying with, so instead of her picking me up at Nagoya station, I then had to take the subway to a stop closer to her house.  Which would have been fine if I had gotten on the right subway the first time……but when they’re two subways with the same names going in opposite directions…..how am I supposed to know!?
I don’t even know how to take subways in English, let alone Japanese……and I still can’t figure out Japanese train/subway maps…….
Anyway, luckily the subway line for the wrong direction ended one stop later, so when everyone evacuated except me, it was pretty obvious that I had missed something……
So after the conductor directed me to the correct side of the subway tracks, I then boarded the correct subway and took that down to the stop that my friend had told me to get to.

Moral of the story, I over think and underestimate things a lot…… and I never want to sit down again…..
anyway, I should be getting to bed….since I have another long day tomorrow…..

じゃあ、まった～

Just the Beginning

WOW……epic FAIL on my part at trying to run this blog…..sorry I haven’t uploaded in forever…….these last weeks have been pretty hectic, and these last days, even more so…

Ok, where do I start?
Basically in this last week, I crammed all my final exams into 2 days, moved out of my dorm, unpacked from school, and repacked my life for 4 months into a suitcase and a backpack……..so yeah…I’ve been a little busy….

Well, tomorrow this journey finally starts.  I head off to California to spend 2 and a half weeks with my roommate and then off to Japan I go……which is CRAZY……  Never in all the years that I’ve been researching and planning could I have imagined that this could actually happen……

Although, the excitement is somewhat tempered by the mental breakdown I’m having about transportation, since I have NO IDEA what I’m doing……

NO IDEA….

I mean, I have a rough idea, but I haven’t flown since 8th grade, and even then, never alone……….and the list of things that could go wrong could fill a series of encyclopedias………..
Besides, the list of things that have already gone wrong are well onto their way to making at least a small book……..probably titled something like “What NOT to do When Planning for a Semester Abroad”…..
but hey, live and learn right?….

Anyway, I just wanted to say, sorry….I really meant to film my vlog intro yesterday, but as you can see by my dormant YouTube channel, that never really happened.
So…..for the time being, until I get settled in Japan, there may just be random clips uploaded here and there, and not much actual vlogging going on…..
Hope I’m not boring you all to death……. ^^

じゃ、まった～