I started off December throwing a little party where we decorated stockings and watched Elf the movie with Japanese subtitles. It was a lot of fun and put me in the christmas spirit. Lauren and I took strip to Tsuyama on a tour that was guided by local high school students. They were very friendly and we had a fun time trying to speak to each other in each others languages. We went to a railroad museum, a japanese garden where we had lunch, and to a museum called Tsuyama Archives of Western Learning. We also experienced our first snow in Tsuyama! it melted quickly but I am counting as my first snowfall in Japan! Christmas Eve I threw another party where we built gingerbread houses! This has been my families tradition for a long time and I was sad that I was going to miss out on it, but I decided that even though I'm in Japan I could still make one. I also have amazing parents who sent me all the things I needed to make it! Christmas day was spent skyping my family on their christmas eve. They opened up the gifts I sent them and I opened up what they sent me. It was really nice to see everyone together and for a couple hours they had me laughing like only family can. After my call with them I spent the rest of the day relaxing until I called my family again at 2:00 am to Skype them on their christmas morning. I was exhausted by the end but so glad to be able to have the time to talk with them and be in their company.
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My friends and I wanted to bring Thanksgiving to Japan so we decided to have a friendsgiving! Everyone cooked a dish or brought drinks for the party. Sadly there are no turkeys in Japan and we all had the complication of not having ovens to cook anything in, so we had a very limited amount of traditional foods we could cook. I cooked the garlic and butter green beans, Lauren cooked the mashed potatoes, Hannah and Nicole cooked chicken and apple desserts, Victor brought drinks, and Mao cooked a Japanese dish that had eggplant, bell peppers and other delicious things in it. Overall we had a great time and went around saying what we all usually did during the holiday and what we were thankfull for.
Went on a day trip to Kompira Shrine on Shikoku Island! Took a bus with a group of other students and people. We crossed a huge bridge to get to the island and it reminded me a little of the Bay Bridge. Once we went to the shrine we had to climb 1,368 steps to get to the top! I highly recommend if you can make the trip and climb. Along the first half of the climb it is a narrow alley with many touristy stores along both sides. About two-thirds of the way up is a small shrine where they had these big vases of water that people tried to balance coins on to make them float. We were told that if you made a wish and the coin floated then it would come true.... sadly mine sunk. We continued the climb and finally made it to the top where we were met with a beautiful view and had our shrine books signed and stamped. Took an L-Cafe trip to Kyoto for the day. We visited a private house garden that belongs to the Ohara family. During this trip I heard a little about the family and since then I have learned a lot more. Ohara Magusaburo was businessman and philathropist who helped out the community a lot.This was his home in Kyoto that he gave to his son. The homes garden was created to give the sense of relaxation and calm, so the trees and plants were allowe to grow however they wanted. It was beautiful when we went beause the garden was full of fall colors and the Japanese maple leaves were an extremely vivid red and orange. After, we went to two different shrines, each very different and really pretty. My favorite was the first shrine we went to because it had a lot more nature. It was set againest a mountain and there was a pathway that took you up the mountain a little. The pathway gave you a beautiful view of the entire shrine and city below. The other shrine was painted red and was very big and was located more in the city. I got a job!!!! It is a part-time job at the L-Cafe where I teach English to students. Its not exactly teaching grammer and things, but more trying to get them to be comfortable with speaking english and practicing. I have them play games and ask each other questions, and other fun things. It was hard at first but I think I am getting better at it, at least I hope =). Also this Halloween I spent it at an L-Cafe halloween party. People brought snacks and drinks and met new people. We played heads up, and just had a good time. Some people even dressed up. I didnt really have a costume but I borrowed a witch's hat from the props and became a spontanious witch!
Lauren, Saya, and I visited Okayama Castle and the Korakuen Gardens. They were so beautiful and full of history. We walke daround the gardens and had matcha tea and kibidango, which is a popular dessert/snack in Okayama. After we went to the Castle where we had appointments to make traditional bizen yaki pottery. We all decided to make cups, which turned out to be one of the hardest things you could make! We all had fun making them though, which is the only thing that counts in my book. Sadly we don't get our cups until december though. We walked around the castle and saw all the old artifacts. Lauren and I even tried on kimonos which I really enjoyed. After we went to a little shop across the way and had delicious ramen. We took many pictures during this trip, too many to put on this post. Here are a few of them.
I have been on a couple of trips here already, even in this short amount of time. I honestly don't know how I managed to join so many excursions.... I mean I guess I know how, but I still find it crazy that my introverted self has really thrown my shell across the room and dived in to living in Japan and all it has to offer! Anyways.... let me get back to talking about my trips. The first trip I took was a homestay opportunity that my home university told me about in Yakage. It was only for one night but I am so glad I did it. We went to Yakage on a saturday morning and when we arrived we joined a Aki Matsuri, or fall festival. We walked from house to house, stopped for lunch, then continued to the local shrine. After we met our host families and went to their houses. I had a sweet older couple. My host mother was a former english teacher in Osaka and one of her students and his friends also came to stay for that weekend. After arriving I met them and I talked to everybody, where they jumped right in and asked me personal questions, such as my opinoin on Trump, my sexual orientation, and what I looked for in a man. What was really cool about meeting them was that her student and his friend were transgender males. We had many interesting conversations where I learned that my host mother helped him when he transitioned and how his parents didnt accept him at the time but that his relationship with them were better now. That night we went to the shrine and watched the shrines kagura, a type of performance. The next day my host parents took me to the main street of Yakage and to a honjin, a type of inn that daimyo stayed at on their journey to Edo. The honjin was over 600 years old! We then returned and I left to return to Okayama. My other trips have been through the L-Cafe, a place on campus that is for speaking other languages nad having conversations. We went to a temple way in the mountains. We learned to meditated, made prayer beads that were blessed by the monks, and had a traditional meal that is eaten by monks. On a class trip we went to Yakage, again, where we helped the locals reap the mochi rice, climbed a mountain, went to an onsen (hot spring), and to Fruitopia, a place that grows fruit and tourists can pick fruit when in season. These trips were truly amazing and fun! I plan on going to many more so stay tuned!
WOW.... It has been too long since I have written a post and I am due for one, but in my defense I have been very busy and taking time to enjoy myself in my new environment. I moved into the International Share house here in Okayama city near Tsushima Campus. It is a very nice apartment with four individual rooms, a common room/kitchen, a shared bathroom and shower, and a washing machine. We have to dry our clothes outside on our balcony. I also have four really great roommates! They are all very nice and luckily have the same standards of cleanliness. I'm sure we all know how terrible a year can be when you have messy roommates.... Okayama City is so beautiful! I noticed it right away through the windows of the taxi I rode in to get here. Getting to my dorm for the first time was pretty easy because I had the address on a piece of paper, so all I had to do was hand it to the driver. Upon arrival I checked in, and really, just started my new life. I changed my sleep schedule pretty quickly, it only took me a few days to regulate my sleep. During the first few days I got to know my roommates who are form Japan, South Korea, and Poland. I met other EPOK students and explored the campus and city a little. I had to register my address with the city hall too, but had help by Sayoko who is my EPOK buddy and she helped translate. I chose my classes, started school, and bought myself a bike in order to get around town. It is very much a biking society in Okayama City because there are basically no hills at all. Here are a few pictures from the start of my new life.
I am currently sitting in Incheon International Airport eating a PBJ and waiting for my connecting flight to Japan. I never would have thought that this sentence would actually happen! My flight was actually really nice because I had a row to myself so I was able to lay down and sleep well. It was also quite on the plane which was nice too. I am so excited for the time ahead of me and even for the classes because it will all be a new experience that I wouldnt choose to pass up. When I was still in San Francisco waiting at the gate I had my first conversation in Japanese with a stranger! My sleep deprived, muddled brain tried to remember enough conversational Japanese to talk to a nice South Korean woman who asked where I was going and how much I would like Japan. It was really easy to understand her but I still need to work on my speaking skills. Overall this chance opportunity was nice practice for what is to come. I even now have slightly more confidence with navigating places because I had to figure out how to get to my transfering flight and make my way to a new terminal and gate in this HUGE airport! I'll let everyone know how it goes when I attempt to get to my dorm and check in once I'm in Japan. =)
Finally! I have been waiting anxiously for news from Okayama University, and in the beginning of July I got the official acceptance from them! =) I was relieved to finally hear from them because for some reason I had doubts of getting in (even though it is pretty much guaranteed). Once I was accepted I had to take the next steps, like apply for CESR, which is a preset to applying for a visa. (IT TAKES UP TO TWO MONTHS TO RECEIVE IT!) I am nervous that it takes so long because then I have to wait for the actual visa. In preparation for going abroad I have also made an account with Charles Schwab bank because they allow no ATM fees internationally, and since Japan is a cash society that really helps me. This bank was reccomended to me from my school and other students who have gone abroad. I have also bought my plane tickets and will be arriving September 25th! Its hard to believe that it is coming so soon. I am nervous for the flight and arriving in Japan where I will have to figure out a way to get to my school from the airport. But, I am also excited for this opportunity and experience that I will gain from it. I am also really lucky to have friends who are going to the same school as me, that way we can freak out together. The count down has officially started!
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