On the 11th of September, the Canadian exchange student, Kaela, was having a belated welcome party thrown by her host family, so all of us Exchange Students made our way to her house (after meeting at a really nice park first), and we spent the afternoon eating, chatting (in a mixture of Japanese and English), playing with hamsters (I'd never seen a hamster before that haha) and later, when the sun was setting, we played with hanabi (fireworks) - sort of like cooler versions of the average sparkler.
From left to right: Dylan (AUS), Kaela (CAN), Rikiya (JAP - went to AUS on exchange last year), myself, Dakota (USA), Sam (AUS), Yodai (JAP - wants to go on exchange) and Kimber (USA).
Last friday after school, Sam, Dakota and myself met up in Kitahiroshima (a town between Eniwa and Sapporo, close to where I go to school). None of us had been there properly before so we went exploring, soon to discover that there really is not much to see haha. So we went down to a creek that has the train tracks run above it, on a big overpass.
It was quite nice there, one of the quietest places I've been in Japan. For once, all I could hear was the water running and the breeze rustling the leaves. It sounds all poetic and lame but it's true :P lol. BUT the absolute highlight was when Sam, attempting to cross the creek on some stepping-stones, slipped on the bank and fell in. It was hilarious; luckily none of her bag contents got wet, but her shoes and clothes were soaked :P Good stuff.
On Sunday, I got dragged along to yet another Rotary commitment, this time watching a kid's sumo tournament at the local shrine festival. It went for a really long time, but I gotta admit that watching kids wrestle is pretty good entertainment.
There was also an abundance of fearless dragonflies... This one just kept coming back to chill out on my mobile phone (keitai).So then on Monday, yesterday, the shrine festival was still going, but this time the main event was this shrine thing (omikoshi). I got my kit on and took some photos and soon we were all marching down the roads with this thing on our shoulders... and it was FREAKING HEAVY!! I can't estimate how heavy it was, but there were a LOT of people carrying it, and it still gave me large bruises on my shoulders where it rested. It's extremely painful to lift my arms up above my head now :(
So that's all that's happened this month really. Today was my last day at school until October 12th, because my family arrive on Friday :D :D :D I can't wait! I think I've said it before, but we're staying in Hokkaido for a week, then travelling down to Tokyo (Disneyland!), then on to Nagano, Nagoya, Hiroshima, and Kyoto and Hakone, before flying back to Australia (and back to Hokkaido for me).
After I return I'll be moving to my next host family... my last family! They live nice and close to the train station so I'm looking forward to maybe getting an extra 5 minutes sleep in. I'm also looking forward to the snow :D Bring it on!! (I'll be taking that back in mid-December, I'll bet).
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Hey Laura :)
ReplyDeleteI'm a prospective exchange student and I'm really curious about your trip (I have a ton of questions, but I'll just ask a few). It would be amazing if you could reply.
1. How often do you have to go to Rotary functions in Japan?
2. Were the functions mostly laid-back?
3. Was Japan your first choice of country?
4. When did you start learning Japanese (in Australia?) and how much did you know before going to Japan?
5. Do you have to do a ton of homework at your school? Or only what you can understand?
6. How often do you see other exchange students? Do they all go to different schools?
7. Are you almost reaching fluency now?
Thank you so much for writing about your journey on blogspot. And I'm sorry about all the questions, I'm just REALLY curious and excited. My first choice country is Japan.
Hey there... Anonymous lol.
ReplyDelete1) I'm expected to attend my club meeting every week - I even take the day off school to go. It depends on your club though, because some of the other students only have to go like once or twice a month. The larger functions are once every month or two, I think.
2) The regular meetings are laid-back enough I think, but there's still the Rotary song and bowing and speeches and things. The bigger functions are a bit more serious, but being with other exchange students makes it more enjoyable.
3) Japan was my first choice, yes. My choices were Japan, USA, then Germany. But I had my heart set on Japan so I didn't think about the other two. I must have done something right, because I got chosen from 4 other students.
4) I began Japanese in Year 11, so when I was 16. I did it for my HSC, so it was a 2 year course, but because it was by Distance Education, I didn't have a teacher there to help, so a lot was self-taught, but I had a tutor as well. So I knew hiragana, katakana, and about 50 kanji, but I wasn't so great at the grammer then.
5) I'm not actually expected to do the work at my school. I don't know if the other exchange students have to do their work in Japan, but they told me at the beginning that I didn't have to because it'd be too hard with the language. So I still participate in the English class, because I reverse it and use it to learn Japanese. So no homework, I just study my own Japanese stuff.
6) In my district (9710), there are 7 of us. We're all fairly close, and we don't live too far away (everyone lives in Sapporo except for the other Aus girl, she's about 40 mins away, and the Finnish girl, who's a fair way away) and I live here in Eniwa so it's about a 20 min train ride. We all go to different schools, but the Canadian girl and Aus guy are at the same school. We all see eachother at functions, and we try to meet up when we can on weekends and stuff.
7) I wouldn't call myself fluent, but I have improved dramatically in these past 8 months. It definitely helps to be surrounded by it. I can get by, and I'm learning more every day. I can hold conversations and ask for help, I just got back from a trip with my family and I managed to organise hotels, tickets and directions.. so yes, I'm getting there!!
When are you hoping to go to Japan? Good luck! if you have facebook, we should be friends haha :)
Thanks so much for answering all my questions! My name's Rika, by the way :)
ReplyDeleteI'm hoping to go to Japan next year (2011-2012, my junior year of high school). It's my first choice, but my mom is telling me to think of other countries as well because she doesn't want me to be disappointed.
I'm actually half-Japanese, but American born and raised. So my Japanese is not too good. Do you know if being half might hinder my chances of going to Japan? Maybe Rotary wouldn't want to send someone to a country where they have close relatives?
I'll definitely add you on facebook :D
I highly doubt your heritage would hinder your chances. If it did, it would be discrimination. So you'll be fine :)
ReplyDeleteAnd it will be a lot easier for you, maybe, if you look Japanese at all. You won't get stared at so much :P and for the Japanese, living here helps SO much, you learn very fast.