Last Goodbyes

Saying goodbye to Japan and all of my friends and family there was every bit as hard as I thought it would be, if not more so. Thursday morning, after I had put the finishing touches on my packing, my host mother and I walked around to her friends' houses in the neighborhood so that I could say good-bye and thank them again for the various gifts that they have given me.

At 9:30 we left for the train station, just the two of us. My host dad had to work and Midori had school in the morning. Our conversation was on good books that we had read, and it felt as if this was just the beginning of another adventure, not the end of a chapter of my life.

At the train station we went to a kiosk that sold beautiful obento lunches and my host mom bought one for me for the train ride home. We found my platform, along with the other YFU students staying in Sendai. Midori managed to make it to the train station right before I left so that we could say our last goodbyes.


We managed to take a few last pictures before tears started falling. We shared our favorite memories, the baseball game Mimi and I went to, afternoon tea with my host mother every day, the trips to Matsushima.... At the end my host mother said a little speech in her broken English about how she knows I will be able to accomplish great things, how she hopes that I will be able to go to Oxford someday, and how she knows I will one day be able to help with world peace. Her words made be break down in a fresh stream of tears and for a moment all I could do was bury my face in a tissue. I told Mimi and my host mom that when they come to America they must come and stay with my family, and then the train called for final boarding.

The train ride to Tokyo was two hours, and then there was another one-hour train ride to Narita Airport. At the airport I met up with many of the other YFU students. It was an extremely bittersweet reunion, with exciting tales of our adventures in Japan, and our sadness at having to leave after what seemed like such a short time. Everyone was talking about the huge earthquake the previous night. It sounded as though nearly everyone had felt the shaking in some form or another. No one seemed to be any closer to the source of it then Sendai though.

After a 10-hour flight to San Francisco, a three-hour layover, and another three-hour flight to Denver (we circled above the airport for an hour as we waited to land) I was finally home.

Earthquake #183746548

Yikes that was terrifying! I've grown used to the feeling that you're on a plane that is experiencing a bit of air turbulence - it happens at least once a week here - but this was different. This time it didn't stop after a minute. This time everything in my room was shaking so hard that it looked like it was about to fall over. My hands are still shaking from it. What in the world must a REAL earthquake feel like? o_o

My Last Night In Japan

Well, this is it. My calendar claims it's been six and a half weeks, and I wouldn't believe it if it weren't for the fact that YFU has been sending me endless reminders that they are indeed dragging me back to America at exactly 11:21 tomorrow morning.


For my last night in Japan, my host family took me to a kaiten-zushi restaurant. Conveyor belt sushi. It was so much fun. You sit at a bar which has a conveyor belt of sushi going round and round, and you take whatever you fancy, and then the waiter counts up your empty plates at the end.

I discovered my new favorite sushi. 辛子明太子.


I think I cleaned up pretty well. =D

...Oh all right. They're not all mine. A couple of them are my host mom's.

After the kaiten-zushi restaurant, we came home and I expected that that was it. When we walked into the house though, Midori pulled out two huge packages of sparklers and said "Alexa! Shall we light fireworks?!" Two of her friends from across the street arrived a couple minutes later and the four of us spent the entire evening playing with sparklers, and using them to burn our names onto the asphalt road. It was so much fun. At that point the thought of leaving really seemed surreal. This place truly has become like a second home, even in the short time period of six weeks, and the thought of leaving it is heart-breaking.

Tomorrow is that dreaded day when I have to say good-bye to everyone here that I have come to love so much, and then I have over 24 hours of traveling to get back to Colorado, including two train rides and two airplanes. Funfunfun.

ZaoMet's

I just got back from an overnight stay with my host mom and obasan at ZaoMet's - a hot springs spa, or onsen. It was so amazing! I don't even know where to begin.

The drive took a couple of hours, through mountains, and forests. We finally drove off onto a little side path which wound it's way through about a mile of trees, and then finally arrived at the onsen. We deposited our shoes by the door, put on slippers, checked in, and then went up to our room. It was a small traditional Japanese-style room with tatami mats and sliding doors and a low table in the middle of the floor surrounded by cushions. There was a window that looked out over a breathtaking view of the forest and the river beyond. In the closet were yukatas which we changed into and then sat down to have tea.


After tea, we took our first visit to the hot baths. I'd kind of been a bit uneasy about this since I arrived in Japan - trying an onsen - because onsens = no bathing suites. Not a problem for most of the world, but a bit unsettling for an American. Actually it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. And the onsen was wonderful.

There were actually three separate hot baths, two indoors, one for men and one for women, which would periodically switch, and then one outdoors. You enter, remove your slippers, there's a small area with cubby holes for clothing, then you enter through another door where you shower before finally entering the hot springs.

We returned to our room to relax for a couple hours before going downstairs for dinner. Dinner was quite a surprise. When I imagined what kind of dinner would be served at a "spa" (as my host mom kept calling it) I pictured some sort of nice light healthy meal. What I didn't expect was a huge ten-course feast. I'm not even exaggerating. I have the menu to prove it. I didn't think it was even possible to eat that much. They just kept serving plate after plate after plate, until I thought I was going to explode.


One of the larger dishes was served with a knife and fork, which was an incredibly welcome sight. I'm the kind of person who always eats with a knife - none of that silly cutting food with your fork business. It doesn't work. I haven't used a knife and fork in six weeks though, and it took me forever to get reacquainted with the silly things. It was kind of sad actually. I finally gave up the attempt and went back to using my chopsticks.


After the tenth and last dish was finally served (I was plenty full after the second one), we went back to the hot baths. The men's and women's baths had switched by this time, and I walked in to find a much larger pool. It was gorgeous. The entire room was dark tiled, there were floor to ceiling windows looking out over the dusk setting over the green mountain forests, and the hot springs stretched the entire length of the long room.

The next morning I got to try the outdoor springs. It was the greatest experience - the brisk morning air, the stone pool surrounded by nothing but dense green trees, and then the water which was hot enough to make your head spin. They even had the sugegasa hats which were adorable and tons of fun to try on.

A Small Summer Festival

Today Midori, one of her friends, and I, went to a small summer festival put on by an elementary school. The big three-day summer festival that Sendai is famous for - the Tanabata Festival - doesn't happen until right after I leave.


It was so much fun walking around in our yukatas, eating cotton candy, and playing all the various games. There was a traditional dance that everyone did, and about the third time going around the huge circle, someone came up and put a fancy origami award of some kind around my neck. Apparently I had won the yukata competition. lol. Not that my yukata isn't gorgeous, but I have a suspicion it was more the fact that I had blond hair and dared to even wear a yukata to their festival that they gave me the award for. It was all very entertaining. I got to go up on the podium and speak. In Japanese!

Korean Food

When I get home I'm learning how to make Korean food. It was amazing! AND SPICY!!! :'D I don't know why it's not more popular in America.


Yes, we went to a Korean restaurant for lunch today. The picture is of my host dad and Midori sitting at the table which had a hole full of coal in the middle. Very strange. I was so excited to actually have something spicy that I forgot to take any other pictures. The Jjigae and Toppoki were incredible though.

Last Day at Shirayuri

Back row: Yu, Alexa, Miracle, --, Hiromi; Front row: Mayuko, Keiko, Chihiro

Today was my last day at Shirayuri Gakuen High School. It was so sad. I've made so many amazing friends there, and hugging them all goodbye today (I don't care if the Japanese don't believe in hugs - I insisted on hugging all of them) was one of the most bittersweet experiences ever. I really don't know how I managed to get through the entire school day without crying. It wasn't until I was walking home in the pouring rain that I really broke down.

So last night after dinner my host mother said "Alexa! I have idea!" And then she proceeded to carry a huge plastic bag into the room filled to the brim with washcloths with Minnie Mouse, and Miss Bunny, and the Aristocats on them. Gifts for each and every one of my 39 classmates. So then I was up till midnight wrapping them and handwriting letters to everyone.

The walk to the bus stop this morning was no different then usual, except that it was extremely gray and rainy out. For being in the middle of the rainy season, we have had a staggering amount of sunshine. Funny that the gray skies and thunder should hold out till my last day of school, the beginning of the end.

I got off the bus and my two little primary school friends came running after me as usual, calling "Onesan! Onesan!" in thier adorable sing-song voices. They gave me goodbye letters, and we took pictures, and now I will never again see the two little girls who put such a huge smile on my face every morning.

The morning proceeded with normal classes; lunchtime came and many of my classmates gave me more letters and gifts; I got to go to the teacher's office to say formal goodbyes to everyone; I met, and said goodbye to the principle, who gave me a pendant of the Virgin Mary, or maybe it's just a nun, I can't really tell; I took pictures with all of my friends; was given even more gifts, and letters; attended the closing ceremonies for their meager 20-day summer break; and then went back to the homeroom for the final minutes of school.

Midori, Akane, Alexa

I was called to the front of the class, and presented with this, which is signed by everyone, and made me realize all over again just how much I really will miss them all. I gave them all their gifts, and then we said our final goodbyes.

Me, and Momoka

Having the opportunity to attend a Japanese high school has been the most incredible experience. It is an experience that I will always look back on with the fondest of memories, and will always wonder at the fact that it was actually five weeks, for it flew by as if it were only five days. The things I have learned and the memories that I have come away with are irreplaceable, and my only regret is that it couldn't last longer.

Yukatas

Sunday evening my host mother's younger brother invited us to a fancy sushi restaurant for dinner, and Midori asked me if I thought we should wear our yukatas. I agreed immediately. My host mom bought me a yukata my first week here and I hadn't had a chance to wear it yet, and was eager to see what it was like.

Yukatas are extremely difficult things to wear, and so we had to start getting ready an hour before we left. It is a very complicated process. The right side has to be folded over first, otherwise it signifies death. then you have to pull it up so that the hem just reaches ankle-length, tie the first tie around the waist as tight as possible, fold the excess fabric over the tie, straighten it out so that everything lays flat, make sure that everything in front and back in centered, tie the second tie around the lower chest as tightly as possible, and then the real sash, or obi as it is called. It is wrapped around several times until it is suffocatingly tight and just barely loose enough to let you breath enough to stay alive, and then it is tied in a very complicated and artful way to look like a large butterfly. And don't forget that the entire robe and especially the obi are made out of very stiff cotton so that it is nearly impossible to move.

Okay, I made it sound a bit torturous, but it was actually a lot of fun.


This is Midori and I wearing our yukatas, and behind us are Midori's two cousins - Yoshitomo and Miho. My host dad thought it would be funny to make Yoshitomo and I, boyfriend and girlfriend, so apparently I have a boyfriend now. lolol.


It's my extended host family! I'm not going to remember everyones' names, but I can tell you who everyone is. Back row: host mom's younger brother, his wife, host mom, host dad; Middle row: Midori, Yoshitomo, Miho; Front row: ALEXA!, obachan (host mom's mother), obachan (host dad's mother), and ojichan (host dad's father).

The Ocean

Sunday was yet another incredible day here. My host parents told me that we would be going for a drive, but it wasn't until we were in the car that they actually told me where we were going. Still, knowing the name of the place didn't actually mean anything. After a long drive we arrived at a small bay with a dock, an information booth, and several small motor boats. My host dad bought tickets and then after about a half-hour wait, we boarded one of the small boats. They were just your ordinary motor boats, but even so, the little enclosed area was still covered with tatami mats and cushions to sit on, and a place to remove shoes. I sat next to the only window that was actually open, and after everyone else had taken a seat, we were off!

The scenery was gorgeous - beautiful rock formations and islands jutting out of the water, and caves and trees everywhere. We went through an area with a huge flock of seagulls and opened the windows to feed them. It was amazing; they would fly right up to the boat and eat out of our hands.

When the boat slowed down again my host dad went to the back portion, outside of the enclosed sitting area. I dashed over to join him; the fact that we were on a boat and completely sheltered from the elements was killing me. A couple other people came out to join us in order to snap a few pictures, but then returned to the safety of their tatami mats once the boat started up again. My host dad and I were the only ones left, which I found ridiculous considering I was the one who lives thousands of miles away from any sort of ocean, and there I was the only one not afraid of getting wet.


It was incredible! Until that point, I hadn't realized just how much I really have missed being on the ocean, with the hot prickle of the sun, the cool salty ocean spray, the sound of crying gulls, and the adrenalin rush of riding up and down with the crashing waves. It was amazing. I had the best time. But curse that boat ride for making another hour of my precious time left in Japan pass as if it was mere minutes. lol.

After the ocean, we drove to the small island of Miyatoshima, which is connected to the mainland by a bridge. We parked at the base of a mountain and my host dad told me that the two of us were hiking to the top to see the view. My host mom stayed behind because she was too tired. So we started the ascent, with me wearing high-heeled sandals. It was an incredibly steep hike with a very jagged path and lots of roots to climb around. Every few minutes we would come across another group of sight-seers, standing on the side of the path to catch their breath. I was extremely proud of myself when I reached the top without having stopped once, high-heels and all. It made me wish that I had bought the tshirt I found in Colorado that said "Sea Level is for Sissies".

The view from the top of the mountain was incredible, more so then I ever could have imagined. You could see the ocean in nearly every direction, sparkling in the bright sunlight, the mainland in the distance, and all of the little rock islands scattered everywhere. It was something that a picture could never begin to capture the beauty of. Ever. I only had one small complaint: Of all the silly places to not have a vending machine!

Meysen Kindergarten

Since I arrived here, everyone has been asking me if I have been to Meysen Kindergarten yet. The question seemed a bit odd; yes, my Japanese is very limited and I would probably get more out of kindergarten then out of high school, but still, why is EVERYONE asking that question?

Saturday evening Midori, my host mom, and I went to a YFU meeting for Midori's departure to America. And it was at the kindergarten! Yes, it was very cute but besides the numerous cages of fuzzy little rodents, I did not see anything special about it - until we went outside after the meeting.

Maysen kindergarten had the playground to end all playgrounds. And I'm not even a huge fan of playgrounds. This was incredible though! The slides were monstrous! And there were rock-walls, and monkey bars, and amazing things you've never even seen before, and things that could spin faster then should be possible without being electronic, and then you'd walk a little ways through all the beautiful trees that surround everything and find even more slides and jungle gyms.

Amazingly fun slides. (Let's forget about the fact that I was wearing a skirt)

Jungle gym #17 was hiding in the trees

This was actually even taller then it looks in the picture, and on the other side was a yellow slide which was pretty much just a steep drop.

And they had actual ponies! At a kindergarten!

Tempura

Saturday afternoon my host mother and I picked up one of her friends, who had invited us to a fancy tempura restaurant. We drove downtown, and eventually came up to a very small traditional looking Japanese building squished within the midst of all the other large modern city buildings. The seating hostess, dressed in a traditional Japanese yukata, led us to a small tatami mat room where there were a number of seats surrounding the area where our tempura chef was cooking. Tempura is a very skillful art that requires many years of practice to perfect. Wow, was it amazing. We were served on piece at a time - numerous different fishes and vegetables that I have never even heard of, and each had a specific way to season it. Some we dipped in salt, some with lemon, and some with the usual tempura sauce mixed with minced Japanese radish. It was so perfect that it just melted in your mouth.

Libraries

Japan, or at least the Sendai area, seems to have some pretty awesome libraries. My host mom has taken me to three so far, and they've all been completely different and equally amazing.

The first one was in downtown Sendai, a couple weeks back. It had crazy architecture, such as the glass elevators, and was decorated very retro.


The second library we were invited to because one of my host mom's friends actually works there. They had a bunch of activities set up for little kids, which we watched for a while, and then we went upstairs to the media room. It was so cool! They had dozens of large television sets set up with seats that had headphone jacks, and you could use them to watch any movie you wanted. My host mom and I spent the afternoon watching Kiki's Delivery Service.

The third library is actually right next to my school and from the outside looks like a huge metal spacestation. My host mom brought me there for the first time after school on Friday. It was so beautiful, with glass windows that looked out over the endless forests covering the entire height of the two-story building. It wasn't just a library either. There seemed to be a small arena and a coffee shop as well.

English Class

Every week my host mom goes to her English class with an instructor from America. I went with her the first week, and somehow the entire class turned into a question and answer session with me. The five older women all got to go around and take turns telling me about themselves and then asking me questions. It was all very cute. Then the English instructor invited me to come back on Thursday nights for the class that he holds for college students. It's been really fun! There are always about a dozen or so Japanese students, and then a bunch of students from all over the world. I've met a girl from Sydney, a girl from Switzerland, two boys from America, and then this past week there was a whole group who had just flown in from England! They're here for a month to visit different colleges and help out with the English classes. I got to visit with the girl from Cambridge University, Hannah, and then also one of the guys from Oxford, Peter. It was kind of funny because he started talking about treacle and I was the only non-British person there who knew what in the world he was talking about. Also, all of the Japanese girls thought that Hannah (the girl in the green shirt) and I were sisters.

Vanilla Lotion

Apparently vanilla scented lotion does not exist here. I pulled out a bottle of it after school today (thank-you again Jacenta ;) ), and I was suddenly surrounded by a group of girls exclaiming how good I smelled. Only a bit awkward. I pulled the lotion back out and passed it around and they were all practically swooning they were so excited. Seriously, I've never seen anything like it; you'd think I was handing them each a million dollars. They all started bursting into hysterics over all of the boys they'd be able to attract - too bad there aren't actually any boys at our school. Then the entire rest of the day, down every hallway I went, there were hands waving in front of noses and more fits of swooning. It was the funniest thing ever.

Picture of Sendai Shirayuri Gakuen

It's a picture of my school! High schools in Japan are very different from high schools in America. You don't just get sent to the nearest one (except for exchange students), but rather you select the ones you'd like to go to, and then take really difficult entrance examinations to actually get in - sort of like our colleges I guess. Because of this, very few students actually live in the area. One of my friends actually takes the train from another prefecture everyday. She travels two hours each way, every single day.

Another Music Story

Wednesday is the day that I have music classes three periods in a row. First, two periods of "music," then a period of "religious music." For "music" class, the sensei had given me two pieces to work on, which I did, and then I was to play them this past Wednesday in class. That was a disaster. My fingers decided that they didn't actually know how to play and would not move. The first piece was for the entire choir, which was fine, because at least they could drown out my playing. After that, the sensei told me that she had set aside the class time for me to give the class a performance. hahaha. No one had told me anything about that. I sat down and played Chopin's Fantasie Impromptu for the millionth time since I've arrived here, no problem. Then they wanted an encore! I was terrified. I tried my best to play Gershwin's Prelude No. 1 even though its been eons since I last played it. I guess it didn't go too terribly because they wanted ANOTHER encore. I had been afraid to play them Prokofiev's Diabolic Suggestion, because it tends to sound like a cat running across a piano and not many people can appreciate that it actually is an incredibly difficult piece. I finally decided to play it though, figuring that if they did think I was only banging on various keys, they at least wouldn't ask for another encore (my repitore of memorized pieces sadly ends here). When I finished I was amazed to find that they actually were impressed, and so gave a quick bow and ran back to my seat before they could ask for another song. A little while later though, the sensei asked me to come up and play the other piece she had asked me to prepare. Apparently this was her turn to preform and she would be singing a solo. She set the music in front of me and it was the same song she had given me two weeks previous, but the key had magically changed from F major, to D major. I guess it's a good thing that I was so terrified, because otherwise I would have died of laughter. The situation was exactly like a joke that my cello teacher used to tell.

My Host Family

I've been here nearly a month and I just realized that I haven't written much about my host family. They have been amazing and I do not know I will ever be able to say goodbye to them in three weeks.

Host Mom - My host mother is definitely the person with whom I have been the closest since I got here. She has done so much with me, and has shown me all over Sendai, and has been incredibly generous in teaching and showing me all that she can about Japan. In return, she has asked everything she can think of about America. It seems like everything we come across, she asks "In America, is similar?"
Every day after school she has afternoon tea waiting for me when I get home. During this time we talk about school, she teaches me some Japanese, and I teach her some English. I am amazed at what a determined learner she is! She has improved at English so much more then I ever could have imagined possible. It's amazing.

Host Dad - I haven't had much time to spend with my host dad
as he works at the clinic all week long. The weekends we have had together though have been great. He's shown me lots around Miyagi (the area of Japan or "prefecture" that Sendai is in.) Even though his English is very limited, he likes telling me about random things such as the history of this bridge, or the origins of that festival. When he's not around he occasionally leaves small gifts, such as my favorite green-tea ice-cream, or episodes of kids' Japanese shows for me to watch.

Midori - I'm beginning to think that my host sister, Midori, is the Japanese carbon copy of myself. We share many of the same likes and interests; she also plays the piano, our fashion sense is frightfully similar (her friends teased her the other day when she introduced me because we were wearing practically the same skirt and leggings,) and she studies NON-STOP. The other day I walked past her room after she had been studying for several hours, and saw that she'd fallen asleep at her desk. It's amazing how dedicated Japanese students are.
In just a few weeks, Midori leaves to study abroad in America for an entire year. When she's not studying, she asks me everything there is to know about American high school. She had a lot of fun looking through my yearbook from this past year, and now is all excited for Prom (they don't have proms here.) Also, we watched "High School Musical" the other night, which made her even more excited for life in America. I felt really guilty trying to explain to her that it wasn't a very good representation of American high schools.

Ojichan and Obachan - As I mentioned before, my host grandparents (my host dad's parents) live directly next door, and join us for dinner every night. The grandma doesn't speak any English, but still enjoys talking to me in Japanese whether I understand her or not, and has the most adorable laugh. The grandpa does speak English, and he is so sweet! He is easily impressed by everything, such as my piano playing, my poor Japanese skills, and the fact that I can read and write in Japanese characters. He is also very interesting to talk to. He tells me a lot about the history of Japan, and frequently mentions how sad he will be when I leave.

Sweet Irony

Japanese sweets are the best, mainly because they are not as disgustingly sweet and loaded with sugar as American sweets, and they are a million times more delicious.

Still, I've been eating way too much, and in a hopeless attempt to cut back a bit, I started giving the sweets that my host-mom packs with my lunch to my classmates. At first it was great; they were super appreciative, and couldn't thank me enough (even if it was nothing more then one of those little chocolate filled koala cookies).


Then it backfired on me.


The Japanese are extremely fond of giving gifts, and never pass up an opportunity to do so. Now I am suddenly bombarded by a parade of sweets from my classmates everyday. Not just little things either. Apparently one little koala cookie = an entire box of Elise Wafers in return. I'm going to have enough Japanese confectionery to last me a year by the time I go home. So much for trying to have less of it. lol

Gym

Gym class here is so much fun. Haha. I never thought I'd actually say that. But it's so random that you can't help but love it. Unlike in America where we have separate classes for different sports, here we have a standard "gym" class where you never know what you'll be doing. So far we've had relays, tennis, badminton, volleyball, and gymnastics. Volleyball is terrible; I've become an expert at running away from the ball when it's heading for me. Gymnastics is amazing though! I'm having so much fun! I haven't done gymnastics of any sort since I was about five, and yet I can actually do somersaults backwards and forwards, and the sensei actually applauded me, which was pretty cool considering I was surrounded by Japanese girls, all of whom are beyond tiny and on the verge of being contortionists. Okay, run-on sentence is over. Obviously I've been speaking one- and two-word sentences for too long.

4th of July

Happy July 4th everyone! No one here in Japan even knows what July 4th is and I'm beginning to suffer withdrawals from the complete lack of celebrating. And fireworks! I miss my fireworks!

I hope you all have a super day. Set off some poppers and sparklers for me!

The Consequences of Language Barriers

I'm beginning to think that language barriers deserve a bit more credit; they make life so much more amusing. Because of language barriers, I ended up singing in front of the entire school today. I'll explain.

During lunch breaks and after school the past few days, my class has been rehearsing choir songs, and not once have they let me sit out. They insisted (by way of hand gestures and body language) that I join them. It was so nice of them to include me, but I have no singing experience at all. I had absolutely no idea what we were singing, but apparently did a stellar job of BS-ing it. Okay, not entirely; I actually did manage to learn one of their songs, and the majority of the other one, which made them all very pleased and even more eager to include me in their practices. Then today the entire high school filed into the auditorium for their big choir competition! I probably should have seen that coming. I really didn't expect to be singing Japanese songs in front of the entire school though. The competition was a huge event. It took the entire day, and all of our classes were canceled because of it. We didn't win, but we still had a lot of fun.

So that's my story. The blond gaijin who can't really sing was in a Japanese choir competition today.

Go Eagles!

This evening my host sister, Midori, and I went to the Rakuten Eagles baseball game. It was so much fun! My host mom dropped us off at Sendai station and we took a taxi to "Kleenex Stadium." Our seats were in the very front, about six rows back, a perfect view over everything. It was crazy; we were nearly hit by flying baseballs numerous times.



After one of the innings, there was an awesome fireworks display, which made me so happy. I thought I'd be going the entire July 4th week without seeing any fireworks this year. That would have been sad. I got to see my fireworks though!!!

Before the lucky 7th inning, we sent up a fleet of crimson balloons for good luck. I guess it worked because that's when our team scored their home run. It was so weird standing on my toes cheering, and actually being taller then everyone around me. haha.

We won 4:0. Go Eagles!

The Things You Learn In Japanese Catholic School

This week has been back to school for me. I must say, there's never a dull moment there (except English class maybe). After a week of being gone, we had to start all over with everyone screaming KAWAII!!! at me every time I walk down the hall. I don't know how I'll ever live without it once I return to America. lol

When I got off the bus this morning, two of the little elementary school girls ran up to me and said something in perfect sing-song unison. They were so adorable!!! I felt so bad though, because their voices were so melodious that I couldn't for the life of me understand what they were trying to say. But they were the cutest things ever!

Homeroom this morning was hilarious. They passed these out. It's priceless, really. A full 25-page booklet, complete with illustrations, all in Japanese. This is the last thing I ever expected to be going over in an all girls Catholic high school in Japan.

Sendai Museum

The Sendai Museum was amazing. It was fascinating learning about the history of the city that I am staying in now. I saw some really incredible samurai armor, paintings of Masamune and his wife Megohime, and learned that Masamune was married off at the age of 13, to Megohime who was only 11. Also, Masamune went blind in his right eye from small-pox at the age of five, earning him the nickname “one-eyed dragon.”

A copy of Masamune's iconic helmet with the crescent moon

The Strangeness of Japan

Yesterday, after my lunch of jellied fish, and fish custard, we had squids for dinner. Whole squids with the head and tail and everything. I think this is the part where my sense of culinary adventure begins to wane. The squids kind of creeped me out.


Then today my host mom and dad took me to Sendai’s famous Kanezaki Belle Factory, where they have all kinds of kamaboko. Kamaboko is a processed fish loaf made from pureed white fish, and in my opinion not something to brag about. Whoever decided to process fish into a chewy piece of fish cake should be punished. Kanezaki also had some really weird mechanical fish contraptions. It was definitely one of the strangest places I have ever seen.

Ridiculous Japanese Bathrooms

I’m sorry if this is a bit crude, but it was just too ridiculous not to share. Yesterday we went to a coffee shop and I went to find the bathrooms. I opened the door and not only did the light automatically turn on, but the toiled lid automatically lifted as well. As if that wasn’t scary enough, the second you sit down, the most annoying elevator-type music automatically starts blasting as if the entire room is filled with speakers. Then the automatic hand dryer sounded like a jet engine taking off and completely drowned out the already-too-loud elevator music. Actually I was surprised to find a hand-dryer at all. They don’t exist here. Neither do hand towels. Everyone carries around their own little handkerchiefs.
… I thought the toilets with a million buttons were strange enough.

Parachutes

It's already Saturday again. It's terrifying how fast the weeks are flying. Today my host mom and I picked up Obaachan and then went to a fancy restaurant for Lunch. It was amazing. I've decided though that I don't like fish in custard. or jellied fish. Jellyfish is good though.

After lunch we drove for a while through the beautiful Japanese countryside, and my host mom told me that we were going to "a mountain." I was slightly confused, you don't just go to "a mountain" for no reason. Was it for hiking? A famous monument? Some historical sight? After a while, we parked the car at the base of a small hill and started walking. Beyond a group of trees that were standing in the way, there was a gorgeous hillside, surrounded by forest, with families having picnics, and dozens of parachuters soaring down the hill. It was so cool. There was a rickety little chairlift that we rode to the top of the hill/mountain and from there you could see the view over all of Sendai. The funnest part though was all of the parachuters. We were able to watch them take off and go soaring off into the distance. It looked like so much fun!!!

Automatic Rice Machine

This was the strangest thing ever. Seriously.

On the way home from my host mom's English class, we stopped at this little booth and she asked me to please carry a large bag of brown rice in for her. We went inside, fed the machine a 100-yen coin, and the entire booth started shaking like crazy. We poured all the brown rice down a chute, and waited, and waited, and it felt like the little booth was about to blow up, and then white rice suddenly started flying out of the other chute. I am so confused. Why not just buy white instead of brown rice in the first place?

Day at Home

This is the first time that I've actually been home all day since I arrived here. My host mom has had something planned for me every single day which has been awesome, but it was nice to have a break. I went downstairs to breakfast this morning to find toast smothered with my leftover mango tart filling. lol. It even had the toasted meringue on top.

I spent the day watching J-Dramas! Four episodes of Nodame Catabile, and two episodes of Kurosagi. I'm getting hooked. This is not good.

I also tried to pull out my summer AP homework, but then got frustrated over the thought of spending my precious time in Japan doing American homework. I don't know what to do with it. D: I really shouldn't save it all for when I get back.

For lunch my host mom invited two of her friends over and we had obento delivered. I find it amusing the way she says kawaii ne? (Isn't she adorable?!) to everyone she introduces me to. I had kind of thought that kawaii was just something that younger people said all the time, but no. It's everyone I meet.

Also, my continuous posts about food are probably getting annoying by now, but the obento boxes were so pretty! It was all so visually stunning that I felt guilty eating it. There were dozens of little pieces of tamago, and ebi, and unagi, and tempura, and mochi, and little red fruits that I have never seen before in my life, and dozens of other delicious things that I had never seen before. It was amazing.

Mango Puree

Today I spent the day making mango meringue tartlets for my host family! They were extremely excited to have "American sweets." I'm not too sure about how "American" mango tarts really are; I've never had them except when I've made them, but I didn't mention that. I was a little worried about finding all of the ingredients in a Japanese supermarket, but with the exception of limes, didn't have too much trouble. What I didn't think about was the part where the mangoes have to be pureed. In America, we have blenders, and food processors, and mix masters, and juicers, and any number of ways to puree a mango. Not in Japan though - at least not in my host family's kitchen. When the forks didn't work so well, my host mom pulled out the old fashioned suribachi and surikogi - the Japanese mortar and pestle. What can I say? When I offered to cook for my host family I never imagined I would be pounding mangoes with a stick. My advice: never try to puree a mango without a food processor. It doesn't work. My host family absolutely loved the tarts though. My host mom even had me help her translate the recipe into Japanese so that she can make it again for her friends someday.

Only In Japan...

I guess umbrellas just don’t fit inside normal vending machines.

Kawai roadblocks with monkeys


Supposedly a taxicab - I wouldn’t exactly trust it to get me anywhere alive though.


Beautiful, Sweet, Perfect, $84 cherries

Mochi

Guys, I don’t think I’ll be coming home. There’s just too much amazing food here.

This is mochi – sweet gooey deliciousness. The one on the right is black sesame, the brown one is walnut, and the green one in the middle is Sendai’s famous zunda. You will never find zunda mochi anywhere outside of Sendai.

Sendai Castle

This week Shirayuri School has exams Tuesday through Friday, so the principal asked me to please only come to school on Monday. I think more school weeks should be like this. lol. Yesterday my host mom and I took the subway to downtown Sendai, and then toured around Sendai City on the Loople bus. We saw some famous Sendai landmarks, and then got off at Sendai Castle.

History Note: Sendai Castle was built by the samurai Masamune Date, after he aided in the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600. Masamune was 34 years old at the time. The castle was destroyed in July 1945 due to an air attack on Sendai during the second world war. All that remains now is the wall.

The view from the wall was incredible! You could see the entire city, the green mountains beyond, and even the glimmer of the ocean in the distance.Lord Masamune Date

There was also a museum with relics that have been found from the castle. After that, we went to the library, which was really cool. I must admit though, it was a bit disturbing being in a building with millions of books that I couldn't read.

Matsushima - Tako

Tako = octopus = my absolute favorite. On a side street there were dozens of little stands set up with freshly grilled seafood of every kind. Since I love tako so much, we stopped and bought some. I believe that it was the most amazing thing I have ever tasted.

Matsushima - Tea Ceremony

On the mainland, there was a temple-like building where sight-seers could experience a tea ceremony. After removing our shoes, we walked in to find a wide open area overlooking the gorgeous bay below. Red carpets for sitting on lined the room. A server dressed in the traditional Japanese Yukata served us hot matcha tea and small Japanese sweets.

Matsushima - Temples and Islands

As I mentioned earlier, Matsushima has many small islands scattered throughout its bay. Some of them have small temples on them, and can be reached by way of short bridges. We went to two of the little Island temples.