I'm in Japan! Yay!: ブロッグが始まった時 (When I started my blog)

6/29

ATW began today. I woke up around 7:45, ate breakfast with Mama-san and Natsumi, and left for the Airport (where I catch my subway). Natsumi helped me buy a ticket and we got on the same first train. She got off first, and left me with directions to Kyudai. I got there alright, and got to the International Student Center surprisingly fast. We had Orientation for a bit, then the placement exam. The test started out alright...but then went way down hill. My listening skills are very poor, so that part of the test was pretty bad. There were definitely questions I should have been able to answer that I either didn't or answered wrong. Oh well. Afterwards we had a party for a couple of hours, which turned out to be pretty nice. I met a lot of people, and everyone was very nice. One guy looks a lot like a mix between my old suitemate Ben Yelsey and my older roommate Eric Anderson. His name is Max, and he's really nice. He and this girl Anna both talked with me about Japanese literature. He's into linguistics and she's into translation. So great. Haha. I also met a few other people from U. of Michigan, all very nice.

Emily (also from UM), Me, and Max

On the way back from lunch, some girls stopped Max and I and took our pictures. They said we were going to be in a fashion magazine and then interviewed us about our clothes and secret love lives...interesting. After the party we all played a batsu game (read: penalty game) where the batsu was to eat candy. So basically not a batsu at all. It was some number game that would be good for teaching how to count...it really helped my counting quickly in Japanese. It was fun, too. The Singapore kids instigated it. They are a fun bunch.

This is some of them :D

6/27 - 6/28

Saturday I really just hung around the house, playing with the cats. They have interesting names: Reito, Maika, and Nyanda. The dog's name is Jakku. I'm glad my host family has so many animals. It's so easy to speak Japanese when it's to an animal, haha.

Anyway, Sunday I went on a surprise journey. I woke up with a stomach ache, and then was presented with a huge breakfast of french toast. After I ate it all, my host family kept saying "let's go let's go!" I assumed we were going for a walk. I was wrong. We drove for about an hour. I'm still unsure as to where we were, but it was some sort of folkcraft village.

Fans made of metal outside the metal shop.

Ceramics shop.

I bought Sarah a Japanese umbrella at a gift shop. It's very nice. Then we went into a glass shop and were taught how to make pretty glass beads with flowers inside from scratch. I totally melted glass and stuff. It was awesome.

Me being awesome and melting glass.

Me being awesome and melting other glass to decorate the main glass.

My awesome finished product.

Then we went into a pottery house and made stuff. I made a cup for Eric. Natsumi made a bowl that looked like a coiled snake, and Mama-san made a statue of Reito. It's adorable.

Mama-san making her statue of Reito.

Mama-san's finished statue of Reito.

Makin' Eric's cup.

Mama-san said these things make the best souvenirs, because there's only one in the whole world, and it was made in Japan. I agree.

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６月２６日

こんばんは！６月２８日だけど、私は忙しくてきましたから、今日はこのブロッグが始まりますよね。台湾空港から私の飛行機は午後４：２０出て行きました。あまり長くない直行便（２時間だけ！）だったけど、たくさん寝てた。ビルといって優しくて面白い人に飛行機で会いました。その人は日本に住んでいると言って、電話番号を私に送りました。「アメリカ人を会いたかったら、僕に電話でかけて下さい。僕の米軍基地(American Military Base)に来られますよね。」と言いました。ちょっと変だったけど、優しそうだったね。

福岡空港に着いた時、２時間ぐらいでATWから来た人を待ちました。私のピアチューターと女の人に会いました。彼女は紙と新しいIDを私に送りました。チューターは優しくてちょっとしずかですよ。

ホーストファミリーの両親は30分後で来ました。日本人上、ホーストファミリーがちょっと変だけど、私そいつらが好きです。ママは短くて、かわよくて、大きい眼鏡をかけています。パパは面白くて、優しくて、子供の心があります。私を家に連れて来て、お子さんの菜摘に取り込みます。菜摘もとても優しいです。かわいい猫が３匹いて、犬も１匹います。私の部屋は和洋の部屋です。畳や戸や床で寝ている布団があります。居心地のいいですよ。

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6/26

Hey all! I know it's actually the 28th, but since I've been busy, I'm starting my blog today. My plane left Taoyuan airport at 4:20pm. The flight wasn't too long (only 2 hours!), but I slept through most of it anyway. I met a nice, interesting guy named Bill on the plane. He said he lives in Japan, and gave me his number. He said, "If you want to hang out with some Americans, give me a call. You can come the the military base where I live." It was a little weird, but he seemed nice enough. I doubt I'll call him, anyway.

Once I got to Fukuoka Airport, I had to wait a couple hours for people from ATW to show up. I met my peer tutor and a lady who runs the program. She gave me a bunch of papers and a new ID. My tutor is nice, while a little quiet.

My host parents came half an hour later. They're very unorthodox for Japanese people, which I like. Easier to adjust to their home life. My host mom is cute, short, and had huge glasses. My host dad is funny, friendly, and a child at heart. They took me back to (our) house and introduced me to their daughter, Natsumi, who is also very, very nice. They have three cats, who are all adorable, and a dog. My room is a traditional Japanese style room, with sliding doors, tatami mats, and a futon that I sleep in on the floor. It's cozy.