A look back at 2011

Here's me sitting in front of my computer at night during winter break trying to upload all my videos from 2011 in Japan and trying to write at least one blog for December.
I'm also sick. Again. I mean wtf.

I know I haven't been very good at keeping up with this blog, or my pictures or videos lately. But I had a good excuse, I didn't want to.
No I'm just kidding, I've been busy. Being an exchange student is like having a double full time job. There are full time jobs, but those don't describe this, because even when you get home, you are still an exchange student. You are an exchange student 24/7, 7 days a week. No breaks, no vacations. You can't just say, I wanna take a break, and then fly home for the weekend like a college student could. No, you must stay in your country all the time, no penalty box.
Anyway, I'm still enjoying it. I have to say my favorite parts are going out with the other exchange students to Karaoke, a restaurant, or just wandering a city. It's fun. And it's the closest thing I get to a break from being an exchange student. Because well, around the other exchange students you can let your guard down. You can relax, be yourself. Especially in a society like Japan, where the nail that sticks out gets hammered down?
So lets talk about these exchange students a bit. I may have mentioned them before, but let's face it. I'm way to lazy to go back and read my past blogs.
There are, 4 Americans (including me), 2 Canadians, 2 Mexicans, 2 Danish, 1 Swede, 1 from Finland, 1 Taiwanese, and a Korean kid, but he never really hangs out with us. And I absolutely adore them all. They are the best people on the face of the earth. Because each of them has such unique personalities. The best part is that when we get together, we can all understand and comfort each other because we are all going through the same thing. And I've said it before, like the old saying goes, you can choose your friends but you can't choose your family. Well, exchange students are like family, you can't pick who you get stuck with for the year. And it's funny because everyone has their own little spot in our strange mis-matched family. Oh I do enjoy their company. I don't know how I will ever live without them when the time comes to go home. I will miss them the most.
And I'm sure, anyone from rotary who might perchance read this if I submit it to the website, they would say, "Oh! You shouldn't be hanging out with other exchange students so much! You should make friends native to the country!" Well, here's the thing about Japan. The people are friendly to you, but when it comes to inviting you to go places, it's like you don't exist. Believe me, I'm trying to make friends. I have plenty of friends in school, and in Kendo club. But outside of school, it's like they don't exist. Also the fact that Japanese kids, are ALWAYS studying ALL THE TIME.
So other exchange students are my way of stress relief.
In other news. I would like to write about how I myself feel I have changed, but to be really detailed I would have to go back and read past journals to point out things, and like I said before, there's no way in hell I'm doing that. I think, the thing that's mostly changed about me is how I react to certain situations, also I curse hell of a lot more, I care less about some issues I used to care so much more about. I have a different sense of humor and laugh at different jokes now. I've become almost a completely different person, but I can't describe it very well. I guess when I go back home people will be able to tell me in detail how I've changed.
There are still some things that have stayed the same with me. I'm still lazy as fuck. Maybe even more so. Nosy people still annoy me, I still won't drink soda, or alcohol. I still think Twilight is the worst shit on the planet, and I refuse to wear the color pink. They say some things never change.
All in all, sometimes I sit and just think, and it always leads up to, who am I? What kind of person have I become? Would my past self be happy, or upset at me. I figure that if still hold those morals of good and know right from wrong, then the rest I don't have to care about. Of course that sounds a bit selfish, and maybe I am sometimes, but I've also discovered I've got a huge heart and want to help so many people in the world when I get back home. I want to do something of impact. And then I also learned I can be a pretty jealous person when it comes to people around me. I blame it on being a Leo.

I realize I didn't write about my experiences or reveal anything of interest in this journal. Too bad. Maybe there will be some stuff in the pictures or video. Well then, my entry for December is done. I have atleast one blog per month, and that is good enough for me.
Hope everyone had a great Christmas, and everyone will have a safe and Happy New Year.
I will be back in January.
At least once.
I promise.

Here's a blog because this wouldn't all fit in a Facebook status.

So I've passed my three month mark on November 14th.
I haven't been homesick, or had any truly bad days since I've been here. I don't know where I am in terms of the exchange cycle.
Anyway, to the point of this journal.

I had an absolutely wonderful weekend, and it wasn't even anything out of the ordinary. Nothing special. Just all the little things that built up to make such a great weekend.

It started on Friday afternoon when my friend back home emailed me the new BTR album, "Elevate". No matter where, when, or anything, they always make me smile and feel happy. I love their music so much. That put me in a good mood for the weekend. Of course I bought the actual CD but it would've taken a long time for my parents to send it by mail.
Saturday I had to get up early for Kendo practice. I'm not fond of early rising and was really dreading this. The bike ride there was cold and windy, and the hardwood floor was very cold too. I don't particularly enjoy warm up. But I ended up having a good practice session. The bike ride home was amazing though, a cool wind, clear sky and BTR on my mp3 player made for a lovely ride. After I got home, I went to have lunch with my mama and sister, we went to a Thai restaurant and I had Pad Thai! I love that stuff! It was soooo good. I enjoyed it very much. We got back home it was still early afternoon, sky clear lovely cool weather. I took a nap with my window open. After I woke up, I danced a little bit, and then had dinner. I don't particularly remember what it was, but it was good. Then I took ofuro, which is a bath, which felt so good especially on cold days. I love ofuro. Then an early bed for an early rise on Sunday.
Sunday I also got up early (as I before mentioned) because I had a Kendo test! The test was for 1-kyu, which is the first test you take when you start Kendo, to get to the next level. Early rise, I know, I didn't enjoy that, but I had an awesome dream that night and woke up ridiculously happy. It was so nice. As soon as I got to the Kendo jo, I was nervous. 50 something girls and 80 something boy were there testing too. Very nerve-wracking. First round I had to put on all my bogu (armour) and use my shinai. We had to to one set of kiri-kaishi, and then had an actual match. You know actual sword fighting. I was so worried I would screw up. After we finished that we had to take off the bogu and use a bokuto to do Kendo forms called, Nihon Kendo Kata, and Bokutō Ni Yoru Kendō Kihon-waza Keiko-hō. So nervous I would make a mistake in one of these steps like I always did in practice. My Kendo sensei was there and my host mama and sister too. According to my sensei, I did every step perfectly. After everything was done, the judges decided who passed and who failed and then put up the numbers of people who passed on the wall. And I passed! I was so happy! What a relief! It was quite an accomplishment too the fact that I have only been practicing Kendo for 2 months, and most people who take this test have practiced much longer. Woo~ Everyone was so proud of me.  After that my mama brought me and my sister to a coffee shop and we had some yummy cake and juice in celebration and it was oh so nice. And I took some pictures of the Christmas decorations that were put out. (Which has started to put me in the Christmas mood.) And then we made a side trip to the store to get fluffy warm slippers since it's cold now, and then we went to the pillow section, and I joked around with my little sister and we laughed and had a jolly good time messing around with the pillows. And my mama actually bought me a new pillow, so now I have another pillow. Ahahaha. It's so fluffy. I will have a good sleep tonight. After that we got home and my brother came out of his room to see what the commotion was about and he and my sister ended up play fighting with his Kendo sword from when he was a little kid in the hallway. The hallway is really skinny with dressers in it so they only had like two feet of room. But it was so funny and I had tears from laughing so much. Dinner was great too, we had Okinomoyaki. Which I didn't really like when I first got to Japan, but for some reason tonight I found it delicious and I had two. Haha, I think I'm turning Japanese I think I'm turning Japanese I really think so. Fits so well here. My host papa came home during dinner from his trip to Canada and congratulated me. And he gave everyone souvenirs, and brought maple syrup. That was funny and we had a good time laughing and being silly during dinner. And it was like we were a big happy family. I was so happy.

That was my weekend. Just goes to show you how if you take time on exchange to appreciate and be happy about the little things, that you will never truly be sad about anything.

Daily life blurb 1

Random blurbs from daily life in Japan.

Got back the results of a test I took on my second day of school. Came in 4th out of 359 students. Like a boss.

Sometimes during lunch some kid gets hold of the PA system in the school and plays JRock the whole time. nbd.

"You must swing your Shinai at a 45 degree ankle so that when you hit your opponent on the head you cut through their skull and their brains flies out." -My Kendo teacher.

The guys in my school enjoy poking me in the back for their amusement.

Beating people with a bamboo stick for 2 & 1/2 hours every day definitely helps with the exchange student frustration.

You see, unlike Florida where it gets cold for a few days and then warms up again, here it gets cold and stays cold. I guess this means it's fall. I was not prepared.

So the only English saying my little sister knows is "Oh my god" but the way she says it, it sounds like: "Oh my gut!"

Once in Japanese history class, my teacher asked me if all the schools in America taught kids that god created humans. I replied with, "No, only religious schools." Then the students laughed and one kid remarked, "What kind of idiots." Then the teacher went on to talk about evolution and how we came from monkeys, and humans are descendants of an ape named "Lucy" and then he started singing "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" by the Beatles. After which he drew a foot and an arm on the board and told us that your foot is as long as your forearm. A good amount of guys in my class had to see for themselves. Normal day in Japan. nbd

During the sports festival in school I ran a 100 meter race. Even though I didn't come in 1st, it was pretty cool to hear the entire school cheering for me before, during, and after I ran. Pretty cool. nbd

Out of the ~13 years I lived in CS, on the rare occasion that I walked or biked to and from school, I was always very wary of my surroundings and acted rather paranoid.
Out of the 2 months I've lived in Ageo, I bike to and from school every day, dodge cars and people, and not a single worry crosses my mind, even when I'm coming home from school in the pitch black night.
It's the mindset of the people that create the safe environment. I give the props to Japan.

I'm a 2nd year. One day after Kendo, the captain (2nd year girl) gave me a thorough explanation of how I should treat my Kouhai (younger than me). Apparently I've been treating them too nicely. I don't have to return "konnichiwa's", I can just grunt at them as an answer, and if I bring snacks I don't have to say, "please eat" I'm supposed to say, "Eat it." While they have to be polite as possible to me. Then she made me practice on the first year girls in Kendo. Being Sempai is cool. Why don't we have this system in America? Or the rest of the world?

Exchange Students will probably be the coolest group of people you could ever hang out with.
Find an exchange student near you and be their friend. I promise you, they will be awesome.

It's interesting how it's perfectly okay for rotary to stick you in a hotel room for a night with someone who you've never met in your life, comes from a different country, and speaks a different language, and the only thing you've got in common is that you are exchange students. Sometimes trust take years to build up, between exchange students it's that special bond that makes it instant, even if you've only met the person five hours before.

Once when I was watching TV with my host mom and brother. There was this show on about some guy in the UK who was in jail. When I asked my host mom what he was in jail for, she and my brother struggled to explain it to me for a good few minutes. Then finally she said “Do you know Hamburgler? Like that. Taking things.”

There was a guy in my class straightening another guys hair with a mini straightener during lunch.

Japanese School Vs. American School

Hey there! Long time no see!
I really should keep up with this blog, but you know, exchange life, quite the busy one!
In between not understanding what anyone is saying and experiencing something new almost every second.

So, I've been in school for about 4 days now. Immediately there are things that I noticed are different from school back home. So, today I will be comparing my current Japanese school to American school.
Since most of my friends who read this are from the US, I'll just post Japanese things that are different and you can fill in the differences.
Now before I start, I don't mean to berate American school, I'm simply comparing the two, and what might be better or worse in each.
I'll start at the beginning of the day and progress from there.

• Bowing. At the beginning of every class, and end, we stand up and bow to the teacher. Not done in America. The bowing shows respect and acknowledgment of the teacher.
• In Japan, everyone wears a school uniform. Mandatory. I don't know what happens if you don't wear it. It probably doesn't even cross the mind of the students to not wear the uniform to school. Plus, they're cute uniforms. I like them. Some people may not and claim it stops individuality. Individuality is not very popular in Japan.
• Make up/ piercings/ hair dyes. None of these allowed in Japanese school. No make up, they'll make you remove it right in front of them. Can't have painted nails either. It's okay if you have pierced ears. You just can't wear the earrings to school. Dyed hair is not allowed. Pretty much means to say, school is not a fashion show, you are there to learn, and make friends by yourself. Without the aid of glamour.
• Classroom anatomy. American classrooms usually have a few whiteboards, and those attached desk-chair things, and if you're lucky, windows. Japanese classrooms, chalkboards, separate desks and chairs, you can put things in the desk. hooks on the side of the desk to hang your bag and lunch, openable windows, elevated podium for the teacher, and sliding doors. If you ask me, I love the sliding doors, now I don't have to fear being hit by a door when walking through the hallway.
• Shoes. I have four pairs of shoes I use in school. Walking outside shoes, classroom shoes, Gym shoes, and Track shoes. Can't wear outdoor shoes into the school. As soon as you get in there is a locker room entrance to change your shoes in. And lockers to keep them in.
• Teachers move from class to class. Not the students. So there is no rush and crowd in the hallways to get to your next class. You stay in your homeroom class all day.
• Time between classes. You get 10 minutes between each class. For what? You don't even have to change class. So, nothing in particular. It's break time. Usually kids get up, talk, get things from their locker right outside the class. It's nice. Relaxing.
• Lunchtime. There is no cafeteria. Everyone eats in their homeroom, or goes to another classroom. Desks get moved around and pushed together. Everyone takes out their bento. (Lunch brought from home.) If you don't have obento, you can get something from the many vending machines on the floor. (Remember Japanese vending machines don't just sell sodas and junk food. They sell much more.) Everyone can do as they please during lunch, which is 45 minutes. Can be on your cellphone, or play a video game or mp3 player. Whatever you want. The teacher is not in the classroom. And it isn't extremely loud with all the people talking. They know how to use inside voices. And somehow after lunch is over all the desks are back in perfect rows and there is no garbage anywhere.
• Sleeping in class. It's allowed. In Japan, you're not supposed to interrupt the teacher in the middle of a lecture unless they call on you. You are not allowed to talk to other kids either. So basically, since sleeping doesn't interfere with the lesson, you can do it. It's up to you to take care of whatever lesson you slept through. No excuses.
• At the end of every day for ten minutes, students clean their classrooms. The the hallways and stairways too. There is sweeping, eraser-cleaning, organizing shelves, etc. I think this is a great idea. It teaches responsibility and cleanliness. This way kids don't make a mess during the day, because they'd just have to clean it up anyway. (Me imagining MSD after lunch is over... ew.) This should really be done in American schools.

That's about it for now,  of course I haven't been here that long and these are the most obvious differences, I'm sure there are many more I haven't noticed yet.
Yep.
Until next time.

Bringing this up to date.

Here I am posting some things I wrote about every day since I got here.

8/15/11
So yeah, this house it pretty cool~ It's like a really old fashioned traditional Japanese house.

I have my own room which is nice. Two stories, so many rooms. The staircase is so STEEP. I almost fell, twice. I feel like a ninja using them lol. My siblings names are Taka (boy) and Yuki (girl). They are both so nice. My dad laughs alot, and makes jokes, I can understand some of them and they're not laughing at me which makes me feel better. My mom is so sweet. She knows the most english in the house, but that's like, a really teeny bit. Mostly I've been nodding and smiling and saying "Hai". I'm being so careful though. I'm afraid of doing something wrong. So yep. The next few days will be weird/funny since I can't speak. They ask me stuff in Japanese and I can understand, but like I can't say something back besides, yes or no. 

8/16/11

Today I went with my mom, brother and sister, to a friend's house of theirs. The lady was so nice,

and I saw the most adorable, tiniest puppy I'd ever seen in my life!! I was like. ouo It is sooooo cute! Er... kawaii desu, haha. We stayed at the house for about an hour, then when we went home, the lady gave us the puppy to take home! So I was like, what. From what I understood, we're only keeping it for a few days. And it doesn't have a name yet, they want me to name it. I don't know what lol. Never named a dog before... help. Haha. Yup, then we brought it home and played with it for a bit. It's so cute, it waddles around and is so funny when it walks quickly. It like, bounces. Then we ate dinner, and after I sat with my brother in the tatami room and watched some sort of anime. 

8/17/11

My mom took me to Ueno park, and the museum of art and the international museum of Tokyo. My first train ride in Japan, it was pretty neat. I got one of those cards you just swipe on top of the stall and go in. The trains are like the metro in Canada and France but they seem more advanced. Everybody is so quiet on the train. It's bad manners to to talk on the train, especially to talk on your cellphone. Then we had to stop to switch trains and had like 20 minutes between trains so we stopped at an instant... restaurant. I don't remember what the food was called. My mom was like "this is fast food" but it's way better than any fast food in America lol. When we got to Ueno park we got tickets to two galleries. The first one was Greek stuff, and I have already seen the stuff at the louvre and other museums so i was just kinda meh. The second one was ancient Japanese stuff which was really cool, and alot of it was actually Chinese stuff since that is what people brought to Japan. It was pretty cool. Then we were both tired so we decided to go home. It was so hot. When I got home I went to my room and stood in front of the AC unit. When I was out I was observing all the people and things they were doing and the clothes. All the girls are dressed so cutely. And they all have heels on. lol. Trying to make themselves taller. But there were tons of girls with knee-high socks on which is like, really dumb. Summer's not the best season to do that.

8/20/11

Today I took a 1 hour car ride into Tokyo with my mom, dad, and their friend. We went to this pretty fancy restaurant for lunch for which I was SORELY under dressed. I wish they would've told me. They mostly talked and I listened. I was observing clothes again and noticed there were almost no people wearing jeans in the city. I was and I felt sooooo out of place. I really need to go shopping. After, we went to the Kabuki theater which was really neat. it's like a play, but Japanese-style. It was from 2:30 to like 5:30 so a really long time. Then when it was over, it took us almost 3 hours to get back home. Tokyo in the middle of rush hour is TERRIBLE. I was trying to sleep in the car, but it was a rather bumpy ride so I kept being jerked awake. When we got home, we just got my brother and sister and went out to eat, so I really didn't get home 'til 10-ish. 

8/21/11

I fought with a packet of hi-chew. It wouldn't come out of the wrapper so I shook the packet really hard and it went flying across the room. then my mom brought me to a Japanese spa-place. I got like a face-massage and shoulder massage, it felt really good since my back has been kinda hurting lately. I've never been to a spa before so I can't really compare it to something, but it was nice. That took about 2 hours I think. Was refreshing. Then when we biked back (took bikes since it was close by) It had gotten cooler out because of the cloudiness. The bike ride was really nice in the cooler air. 

8/22/11

We went to play tennis for 2 hours about. We had an instructor who was trying to teach me how to swing better. I told them I'd been playing a long time, but the technique for playing is different here in Japan. Different from what I learned back when I had tennis lessons/ played. So yeah now I know the Japanese way of playing tennis. He made us do some practice hitting and stuff and at the end we played a game. Sorta. I always have the problem of hitting the ball too hard so it goes far. Oh yeah, it was an indoor tennis court. Interesting. That was really tiring.
8/23/11

After I had lunch, My host mom took me to a big shopping center in the next city over, Omiya, and I got some clothes. Japanese clothes. We took the car and the traffic was pretty bad, but I did get some pictures and video. Then on the way back from the shopping center we stopped to pick up my school uniform finally. (I did say before, it's kinda plain but it'll do.) Then we were home for about an hour, my dad came home and then he, my mom and I went to a bicycle shop and they got me a bicycle! It's going to be my main mode of transportation from school and back. Also, Every japanese bicycle has a basket on the front. It's pretty convenient though. So yep, now I have my very own japanese bike. Then we got home and got my brother and sister and grandma, and went out bowling! We played two games. I came in 4th the first game and last in the second game. I really fail at bowling. It's nothing like Wii bowling. After we went to a restaurant and had dinner. It was pretty cool I was actually holding up some conversations with them. I'm really getting along with my sister too, it's nice. Then they were talking to the waitress, about how I am staying here for a year. She was like EHHHHH? And she totally flipped out when the spoke to me in Japanese and I responded. She was impressed. And my host mom was proud. She was like, "oh yeah she's been studying every day." So today was really good for me. I feel like I bonded with my family more and we're becoming closer. It's a good thing. I feel like I'm going to be really sad when i change families. I hope that's not for a long time.

Plus in the car my host mom was asking me when's the best time to visit Florida? That would be so cool if they came to visit next year when I'm home! Ahh that made me happy that she even thought of that.

First night in Japan

Arriving at Narita airport was somewhat of an adventure for me. Challenge accepted. Following the passengers out of the gate wasn’t too difficult. Of course I had to stop in the bathroom and see for myself. Yes the toilets talk to you. Afterwards to customs where I spent a good ten minutes filling out customs and immigration papers. Got through customs pretty quickly. Then I had to get my baggage which also wasn’t too difficult, it’s bright green, you can’t miss it. After that it was a bit tricky finding my way out of baggage claim. At this point I started to worry and hope someone was there to greet me. I walked out the doors and to my happy surprise; there were a bunch of people waiting for me with huge colorful signs. It was a relief to see them. Greetings exchanged, lots of bowing and こんにちは (Konnichiwa) はじめまして (Hajimemashite). It was also a great surprise when one boy started speaking with me in English. He was a Rotex who’d been to America a few years before. We got in the car and headed home. At this point I was dead tired. Exhausted. I hadn’t slept a second on the plane and my eyelids felt like lead. I wanted to stay awake though, so I could watch the scenery but after a half an hour in the car I was knocked out. The car ride took about an hour. When we got to the house, my host Mom was waiting at the front. My first experience with a Genkan. That was fun. The house is a traditional style Japanese house and quite large. We got my suitcases into my room and then went back out to go to a restaurant. My first night in Japan and we went to a Chinese restaurant. There were many people there, my family, and other members of the Ageo Rotary Club. I tried all the food there, including Jellyfish. It was rather crunchy, which I didn’t expect by the looks of it. None of the food was bad, just some tastes I had never, well, tasted before. Everyone introduced themselves to me and were laughing and having a really good time. I was fighting to keep my eyes open. My Rotex sitting next to me was very understanding. Finally we left and went home. Using the toilet here is really difficult. It’s not your average pull trigger to flush toilet like in most of the rest of the world. This toilet is high tech. The cover lifts up by itself, something turns on when you sit on it, and there is a control panel covered with buttons next to it on the wall. It’s not like I haven’t been forewarned about these things either. I’ve seen videos, pictures, heard stories, etc. Not to mention all the captions are in Japanese and I can only read so much. Luckily for me, there is a handle on the toilet just for flushing. These are super-toilets though, seriously. They do everything apart from cleaning the kitchen sink. Anyway, afterwards we celebrated my birthday with some cake and tea. It was really good, but I was full from dinner and at that point all I wanted to do was fall into bed. I really like my family, they are very nice. My mom and brother know some English, limited but okay, I don’t mind. I’m here to learn Japanese, not English. My dad is funny and my little sister is cute. I think we will get along just fine. So now, I finally got to go to bed. I was knocked out in under five minutes. It felt good to sleep. And that is how my first night in Japan went.

Loneliest 14 hours of my life.

Okay so, I made it to Japan in one piece.
This blog is everything I recorded in my little journal while traveling.

8/13/11 8:11AM. FTL Airport
I'm waiting to board my flight to Atlanta. Saying goodbye to my mom and dad and brother was really sad. I didn't cry though. As a matter of fact, I haven't cried at all yet. It's so weird, I think there is really something wrong with me. Incapable of crying. I got through security okay and didn't lose anything. Just saw a plane taking off into the sunrise. There are lots of people speaking French around me? I can understand them. Woo. It's 9PM in Japan, I'll try to sleep on the flight.
12:15PM. Atlanta Airport
Sitting at my new gate in the airport waiting for my Tokyo-Narita connection. Wifi is not free, makes me upset because I really want to talk. Reading a skype convo from the other night instead. Laptop's out on my lap, and I'm smiling like an idiot. There are people next to me speaking Japanese... I understand! Yay!! Still really really want to talk to someone back home. Got a weird combo of feelings going on. I'm excited by my heart is heavy. Hopefully soon I can contact. Watching the Crew 497 Summer Adventure now.
8:30PM EST. Somewhere over Alaska. Been on the plane some 7 hours or so. Haven't slept yet. I'm really tired though. So far I've watched movies: Diary of a Wimpy Kid- Roderick Rules, 2012 (not a good movie to watch at this moment but lol), 13 going on 30, and The Blind Side, watching that in Japanese. Heh. I have an aisle seat and there's a kid in the window seat but no one in the middle, which is nice. Even though I'm watching movies I am SO LONELY. Got a wrap in my hands, was a birthday gift from someone. The crew CD made me tear. Food on the plane is surprisingly good. It's Japanese food. Yum. A song just played in the Blind side that I recognize from my friend Michael's video. Made me tear. Still can't sleep.
10:30PM EST. Bering Sea
Just thought about how it's still light outside here but it's dark already back home. Remembered everyone is at the Bon festival now, watching the candles on the lake and the fireworks... I wish I could be there, with them. I hope they're enjoying the Bon festival, and remembering me. Been think of everyone the whole flight. Listening to Chester See now. Kinda making me even more sad, but his music is so beautiful.
8/14/11
12:50AM EST - 1:50PM Japan
About 3 hours left on the plane. watched The Rescuers. Really tired. Found the BTR album on the Delta system. No TV show though, bummer. I woulda (turbulence) liked to watch them. They always manage to make me smile. Songs'll have to do for now.Worldwide is really appropriate for this situation... Really really tired.
2:45AM EST - 3:45PM Japan
Off coast of Japan, hour away from Tokyo. Listening to Japanese music to try and make me excited. Still no sleep. Loneliest 14 hours ever spent. Don't know what feeling.

Constant frustration.

I know when you read about something you're like, oh psh, whatever I can handle it. But then when you experience it it's a whole 'nother story. This is turning out to be more frustrating then I thought it would. Other RYE students must feel it too. I understand that my friends don't understand the magnitude of this exchange. They're all like, oh it's just a year, you'll come back, and we'll all be happy again. I can deal with that, but it is really not the case. They also don't understand that I will inevitably change. I will be a different person when I get back. This Beki that is leaving in 9 days will not be the same Beki that returns from Japan. Albeit will be a positive change, but I will not be the same.
I should probably be spending every night out with friends instead of sitting at home in my room listening to music that makes me sad even when it isn't actually sad music. I don't think facebook-ing or chatting online with friends counts either. 
One of my friends wrote a quote that I found really appropriate to this situation."The internet is like a wall. Without webcams, you can't even see how the other person is really feeling. They act like they're happy but behind that screen, they're crying like mad." -Xiao
I can't even estimate the amount of change though. I'm not scared of it or anything though. I mean, bring it on Japan. I can't wait to come back and have the habits of a Japanese person. It seems so cool.Goodbye old me, hello Japanese me.

This journal has been random and I apologize for constantly complaining.
Just feeling a little lost... like always.
I promise the content will be more interesting when I'm actually in Japan.

Took me three hours to write this. Sheesh.

Late night contemplation.

Huh, first post of August.
Wow it's August. Soon my birthday, then my departure. Pretty crazy.
Got my visa in the mail today~
Well, yesterday actually. It's currently 3:00 am EST.
I also got another email from my host family. They were a bit surprised when I sent them my email composed entirely in Japanese. I think they were proud though. I still have to write back. I just take a while to formulate these emails properly. Use proper grammar and formalities, the technical stuff. I found out I have siblings too. That was very exciting. And I feel less nervous now.

It's been pretty hectic around my house though. I'm preparing, cleaning my room for the kid staying here, whilst separating things I need for my own trip. Haven't started packing yet though. That and my parents are driving me up a wall. I know they're just stressed about this whole thing. Trying to plan a going-away-party isn't easy either. Looks like my mom will only allow me to have a few friends over and that's it. There are of course other things bothering me that I would really like to take care of before I leave, and before the opportunity is gone. Once again my impeccable timing has caused me some serious heartache. But this isn't relevant to the context of my blog so I'll leave it at that.
Night time is when I have the best time alone to think and write.
It's a new habit for me to just lie in bed in the dark with headphones in and just think.
Well, don't have much else to say. This is turning out to be a short post.
Ah well, I'll go lie in the dark and contemplate some more.

10 days.

When it's all too much.

Okay, so my flight it officially set for the 13th of August. Hooray! No more hiccups with that. Phew- I'm glad I'm done dealing with that.
Then, my exchange brother from Taiwan is coming 11th of August! So I get to see him for one day, but that's better than nothing! I'm very excited, we've been talking through e-mail and I feel like if I had been staying, we would have been the best of friends. At least one day is better than none.
It's a very odd feeling, to have someone you've never met from across the world call you "sister". It could just be me though, since I have a pretty small family of one brother, parents and four grandparents. Two of which live in Canada. I also have cousins, but they all live in Canada or Hungary, and they're ALL guys. Hah, I'm the only girl in this generation of my family. Maybe that's why I grew up on legos and remote-control toy race cars instead of dolls and makeup. And now I'm getting another brother. I suppose it's better since he and my brother would get along better than if we got a girl.
Speaking of families, I still don't know if my host family in Japan has any kids. I hope they do. I would be nice to have a brother or sister of my age there. Though I would settle for a little sibling. That would be adorable. I could talk with them in my pre-school level of Japanese.
I got my first contact with my counselor over there though.
My family told me they'll be waiting at the airport and sends, "Lots of Love".
It was too much for me when I read that. I nearly broke down in tears. To know someone is over there waiting for me is pretty insane. So now I'm nervous, excited, anxious, happy, sad, worried, curious, scared and a bunch of other feelings I can't even comprehend. (I know I'm not the only one, you other RYE kids. I've heard it in your voices, seen it in your FB posts.) It's like that one Harry Potter quote in the 5th book/movie where Ron says, "One person can't feel all that, they'd explode." And then Hermione says, "Just because you have the emotional range of a teaspoon." Then they all laugh. I would find a way to relate this to Harry Potter. It's unavoidable.
My eating and sleeping schedule is also way out of tilt. There are days where I haven't eaten anything because I can't. Sometimes I can't stomach food. Like right now, my throat is all tight and it feels like there is a rock in my stomach. I've had this awkward stomach ache for over a week now, you know the ones you get when you're really nervous. It's starting to get on my nerves but I can't get rid of it. Pre-exchange jitters. (Am I right guys?) I wasn't this nervous half a year ago. But I do not regret doing this. One bit.
I have gotten used to the fact that most people won't understand what I'm going through unless they're an exchange student themselves. But that was forewarned by Rotary. I still will love and miss my friends here.
My old insomnia habits have begun to kick in again too. Which is not helping. Of course, I stay up late of my own accord. That's my fault. I enjoy late-night chatting with some people. But then when I do go to bed I wake up one or two hours later and then I'm pissed when I can't fall back to sleep. Which leaves me waking up around midday usually after I eventually fall asleep again. My excuse to my parents is that I'm getting ready for Japan time.
These blogs always turn out longer than I intend them to.
So yup.
終わり。
18日間。
18 days.

Coming to terms.

Well, today I got my flight itinerary.
I managed to get the date bumped back so I leave after my birthday, but now there are other problems with the date of arrival. -sigh- Why must this be so difficult?
Even so, I got the itinerary. All I have to do is sign that piece of paper and BAM, I've got myself a ticket on a plane to Japan. It's kinda crazy. I haven't had any major freak outs yet. Which leaves me thinking, I'd better have one soon so I don't break down at the airport, or go crazy on the plane. The insanity.
So yup.
I take a lot of pauses while writing blogs.
I always end up reflecting on things and thinking of memories. I used to be a very, I dunno how you say it, but a person who didn't like change. At all, ever. I wanted everything to stay the same forever. Same friends, same house, same city. I was always sad if someone moved. I think I was like this up until the end of my Junior year in high school. Then I remember starting out senior year and about a quarter in, around November, I was like, F- THIS PLACE. I WANNA LEAVE! NOW! I guess I could only take so much. Ha. Now I know, sure you leave a place full of memories and friends and family. But they'll always be there. Or elsewhere in the world, but they're not dead. You can talk to them, visit them, especially with all this interwebs and technology now. It's not hard. And, you may leave memories behind, but you won't forget them. You'll also make new memories wherever you go! I realized the more things that change gives you more opportunities to make memories. Does that make sense? Sometimes I don't make sense to myself.
Off topic again.
I've come to terms with what I'm doing I guess. With what I'm leaving. A year in one point of view is really long. Some of my friends are like, it's okay it's only a year. A lot of things can happen in a year! People can change! Things will be different, I guarantee you, when I come back from Japan, everything will be different. I will be different too. In another perspective, a year is a short amount of time. I've heard so many Rotex say, you better cherish every moment, because the year will fly by! And I believe them too. (I'm writing this to all my non-RYE friends, because I'm sure, if you're an RYE student, you know EXACTLY what I'm talking about.) Yup.
So yeah. Some others may say things like what they regret while moving on to this new stage in their life. There's nothing I really regret. Sure minor things like taking certain classes, or not doing some thing at a certain time. I can't really say I regret those. They turned out a certain way and I got used to it. Not really regrets. There is one thing I really would have like to do, or have done before I left for Japan. Having had? Did? What? I don't know. I can't really regret it, since it's something that you can't control like that...? Not having the chance to do that? It's a really simple thing too. Anyway. Unless you're a really close friend of mine, you probably won't figure it out. But that's okay, there's pretty much zero chance that happening before I leave.
Whatever, I'm not going to mope around.

21 days left.

This blog is set to Japan time.

So I'm really posting this at 2 AM EST. But the blog says otherwise.
Like I've said before, lately I've been at a bit of a loss with what to do with myself. I'm kinda just hanging on to whatever's going on. Japanese lessons with my Rotex have started to cause me real fear. I never fully mastered grammar in English, I'm not sure if I can in Japanese. I also have a deep loathing for French grammar. It's not my strong point. What worries me is that I won't be able to learn all of this lovely language by the time I have to come home. So I'm trying to cram everything possible into my head now, and keep cramming once I'm there. I'd really like to achieve proficiency quickly. I would be nice, but I doubt it highly. Anyway.
I still haven't finished cleaning my room, I can't step anywhere without stepping on something. That's how bad it is. I'm also gonna hafta start ripping down my beloved posters sooner or later... -cry- Since there will be a boy staying in my room for the next year on exchange, and my posters are well... girlish.
My friends have also realized how soon I'm leaving, and them too so they've started to squish plans in for the rest of the summer. It's gonna be really busy.
Wow, I really veered off topic of what I originally intended to write in this blog. My brain is just like, bleh at this point. I wanted to write about things I hate so I could compare after I've been in Japan for a while, but nobody wants to read a list of hateful things I despise. There are really only two things I truly can say I hate without contradicting myself. These would be The Twilight Series and The Disney Channel. Yeah I know, it's stupid things. They're just unfortunate productions of humanity. If you want a wonderful explanation of why Twilight sucks, go read Dan Bergstein's blog on sparknotes. As for Disney Channel? They've never produced a child star who didn't go down in their later years. I won't waste more words on them. Everything else is just something I might strongly dislike, but I've learned to live with it. Like, I can't stand cheese, but hey, if you want to eat it, be my guest I won't stop you. That means less cheese for me. Hooray.
My logic is quite skewed. I'm trying so had to not use some sort of emoticon in these journals. I'm actually doing well writing this one. In past years I used to try writing a journal or something and it always stopped after the first entry. I have several "first entries" to journals I wanted to write but never did. Aren't I a trooper? I'm just lazy.
There was another thing I wanted to write about, but I forgot what it was and now I'm sleepy. I'll end here and write another day. Anyhoo. Bye bye!

My thought pattern is inconsistent.

Well, it's getting closer. My departure date that is. Actually, it's exactly 3 weeks from today. I'm kinda scared now that I think about it. Still, excited but I think as long as I am still here at home I will be sad. I've started saying goodbye to my friends. Which is heartbreaking, but I haven't started packing. There is so much I need to get sorted out before I leave. Speaking of leaving, my departure date is 2 days before my birthday. Which also means I will land in Japan on my birthday. (Time difference issues.) Happy Birthday to me! Yeah I admit I'm scared. Anyone in their right mind would be scared. Then again if I had just been going to Europe or something, I wouldn't have been half as scared. That's besides the point. I've only had two "freak-out" moments, both were rather small. The first one was in June, and I was like, "Holy shit! I'm really actually going to Japan! That's freaking awesome!" The second one was recently and it was more like, "Holy shit... I'm going to Japan. What the f**k am I doing?" Yeah, It's been quite hard on me. I think I've been banging my head on the wall more than usually. I don't really know. My progress in Japanese is coming along fine... I guess. I mean considering the fact that my Rotex knew much less then I did when they went kinda comforts me. As long as I don't forget everything I know the moment I step off the plane. My Facebook and Twitter are set in Japanese so I'm getting quite used to the sight of it. I also feel like I haven't fully realized the extent of what I'm doing. I feel like I'm in a sort of limbo from now until I leave. I don't know what to do with myself. There are things I really want to get done before I go, but it's difficult to do them. I don't know whether I'm coming or going. Mostly I sit home and watch Youtube videos to keep my spirit up until my friends drag me out to do something. It's rather sad. My summer life has revolved around the internet and the swimming pool so far. It's so exciting.
Anyway. I've started cleaning my room out. I heard from a past exchange student that before you leave, you should clean your room out so that when you return the new you can feel more comfortable and less awkward. I've thrown out so many things, I feel like I have to throw away part of myself. To make room for my new Japanese self. Haha I can't wait to see what happens when I come back. I know there will be a difference, I've seen it in my Rotex. They are different from other... non-Japanese-Exchange-students? But they aren't bad things. They're just little Japanese quirks they have that are different from the American quirks I'm used to here. (If you read this Aaron, Mely, you're the best teachers ever!)
So yeah. I haven't cried yet. About leaving. And when saying goodbye to people. Actually I'm not surprised. I don't generally cry very much. Who knows. I'll probably cry when I say goodbye at the airport. And with my best friends. By that I mean someone else will start crying first and then I will end up crying. Bleh, enough about crying.
Pretty much everyone who knows me also knows I don't hug very much. So if I give you hugs of my own accord, you must be special. Haha, just trying to lighten the mood a bit. >>;
Gonna go back to cleaning my room now. I have so much shit to get rid of.

My hands were shaking the entire time I wrote this.

Self Impressions.

Spending time away on a boat for a week has some serious consequences. First of all, potential head injuries from bashing my head into the wall constantly. If you are Hungarian you will understand my pain of being stuck on a ship with 4 elderly grandparents, family friends, and my parents. THEY NEVER STOP COMPLAINING. It doesn't matter about what. The walls are too flat, the carpet is too carpet-like, the back hurts, the head hurts, this alcohol is too dry, he's had too much alcohol, why aren't I wearing a dress to dinner? What are you eating? Fish? No no no, how can you eat that.
But I digress.
Second, when I did get time to myself, I think too much. This is not a new occurrence. A shocker to people, I know! Ha. I got a whole week to think about what I've been doing, where I'm going, and whether or not I should eat dessert tonight.  As I wrote in my entry "First Impressions" I am not the same person who applied to Rotary Youth Exchange, 8 long months ago. Wow, I can't believe it's that long ago. Now I don't mean to be cynical in any way. I think that these changes were definitely for the better.
I listen more, I observe more, I judge less, I argue less, I am more open to new things, I'm not as lazy, I focus more, and try harder. I'm pretty sure this is what the goal of the two orientations from RYE-FL were for. I was a pretty obnoxious kid actually. Especially the first two years of high school. Wow, reading back on some things I had written, other posts on other sites. Damn, I annoyed the hell out of people. I realize that my family, and my best friend took the brunt of this however. Not to mention my best friend. I'm so happy she still stuck with me all those years. Angie's the best.
Now, the orientation back in January was like, a simple informative meeting. All the technical stuff no one really cares about. Now this second orientation in June, well that was a real mind blower. All weekend, we were put in uncomfortable situations, confused like we'd never known. It was a simulation for us of being in a foreign country, and initial culture shock. There were students who started to doubt themselves, those who were scared shitless, and those who started to wonder, just how difficult this would really be. You see, no one, will ever understand an exchange student, like a fellow exchange student can. I really wish, what was taught to us that weekend, and every uncomfortable situation we were forced into, was a mandatory class in high school. They could call the class, "Culture Shock". I wonder how many kids would fail out of that. I am not putting exchange students on a pedestal, by any means. I'm sure there are plenty more kids that could handle this well, I'm only saying that each and every kid out in this big old world of ours needs to experience what we did from June 24th to the 26th. It was definitely thought provoking. It opened our eyes. No, saying they stapled our eyes open would be more appropo. Anyways. I don't mean to get deep and all philosophical on you reading this. There will be occasions I post from Japan and it will be like I'm from a different planet I'm sure. I'm probably going to have lost my mind a few months in. They say the honeymoon period lasts only about a month. Then comes culture shock and then you plummet to the bottom of the chart from there (for about 5 months). My goal is to jump from the honeymoon phase, shorten the depressed phase, and bowl straight in to the assimilation phase.
It all depends how fast I learn Japanese actually. 
Maybe I sound a bit too over confident?
That's a good thing actually. I've been told, it's better to feel confident about your abilities then to doubt yourself before you get there. I'll let culture shock hit me when it does and deal with it accordingly.
For now, let me think Japan is rainbows and butterflies? Isn't it?

First Impressions.

"Hello and Konnichiwa! My name is Rebecca. Jyuu nana sai desu, to Kanada kara kimashitaka. -I am 17 years old and I am originally from Canada.- I’ve lived in Florida most of my life however, and I attend Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School currently. I will be graduating high school before I leave on my exchange to take a year in Japan before I go to university. Let me tell a bit about myself.

Okay, it is very hard for me to write this professionally because I AM SO EXCITED TO BE GOING TO JAPAN. I have been thinking about this for a year and now my chance has finally come, thanks to the wonderful Rotary Youth Exchange!! I am 5’6”, have blonde hair and green/blue eyes. And let me tell you, I will stick out like a sore thumb in Japan, oh boy. I don’t care though because it will be so exciting. I’m pretty good at using chopsticks (which will be essential to my survival) so I think I’ll be okay.

When I first discovered foreign exchanges, and presented the idea to my parents, well it wasn’t even to be heard of. But after many months of research, perseverance and discipline, I am turning this dream of mine into a reality! Just the thought of spending a year in a completely different culture gives me the chills. Carpe Diem, right? I can’t wait to be hit with this “culture shock” stuff, it sounds like fun! I actually think reverse culture shock will be harder for me to deal with. Haha. If anything, I love the idea of doing something so un-routine. Different is exciting, ne? I am ready to take on these responsibilities and expectations, sir!

At home in Florida, I live with my mom and dad, little brother and my 10 year old kitty. I’ll miss all of my family and friends like crazy. I come from a diverse family and currently I can speak English, French, and Hungarian. I’m a very excitable person and I like a wide variety of things including (but not limited to) traveling, sports, video games, reading, music, and drawing. I love Tae Kwon Do, playing Tennis and my favorite everything is Harry Potter. The type of music I like ranges from Classical to classic rock, although recently I am all about that Japanese pop. Yay!

Of Japanese, so far I’ve learned a few basic words, phrases, etc…, including memorizing the entire Hiragana chart, and half of the Katakana. So I hope I’ll be okay. I think learning a whole new “alphabet” if you will, is going to be the biggest challenge.

I’d like to thank Rotary Florida for giving me this amazing opportunity and my parents for letting me do this. I love you Mom and Dad. I look forward to this coming year with great anticipation and excitement.

Culture shock here I come!

-Rebecca, べき"

“To be proud to associate with people of all cultures, creeds, and races, knowing with deep conviction that International Understanding is the fruit of International Peace.”

–Rotary Pledge.

... This is what I wrote back in January for the RYE-FL website. 

Reading back on this, I really wish they had made us write this at a nearer time to our departure. There is a great difference to how I would have written this is I had to write an introduction now.

That introduction now gives off an air of naivete to me, of course I was excited. I had just stepped into the world of exchange students, a fresh pick off the vine. Unsuspecting, ignorant almost. This self-intro, doesn't feel like it's me anymore. It just doesn't work anymore. 

It's not the same person. I'm not the same person as I was 6 months ago.

What is Culture? (Test post)

What is Culture?

            Culture, as defined by the dictionary, “is the quality in a person or society that arises from a concern for what is regarded as excellent in arts, letters, manners, scholarly pursuits, etc.” This of course can be narrowed down to what the general population might define culture as being, someone’s ethnic background. This however is not entirely the case because culture can be a learned entity. It can be adopted. Some might say that culture is what determines a person or society’s behavior. In layman’s terms, culture is what makes a person tick. It’s the driving force behind the actions or logic of a particular group of people. When someone is born, they are born into a particular culture. When someone moves, they might move to a place with a completely different culture. They can then assimilate into the new culture, or find cultural groups within the community. Such examples would be China town or little Italy. There are also different levels of culture, these can be based on race, country, region, or even a city might have its own form of culture. The spread of culture is called cultural diffusion. Throughout history, lands were conquered and most of the time the conquerors spread their cultural influences to those that were conquered. However since this no longer happens in modern times cultural diffusion takes place when people move from country to country. When someone moves to a new region, they are bringing with them their culture. They may not realize it, but they do influence the area around them and spread their culture. As time goes on, more people of the same culture may move in and the spread of their culture becomes even greater. Sometimes these things can cause conflicts. Cultural conflicts are one of the largest reasons for violence in the world today. When one culture clashes with a culture that has opposite views then there will be disputes. When one holds firm to one’s own culture and views another cultures values as bad, or looks down upon the ideas of said culture, then it can inevitably lead to violence. This is one of the major underlying causes of terrorism today. People need to realize that even if another cultures value might seem strange, or even alien to them, that it is not good, or bad, just different. What is considered proper or even the norm in one culture, might be inappropriate in another does not justify that either is wrong or right. Cultural norms are like the rules to which an individual follows of his or her own culture. As per example, slurping soup in Japan is considered as a compliment to the chef, while would be frowned upon as bad table manners in America. On the contrary blowing your nose in public would be considered a social faux pas in Japan, where is it perfectly okay to do so in America. As is walking and smoking simultaneously. If people were to research these cultural differences before say taking a vacation, or going on a business trip, or being an Exchange Student, then maybe they wouldn’t be singled out as “that obnoxious foreigner who doesn’t know what they’re doing”. A prime example of this is how many people around the world believe that the Japanese hate foreigners, when in fact it is quite the opposite. Japanese love foreigners, the reason behind the misconception is that when a tourist or foreigner visits Japan, they are not aware of the cultural norms and customs. This can lead to them sitting improperly at a table, and having improper body language. Which can give a bad impression to the hosts. This goes for any country, although most will not be as culturally precise as Japan. This also plays a great example as a collectivistic society. There are two major types of cultural societies in the world. Individualistic societies are those that put emphasis on the individual, what it important for one person, what their goals and dreams are. It encourages individualism and to do what you want for yourself. It promotes the individual to speak his or her feelings and to not worry about the judgements of others. This type of society is most commonly found in European, North American and South American cultures. The second is collectivistic society. This is when more emphasis is put on the group. What does the group feel? How can we make the group better? What can we do to please the group as a whole. They encourage individuals to keep thoughts to themselves and keep harmony between the people. This group I am referring to can be a group of friends, or a whole community. The majority of collectivist cultures are found in Asia. The most important thing to remember is that neither of these are good or bad, just different. A perfect example would be music. In America the most well known musicians are solo artists. I’m sure many can be brought to mind without mention of names. These are solo artists. They stand alone. No group, just one singer, the focus is one person. And in the rare time there is a group of musicians, they are generally called a “Boy Band” and there is almost always one in the group that stands out as the one with the most solos in every song. In Japan, and most of Asia, musicians come in groups. Think about it. If you are familiar with any asian music… groups. These groups outnumber soloists almost 5 to 1. Especially in Japan. Morning Musume, C-UTE, Berryz Kobo, Perfume, Aa! Are all music groups in Japan to say, GND, which is a soloist. Even in other Asian countries; DBSK, SNSD, SHINee, BeG. All groups. All famous. The reason behind this: Collectivistic culture. When you break it all down, culture determines the way we eat, what we eat, how we sleep, sit, learn, what we watch on TV, the content of what is on TV and how we live our lives. Pop culture is just another word for modern cultural popular things. I have to say this whole Exchange Student deal has changed the way I view and observe peoples behaviors and actions. Since our first orientation I think I have become a better judge of character and can always narrow down the reasons for people’s actions. It will almost always end up at culture. You can’t judge people, until you understand where they come from. Culture is an entity in our lives that makes us who we are. Everyone has it. No matter how un-cultured someone may seem. (That may just be part of their culture).  But most likely not.


“A nation's culture resides in the hearts and in the soul of its people.”
-Mohandas Gandhi