TaylorHessler

Almost another week has passed! I go home next Thursday. It's really hard to believe. On Friday, I woke up at 4AM to hop on a plane and go to the Amakusa islands in the Kumamoto prefecture! I was so tired that once I arrived at my host-grandparents' house, I took a nap! I met all of my host-cousins on my host-mom's side of the family at dinner time. Most of them only know basic English, but they were all very nice and welcoming. I ended up going to bed at 9PM and woke up at 10:30AM, even after that nap. I guess I was really tired lol. On Saturday, my host-father took one of my cousins and I around to see some sights in the area. We went to see the ocean first, and it ... read more

Oops. It's been a week since I made a blog post. The last week has been really eventful and spectacular so I haven't taken the time to write about it. On Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, I went to Japanese school again. On Monday, the other American exchange students and I went to Napoli's after school and got pizza and these sugar donut ice cream things that tasted like heaven. We thought the meal was quite cheap, except we didn't know that you get charged ¥300 ($2.50) for a seat. It made our bill 1/3 larger than it was originally. Oops. But those donut ice cream things were worth it. On Tuesday, I went to the English club after school again and we did some cultural activities. It really showed how different American and Japanese think. On ... read more

So obviously I haven't been remembered to update the last few days, but they have been great! On Sunday, I practiced the piano in my home. My host sister is helping me learn Fur Elise and I'm going to help her with her English. I've been to Japanese high school for 2 days now and I've made many friends, including Marino, Tomoka, Yone, Soho, Asami, Iyano, Luna, and many more! The morning train to school is so packed you're literally touching all the people next to you, but it's only a short train ride. During school, I didn't really understand anything so I practiced katakana (1/3 Japanese alphabets). My host mother packed me a really nice bento lunch and I liked almost everything in it! After my first day, I went to Starbucks with my ... read more

Well, I've been through three days of orientation filled with cultural workshops and language lessons. Now I just need to study some Japanese! I'm sitting in the airport and my flight boards in about at hour. I'm a mixture of excitement, fear, and gassiness (TMI? Oops). I'm glad I've made some friends during orientation that I can keep in touch with. It's been a great 3 days! ... read more