Day 10: The Grave & Grandparents & Day 11: Traveling to Sophia University ALONE

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Day 10: The Grave & Grandparents
9:30am: I woke up, took a shower, fixed myself.

10:30am: I ate breakfast (granola cereal). It was the first time the host family ate granola cereal. They like it a lot!

11:30am: We go to the grave, it’s a grave holiday…something like that.

12:00pm: We go back to the house and eat lunch, cup noodle. It’s really good!! The taste is different from America’s.

1:00pm: We go shopping. I buy a camera battery, laptop cord, pencil case, stapler, maps, and Japanese phrasebook. I ate this bread with custard inside…that was in the shape of a fish. I liked it a lot!! But it was so hot, so the custard hurt me when it touched my skin.

4:00pm: Back at the house, Daiki does my internet in my room as his grandparents visits us. My host parents were excited to talk about me and Chicago. I really felt part of the family. 😊 …although the grandfather was a bit scary.

5:30pm: We ate mashed potatoes, asparagus, miso soup, water, and hambagu (it looks like the hamburger meat but my host parents says it’s not…it’s thicker. *confused face*) Then, we talked about random stuff.

8:00pm: The grandparents left and my host family takes a shower/ofuro bath.

9:00pm: I was so tired…I went to my room and went online.

My host family became host family by researching online. Manami studied abroad in Ireland and went to China and another Asian country, so she became interested in hosting a study abroad student. 😊 Maybe my family would like to become a host family?

Day 11: Traveling to Sophia University ALONE
8:00am: I woke up, showered, fixed myself, and ate breakfast. I got to eat a slice of bread with cream cheese and a very delicious salmon salad.

9:30am: I watched Anpanman...a Japanese cartoon that I used to watch when I was very small living in Japan. I can't believe people still make Anpanman shows! There's a bunch of kid shows that's still around when I was a baby. I browsed online and called Jon on Skype.

11:30am: I said, "Itarashai!" when I left to go to Sophia University. I forgot my jacket. The wind was strong and I was a bit cold. It took me about 1 hour to get to Sophia University.

My route:
Walk 5 minutes to Zoshiki station
Zoshiki Station: use local train to Keikyu Kamata (9 minutes)
Keikyu Kamata: use express train to Shinagawa (12 minutes)
Shinagawa Station: use Yamanoto OR Keihin-Tohoku rapid train to Tokyo (15 minutes)
Tokyo Station: use Chuo rapid train to Yotsuya (12 minutes)
Yotsuya Station: walk to Sophia University (3 minutes)

I don't know why...but being in a moving train/car makes me REALLY sleepy. Too bad I won't be able to sleep on the train. I'm too busy changing trains and stations.

12:30pm: I met a CIEE student, Jack. I bought a sandwich and ate it really quickly. It was really good...only 380 Yen (about $3.80) and a 100 Yen Pocari bottle ($1.00). Cheap lunch.

1:00pm: The CIEE orientation started. We talked about the differences between Japan and America and our personal goals. No offense to CIEE but my 1 hour travel was not worth the not so fun orientation.

3:00pm: The CIEE orientation finally finished. I had fun talking about host families with the rest of the CIEE students and it was fun getting my Japanese cellphone! But...I was sad that I was the last one to get my phone. At 5pm, I had to call my host mom, Manami, to warn her that I will be a bit late for dinner. Dinner is 6pm, which is the same as everyone else. We were all anxious because we all wanted to go back to our host mother's cooking. I LOVE Manami's cooking!! It tastes like my mom's cooking. Manami cooks really good pasta and I LOVE pasta! I will NOT get hungry here. 6pm is not my curfew but I would like to be home by 6pm to eat Manami's wonderful cooking and talk to my host family. 😊

5:30pm I quickly went to Yotsuya station, Tokyo station, Shinagawa staion, Keikyu Kamata station, and then got lost. I didn't know which train to take to get to Zoshiki station. I walked back and forth! I was hungry!!!!! I went to a person with white gloves (train worker) and asked if the Uraga train was going to Zoshiki. He said a word that I absolutely don't understand...then I asked, "iku?" (going?) and he said yes, so I hopped on the Uraga train and made it to Zoshiki.

6:30pm: I finally made the 5 minute walk to my host home and Manami was happy to see me. I said that the train was "kantan" (easy) but I made a mistake at the end. She gave me pasta and it was REALLY good!! I was going to take a picture but Yuzuki-chan would've ate my food...and I ate the pasta super FAST.

7:00pm: Daiki, the host dad, comes back home with a big bag of rice. Then he eats his pasta. The host family and I talk a lot. I found out that Manami is 4 months pregnant. Her tummy doesn't look 4 months to me. But I never had a baby...so I don't really know.

9:00pm: Manami and Yuzuki-chan goes to bed. And I'm ready to go to bed too.

Mom, Manami really wants to see our house. Could you video our house and post it on YouTube? I want to show my host family what our house and rooms look like.

Everyone else, if you can video tape your house and put it on YouTube, please tell me. I want to show my host family what our houses look like in America. 😊

Note: Times are approximate.
If you want a postcard, send me your address. 😊

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Photos

Cup Noodle
Looks like the one in America but it tastes DIFFERENT

Anpanman
A show I used to watch when I was small...is still around.

Japan Prepaid Cellphone
Cute. I have a easier time calling people with Softbank Co. and Japanese numbers.

Infrared Ray
When you want to share your number, just turn on the infrared ray and the numbers gets sent to your friend's cellphone. Amazing!!

Comments

[Ashley]

Pocari SWEAT xD I wonder why it's called that... Manami really doesn't seem 4 months along...wow....... Anyways...if I post a video of what my house looks like, it will be embarrassing cause it's a mess. I will do it maybe this sunday for you? Because Ashley loves you?

[Raining Blue Star]

House Tour Video!!
Cool! I would love to show your house to my host family. :)