Today was my trial day at kyudo. It was fun, although we only got to practice with rubber bands fastened to a small plastic handle. (Obviously, thinking you'll be shooting an arrow from a 2 meter long bow on your first day when you can't even hold it correctly is asking a bit much! XD) We went by car to practice in a dojo away from our school, since we don't have a dojo of our own. It was amazingly Japanese and really beautiful!
The teacher did nothing but sweep the floors(!), so we were taught by the students. Still, they were really helpful and knew a lot more than we did, so it was fine! They even stood behind me correcting my stance and way of holding the bow. ^^ And, OMG, physical contact!! XD (Still, I must say I'm surprised the teacher didn't even come to look at any of us...?) They were really nice and funny too - there was one boy we found out went a class beow us (or he's younger, can't recall), so he's our kouhai (junior at work or school etc.). He jokingly got down on his knees, bowing with his head to the floor. Then we realized that he's our senpai (senior) when it comes to kyudo - so Francesco threw himself flat down on his stomach while I repeated the low bow. All the while laughing and saying "onegai shimasu" repeatedly. XD
They're having a contest in a few weeks time, so up until then they're all practicing. After that, they don't really seem to know when the next training will be. Apparently they send each other mails on their cell phones when they have a training. What I'm worried about is that I might not learn as much if we hardly ever practice. In which case maybe I should just work damn hard ans start kendo? I might get bored of going home so early eventually too, although club activites every day will be tiring, I'm sure... I don't know. I'm confused again. :S What to doo~?
People who have tried any of this, or just want to give me a tip... you're welcome to leave a comment! :)
Location: Japan!
Mood: tired (thank God it's Friday...)
Listening to: my host dad snoring in the sofa XD
Eating: are you crazy?! It's past midnight...
Drinking: maybe some water before I go to bed. Bed~ m(_ _)m
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Edit...
OK, since kaa-san is leaving for England tomorrow (I don't get everything happening around here :P) I am now in the grandparent's house where I'll be living for roughly about a week. They do have internet, although I don't think I'll be updating my blog so frequently this week. I've got a Rotary orientation camp too...
I had today off from school since we had the taiikusai yesterday, when it was a holiday. I went shopping with kaa-san, and... well, I'm extremely pleased with my purchases! ^^ I'll make a post about it later, but for now... let's just say they include "Otsuka Ai" and "Kago Ai". <3
Edit: I've updated the two last blog entries with pictures! Take a look! :D
Location: Japan! ...in the grandparent's house for the time being. :P
Listening to: Sakuranbo - Otsuka Ai
Eating: -
Drinking: -
I had today off from school since we had the taiikusai yesterday, when it was a holiday. I went shopping with kaa-san, and... well, I'm extremely pleased with my purchases! ^^ I'll make a post about it later, but for now... let's just say they include "Otsuka Ai" and "Kago Ai". <3
Edit: I've updated the two last blog entries with pictures! Take a look! :D
Location: Japan! ...in the grandparent's house for the time being. :P
Listening to: Sakuranbo - Otsuka Ai
Eating: -
Drinking: -
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Taiikusai owari! ^^
Today was the big day! Sports day! Man am I happy I won't have to practice for that again! XD It was fun, though. My team, aka gumi (red group) won! Haha!
I joined in the great fight for the tires again, although I was (sadly) not dragged through the sand this time around. I also wore a yukata and danced with the other girls. As you know, I have barely practiced it (maybe two times), so it was a little difficult even though the dance itself is quite simple. I also got to know that we'd be dancing while waving around some pieces of cloth - about 15 minutes before we entered the arena! Yes, I was very happy about that... haha! I did mess up a bit, but all in all I managed pretty well. It's quite fun for me sometimes being part of such a big group where we all do the same thing - it gives me a sense of teamwork. I think the west is more focused on the individual, while here you're supposed to be more like everybody else. (At least at school, it seems.) I like a combination of both, I think. I do sometimes miss the feeling of teamwork this gives me - even though marching up and down the square isn't my favourite thing to do. XD
Some pictures of the dance and the epic fight for the tires (I'm no. 7):
"On my signal unleash hell!"
Tsuru hits the ground - the rest of us ignorantly keep pulling...
...then she gets up and makes a beautiful recovery! Go, Aka gumi! Go, go, go!!!
I'm dancing. Notice how I'm the only one stepping forward with the right foot...
I look like a weird Japanesey gaijin being a blond and wearing a yukata. Tsuru's behind me, looking happy. :)
All the clubs also marched back and forth for a while to promote themselves. Francesco and I found the kyudo club after they were done and asked them if we could join in. Like I've said before - I would really like to try kendo too - but I figured kyudo might be the best and safest bet. I asked the girl (that I've never seen on training...) how often they train. She smiled and said "...whenever we have time!". That's promosing for me. I won't have to come every day, and I can do other things one day if I feel like it too. Still, I do want to learn something there, so hopefully the students there can show me. Should it turn out to be the wrong thing for me it won't be the worst club to quit either. Anyway, the first training is on friday this week. I think it'll be fun! The only problem is how I'll get home afterwards. The bus only goes to the train station. Hmm...
Madoka's gotten ill while on a school trip to England with her German class. It's probably her appendix (had to look up that word), in which case she'll need an operation. It's nothing serious, but kaa-san and Mrs. Kamikawa will travel to England to stay with her for a while and then go back to Germany with her afterwards (since her class will be leaving ahead of her). I feel really sorry for her! She was quite nervous about going to Germany for a month - and then she falls ill while on a school trip! I hope she gets well soon.
While kaa-san is in England/Germany for about a week, I'll be living with Sayaka and Momo in the grandparent's house. Ryotaro might stay here, at least I know too-san will. But since he's working, it would be hard to fix dinner and so on for everyone. So I'll have to take a different school bus and figure out how to get home from the kyudo club and... ugh. I wish I could stay here, it's so much easier now that I know my way at least to and from school. The grandparents are very nice, but I don't know them so well, nor their house, so I'm thinking it might feel quite awkward for me. :S Troublesome.
In any case, I guess next week will be an internett-free week for me, so probably no blogging.
Until then I'll keep updaiting as interesting things happen! :)
Momo took intelligent pictures of me eating! XD
Sayaka, the Tokage (Momo's favourite little friend, so officially a part of the family) and me. "The tokage loooves me!"
Location: Japan!
Mood: Tired (long day today...)
Drinking: Cold tea with milk and honey - out of a bottle!
I joined in the great fight for the tires again, although I was (sadly) not dragged through the sand this time around. I also wore a yukata and danced with the other girls. As you know, I have barely practiced it (maybe two times), so it was a little difficult even though the dance itself is quite simple. I also got to know that we'd be dancing while waving around some pieces of cloth - about 15 minutes before we entered the arena! Yes, I was very happy about that... haha! I did mess up a bit, but all in all I managed pretty well. It's quite fun for me sometimes being part of such a big group where we all do the same thing - it gives me a sense of teamwork. I think the west is more focused on the individual, while here you're supposed to be more like everybody else. (At least at school, it seems.) I like a combination of both, I think. I do sometimes miss the feeling of teamwork this gives me - even though marching up and down the square isn't my favourite thing to do. XD
Some pictures of the dance and the epic fight for the tires (I'm no. 7):
"On my signal unleash hell!"
Tsuru hits the ground - the rest of us ignorantly keep pulling...
...then she gets up and makes a beautiful recovery! Go, Aka gumi! Go, go, go!!!
I'm dancing. Notice how I'm the only one stepping forward with the right foot...
I look like a weird Japanesey gaijin being a blond and wearing a yukata. Tsuru's behind me, looking happy. :)Madoka's gotten ill while on a school trip to England with her German class. It's probably her appendix (had to look up that word), in which case she'll need an operation. It's nothing serious, but kaa-san and Mrs. Kamikawa will travel to England to stay with her for a while and then go back to Germany with her afterwards (since her class will be leaving ahead of her). I feel really sorry for her! She was quite nervous about going to Germany for a month - and then she falls ill while on a school trip! I hope she gets well soon.
While kaa-san is in England/Germany for about a week, I'll be living with Sayaka and Momo in the grandparent's house. Ryotaro might stay here, at least I know too-san will. But since he's working, it would be hard to fix dinner and so on for everyone. So I'll have to take a different school bus and figure out how to get home from the kyudo club and... ugh. I wish I could stay here, it's so much easier now that I know my way at least to and from school. The grandparents are very nice, but I don't know them so well, nor their house, so I'm thinking it might feel quite awkward for me. :S Troublesome.
In any case, I guess next week will be an internett-free week for me, so probably no blogging.
Until then I'll keep updaiting as interesting things happen! :)
Momo took intelligent pictures of me eating! XD
Sayaka, the Tokage (Momo's favourite little friend, so officially a part of the family) and me. "The tokage loooves me!"Location: Japan!
Mood: Tired (long day today...)
Drinking: Cold tea with milk and honey - out of a bottle!
Friday, September 19, 2008
Birthday!
Thank you so much everyone who sent me congratulations on my birthday! (And all of you whom I know would have. Maybe you couldn't reach me (I know some of you have trouble commenting here. Why this happens I do not know.) Or, well, being bad at remembering dates myself... :P)
I went to school as usual, listening to W's "17 sai yo sayonara" and "18 sai ~ my happy birthday comes! ~" feeling a little old now that I'm able to drink alcohol and do all that uninteresting stuff in Norway. *sigh* (Except stealing a vote from FrP!! Yay!) Still, I got really happy when I came in the classroom door and the first thing I saw was a blackboard filled with "tanjyoubi omedetou!" (happy birthday!) and drawings (cake and character from Bleach). Francesco had contributed with "NO ONE CARES ABOUT THE PAPER CLIP", since we had a conversation a while back: "awesome Norwegians and their inventions". XD Several people came up and congratulated me. It was really nice!
Also, we got to go home from school early because of a typhoon warning. Hurray! No practice! The typhoon never came though, stupid thing decided to go toward Miyazaki in stead. Ryotaro and I were dissapointed! "We want to go to Miyazaki!" XD
My family had bought cake, and we ate it together. Madoka called from Germany to congratulate, and I got a call from the grandparents as well! I got presents too:
rice bowl with a white rabbit
cloth
chopsticks
Japanese-style teacup w/Kagoshima Hello Kitty
pencil
pink plastic-pearl bracelet ^^
Hello Kitty-figure to hang on your bag etc.
Norwegian chocolate! (Shared some with my family too. 0:) )
And: I got a hug from my host mother before I went to bed! A hug! I know - *gasp!* I was really happy that she did - it's not something that's too common here. :P And as we all know, I'm a person in need of daily hugs. Wether I give or receive them. XD
With my family behind my cake. I'm being all sweet and peace-promoting (or victorious, depending on what you've heard), Momo's trying to eat my cake(?) and Sayaka and Ryotarou are taking pictures. ...kaa-san realizes there's a picture being taken, though. XD
Me and ma cake!
...just ma cake!
Today was tough - we practiced for sports day outside in the sun all day! Fortunately we got to sit under the tents when we weren't doing anything this time. That did not mean there wasn't a lot of pointless sitting around in the blazing sun rehearsing listening to speeches and various people talk, though. Ugh! Still, today was pretty fun. I rehearsed a game where two teams (girls) try to gather as many tires as they can, taking them back to their "base". These big tires are lying on the ground in between the two teams, in equal distance to both. Then you run, grab a tire, try to pull it away from the other team and carry it to you team's side where it's safe. Red (my team) were up against blue. I grabbed a tire and ended up being dragged through the sand by three - four girls from the blue team. All the while screaming "iiiiaaaa!" and pulling in the opposite direction as much as I could, resultig on me falling flat on my stomach to everyone's amusement (myself included). Lots of laughter ensued as I was dragged through the sand on my tummy, still holding on to the tire for dear life and yelling. My friend and classmate Tsuru came sliding to my aid in a wonderful tackling grabbing hold of the tire, but we lost our tire in the end after a long fight. It was great! My teacher was laughing as I came back: "yoku ganbatta, ne!" (Something along the lines of "well fought!" Ganbaru is hard to translate, since there's not really an English equivalent to it.)
Francesco and the boys played a game where two teams hold up a bamboo pole each, some protecting it, and some running to the other team's pole to try and tear it down. They quite litterally climb on each other and climbe up on/launch themselves at the pole, taking it down with them as they fall. It looks like so much fun! I kept saying "I want to join in~!", but I can't since I'm a girl. Darn it! Let me tackle some Japanese boys, will ya?! XD
We also had this huge aerobic-thing where all the students stood out in the baseball field under the sun following the movements of a guy up on a small "stage" (platform, really). That felt pretty silly. Still, one of the most funny things had to be when we watched some of the other students practice and they started playing the music used in "Tetris"... Francesco and I took one look at each other before we burst out in hysterical laughter making my teacher jump where she sat. XD
Also, I've discovered that Tsuru and her friend love anime and manga just as much as I do! They've promised that they'll teach me the "Hare hare yukai" dance from The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya! o@(^-^)@o They understand my quotes from anime too. XD (Higurashi and some Lucky Star. Heehee!) It goes something like this: "Hauu~!" or "Omochi kaeriii~!" followed by my them exclaiming "Kawaii! X3". Haha! We were quoting and singing what we remember of the Lucky Star opening on our way back to the school after practice when Tsuru suddely says "This is bad! People might think we're otaku!" well, we are... (Otaku is the term used to refer to anime and manga geeks. It can also mean "your home", so it ends up meaning something like "a geek that never leaves his/her house because they only watch anime." XD) In Norway anime fans use it proudly - in Japan it's more of a negative term. I told Tsuru this, and her reaction was "Oh, I want to go to Norway~!" That was fun.
BTW: Our official morning greeting from now on will be "Oharakki~!" X3
I've finally talked to my Norwegian family on skype too. Yayyay! I brought my Japanese family to the web-cam and we chatted a bit with each other (me interpreting what I could manage). It felt good talking to them again. My sister eventually came on the line too, so we were three people speaking. When I was done we'd been talking for 3 1/2 hours and it was 1:00 AM. ZOMG. The next call will have to be shorter! (Although, admittedly, being the first time we got to talk to each other for a month I guess it's not that strange...)
I've also been to the first Rotary meeting in my club, Ijuin Rotary Club. They weren't as formal, and I felt much more at ease doing my self-introduction this time around. Phew! They gave me my monthly allowance too, which was nice. ^^ I've got to save up to buy some Morning Musume goods at the concert October the 4th... Whohoo!
Location: Japan!
Mood: "it's so hot here!"
Listening to: Odd Børretzen (yes, I've added lots of Norwegian music to my mp3 player. Whoa!)
Eating: Salty plum candy, tastes a bit like "umeboshi". Yum!
Drinking: Water... and some more water. It's too hot... x_x
I went to school as usual, listening to W's "17 sai yo sayonara" and "18 sai ~ my happy birthday comes! ~" feeling a little old now that I'm able to drink alcohol and do all that uninteresting stuff in Norway. *sigh* (Except stealing a vote from FrP!! Yay!) Still, I got really happy when I came in the classroom door and the first thing I saw was a blackboard filled with "tanjyoubi omedetou!" (happy birthday!) and drawings (cake and character from Bleach). Francesco had contributed with "NO ONE CARES ABOUT THE PAPER CLIP", since we had a conversation a while back: "awesome Norwegians and their inventions". XD Several people came up and congratulated me. It was really nice!
Also, we got to go home from school early because of a typhoon warning. Hurray! No practice! The typhoon never came though, stupid thing decided to go toward Miyazaki in stead. Ryotaro and I were dissapointed! "We want to go to Miyazaki!" XD
My family had bought cake, and we ate it together. Madoka called from Germany to congratulate, and I got a call from the grandparents as well! I got presents too:
rice bowl with a white rabbit
cloth
chopsticks
Japanese-style teacup w/Kagoshima Hello Kitty
pencil
pink plastic-pearl bracelet ^^
Hello Kitty-figure to hang on your bag etc.
Norwegian chocolate! (Shared some with my family too. 0:) )
And: I got a hug from my host mother before I went to bed! A hug! I know - *gasp!* I was really happy that she did - it's not something that's too common here. :P And as we all know, I'm a person in need of daily hugs. Wether I give or receive them. XD
With my family behind my cake. I'm being all sweet and peace-promoting (or victorious, depending on what you've heard), Momo's trying to eat my cake(?) and Sayaka and Ryotarou are taking pictures. ...kaa-san realizes there's a picture being taken, though. XD
Me and ma cake!
...just ma cake!Today was tough - we practiced for sports day outside in the sun all day! Fortunately we got to sit under the tents when we weren't doing anything this time. That did not mean there wasn't a lot of pointless sitting around in the blazing sun rehearsing listening to speeches and various people talk, though. Ugh! Still, today was pretty fun. I rehearsed a game where two teams (girls) try to gather as many tires as they can, taking them back to their "base". These big tires are lying on the ground in between the two teams, in equal distance to both. Then you run, grab a tire, try to pull it away from the other team and carry it to you team's side where it's safe. Red (my team) were up against blue. I grabbed a tire and ended up being dragged through the sand by three - four girls from the blue team. All the while screaming "iiiiaaaa!" and pulling in the opposite direction as much as I could, resultig on me falling flat on my stomach to everyone's amusement (myself included). Lots of laughter ensued as I was dragged through the sand on my tummy, still holding on to the tire for dear life and yelling. My friend and classmate Tsuru came sliding to my aid in a wonderful tackling grabbing hold of the tire, but we lost our tire in the end after a long fight. It was great! My teacher was laughing as I came back: "yoku ganbatta, ne!" (Something along the lines of "well fought!" Ganbaru is hard to translate, since there's not really an English equivalent to it.)
Francesco and the boys played a game where two teams hold up a bamboo pole each, some protecting it, and some running to the other team's pole to try and tear it down. They quite litterally climb on each other and climbe up on/launch themselves at the pole, taking it down with them as they fall. It looks like so much fun! I kept saying "I want to join in~!", but I can't since I'm a girl. Darn it! Let me tackle some Japanese boys, will ya?! XD
We also had this huge aerobic-thing where all the students stood out in the baseball field under the sun following the movements of a guy up on a small "stage" (platform, really). That felt pretty silly. Still, one of the most funny things had to be when we watched some of the other students practice and they started playing the music used in "Tetris"... Francesco and I took one look at each other before we burst out in hysterical laughter making my teacher jump where she sat. XD
Also, I've discovered that Tsuru and her friend love anime and manga just as much as I do! They've promised that they'll teach me the "Hare hare yukai" dance from The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya! o@(^-^)@o They understand my quotes from anime too. XD (Higurashi and some Lucky Star. Heehee!) It goes something like this: "Hauu~!" or "Omochi kaeriii~!" followed by my them exclaiming "Kawaii! X3". Haha! We were quoting and singing what we remember of the Lucky Star opening on our way back to the school after practice when Tsuru suddely says "This is bad! People might think we're otaku!" well, we are... (Otaku is the term used to refer to anime and manga geeks. It can also mean "your home", so it ends up meaning something like "a geek that never leaves his/her house because they only watch anime." XD) In Norway anime fans use it proudly - in Japan it's more of a negative term. I told Tsuru this, and her reaction was "Oh, I want to go to Norway~!" That was fun.
BTW: Our official morning greeting from now on will be "Oharakki~!" X3
I've finally talked to my Norwegian family on skype too. Yayyay! I brought my Japanese family to the web-cam and we chatted a bit with each other (me interpreting what I could manage). It felt good talking to them again. My sister eventually came on the line too, so we were three people speaking. When I was done we'd been talking for 3 1/2 hours and it was 1:00 AM. ZOMG. The next call will have to be shorter! (Although, admittedly, being the first time we got to talk to each other for a month I guess it's not that strange...)
I've also been to the first Rotary meeting in my club, Ijuin Rotary Club. They weren't as formal, and I felt much more at ease doing my self-introduction this time around. Phew! They gave me my monthly allowance too, which was nice. ^^ I've got to save up to buy some Morning Musume goods at the concert October the 4th... Whohoo!
Location: Japan!
Mood: "it's so hot here!"
Listening to: Odd Børretzen (yes, I've added lots of Norwegian music to my mp3 player. Whoa!)
Eating: Salty plum candy, tastes a bit like "umeboshi". Yum!
Drinking: Water... and some more water. It's too hot... x_x
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
German for a month
Madoka left for her one month exchange to Germany the 15th of September. The night before I'd helped her close her suitcase a couple of times because it was really full. (Nothing like the 20 kilos I was allowed to bring to Japan!) I told her she could leave her hand luggage in my room to the next morning too. "No problem!" *insert sweet smile*. Little did she know that I had carefully planned this out - she'll be having her birthday while away, and she'd wished for a drawing. I thought I'd make her a draing and try writing her a letter that I'd put in her luggage. (In the Japanese-German textbook in her hand luggage, as it turned out.)
Broken Japanese made to look pretty. Yay!
Admittedly, my Japanese in the letter probably had a load of mistakes. Still, I think she was able to understand what I wanted to say, so it's OK. I tried my best, anyway. :P The drawing I was really pleased with in the end. I especially like the position I drew me in, and mini-me's expression. XD I demand you click for full size:
By the time I was done and had fulfilled my Brilliant Master Plan, it was cloe to 2:30 AM Monday morning. We were supposed to be getting up at 5:30 to follow Madoka to the airport. 3 hours of sleep. Ugh.
Momo came in and turned on the light in my room at exactly 5:30 AM. My response was grunting and pulling the covers over my head to regain precious darkness, which resulted in laughter from kaa-san and Momo. I tried telling them I'd turn into stone if the sunlight hit me (being all Norwegian and related to the trolls and all), but it didn't have any effect. (Actually, I may have just thought this - I was to tired at the time to remember accurately, haha!) I got dressed, staggered to the bathroom, looked in the mirror and confirmed that I looked like a zombie (pale with red, sleep-deprived eyes and generally icky) before I ate a sweetroll and headed for the car.
We drove Madoka to the airport, me singing along to Mini Moni (Mini Hamuzu Ai no Uta) in the car. XD It was kind of weird seeing the airport again - it reminded me of first meeting my host family. I feel very at home with them now, so remembering how I felt the first time we met, being uncertain as to how to adress them, not knowing what they were like... it felt strange. Again, we were following a yellow brick road (so Wizard of Oz that I had to take a picture). Once inside we followed Madoka as far as we could, before heading up to to the floor above where we stood out in the pouring rain waiving to her as she borded her plane and then watched it take off. I'd told her to study on the flight over. Guess why?
Just follow the yellow brick road, and you'll end up in... um...Kagoshima?
Madoka about to leave for Germany. Iiiiiih!
After the plane had left we went to eat breakfast at a restaurant before we headed for Kagoshima City Aquarium. It was really amazing! They had all kinds of fish and sea creatures! We saw everything from small round things I have no clue what were (but they were animals...) to otters and dolphins. We saw the dolphin show as well! It was great - they were so cute! Afterward we went downstairs to see them in the dolphin tank, but I almost fell asleep in front of the dolphins, so since we'd seen everything we decided to go home to sleep. Although I didn't go to bed until the evening. Hah!
Weird, live round things that just happen to look like pretty, green glass balls.
Japanese crabs - the largest in the world!
Me demonstrating "fish".
Momo and me in front of the otter tank. (I stood here for ages!)
I found Nemo!
...and his parents. Even his home, I believe...
I ran over to this tank shrieking "Dory!"
...then proceeded to take loads of pictures. It's Dory!!
"B-Bubbles? ...Bubbles!!"
Momo and me wearing fish hats. (OK, so Momo's is a sea horse...)
I'm still demonstrating "fish". This would be "blowfish".
Dolphin show!! I kept saying "Iruka! Iruka!" XD
Vero-chan: this is for you. See what it reads?
...yup. "Itachizame"! XD
Location: Japan!
Mood: Slightly tired (now it's soon 11 PM...)
Eating: -
Drinking: -
Broken Japanese made to look pretty. Yay!
By the time I was done and had fulfilled my Brilliant Master Plan, it was cloe to 2:30 AM Monday morning. We were supposed to be getting up at 5:30 to follow Madoka to the airport. 3 hours of sleep. Ugh.Momo came in and turned on the light in my room at exactly 5:30 AM. My response was grunting and pulling the covers over my head to regain precious darkness, which resulted in laughter from kaa-san and Momo. I tried telling them I'd turn into stone if the sunlight hit me (being all Norwegian and related to the trolls and all), but it didn't have any effect. (Actually, I may have just thought this - I was to tired at the time to remember accurately, haha!) I got dressed, staggered to the bathroom, looked in the mirror and confirmed that I looked like a zombie (pale with red, sleep-deprived eyes and generally icky) before I ate a sweetroll and headed for the car.
We drove Madoka to the airport, me singing along to Mini Moni (Mini Hamuzu Ai no Uta) in the car. XD It was kind of weird seeing the airport again - it reminded me of first meeting my host family. I feel very at home with them now, so remembering how I felt the first time we met, being uncertain as to how to adress them, not knowing what they were like... it felt strange. Again, we were following a yellow brick road (so Wizard of Oz that I had to take a picture). Once inside we followed Madoka as far as we could, before heading up to to the floor above where we stood out in the pouring rain waiving to her as she borded her plane and then watched it take off. I'd told her to study on the flight over. Guess why?
Just follow the yellow brick road, and you'll end up in... um...Kagoshima?
Madoka about to leave for Germany. Iiiiiih!After the plane had left we went to eat breakfast at a restaurant before we headed for Kagoshima City Aquarium. It was really amazing! They had all kinds of fish and sea creatures! We saw everything from small round things I have no clue what were (but they were animals...) to otters and dolphins. We saw the dolphin show as well! It was great - they were so cute! Afterward we went downstairs to see them in the dolphin tank, but I almost fell asleep in front of the dolphins, so since we'd seen everything we decided to go home to sleep. Although I didn't go to bed until the evening. Hah!
Weird, live round things that just happen to look like pretty, green glass balls.
Japanese crabs - the largest in the world!
Me demonstrating "fish".
Momo and me in front of the otter tank. (I stood here for ages!) 
I found Nemo!
...and his parents. Even his home, I believe... 
I ran over to this tank shrieking "Dory!"...then proceeded to take loads of pictures. It's Dory!!
"B-Bubbles? ...Bubbles!!"
Momo and me wearing fish hats. (OK, so Momo's is a sea horse...)I'm still demonstrating "fish". This would be "blowfish".
Dolphin show!! I kept saying "Iruka! Iruka!" XD
Vero-chan: this is for you. See what it reads?...yup. "Itachizame"! XD
Mood: Slightly tired (now it's soon 11 PM...)
Eating: -
Drinking: -
Karaoke!
On Sunday (I think it was) I went to take purikura with Madoka, kaa-san and Momo. Then I went to Japanese karaoke for the first time with Madoka and Sayaka! It was a lot of fun! I sang several songs, some English, but mostly Japanese. I sang "Sakura Mankai" by Morning Musume's sub group "Sakura Gumi" and made the rankings, haha! It was 80-someting, but it was pretty fun nevertheless! XD Some of the songs we sang included W, Morning Musume, Mini Moni (all part of Hello! Project), Gackt, Ghibli and various songs from anime. A few examples:
Having fun at karaoke!
We ordered food there too, udon in my case, and got it served in our room. That felt kind of luxurious. The food was really good too. *^^* I was kind of surprised that it went so well - I thought it'd have more trouble with reading the lyrics. Luckily there were furigana over most of the kanji, so I could read most of it without much trouble. (Except for when it went too fast and I wasn't familiar with the lyrics.)
After karaoke we went to take purikura again, this time with Sayaka. I've filled up the first page of my purikura book! ;D
I've also been eating out with my host family and the grandparents again. It was really nice, and the food was, of course, delicious as always. ;D Hehe! This is what it looked like:
Yes, I've been sitting at a lot of low tables lately. I love it! Feels very Japanese sitting in seiza in front of one of these. Last time we had Japanese dance, my feet didn't even hurt, so I guess this training's good for me, haha! (Although, admittedly, I do not sit in this position all the time. Because my legs do hurt eventually. ...and then they go numb, which is a pain. XD)
Location: Japan
Mood: Content (iIt's only 9 PM!)
Watching: A TV-show where a man is currently trying to overcome a line of obsticles called "Sasuke". With Naruto-music in the background. Haha! Oh! He just failed...
Eating: Ate onigiri, which were made by Momo and me. ^^
Drinking: Fruit soda
- The Sore Feet Song (Mushishi)
- Dokuro-chan theme (Dokuro-chan) This was filled with laughter throughout XD
- Jyanken Pyon! (Mini Moni) I had trouble with this, seeing as the lyrics go faster and I don't know it too well, so Madoka sang most of it. :)
- Daisuki da yo (Otsuka Ai)
- Furusato (Morning Musume)
- Koi no bakansu (W)
- A Little Pain (NANA)
Having fun at karaoke!After karaoke we went to take purikura again, this time with Sayaka. I've filled up the first page of my purikura book! ;D
I've also been eating out with my host family and the grandparents again. It was really nice, and the food was, of course, delicious as always. ;D Hehe! This is what it looked like:
Yes, I've been sitting at a lot of low tables lately. I love it! Feels very Japanese sitting in seiza in front of one of these. Last time we had Japanese dance, my feet didn't even hurt, so I guess this training's good for me, haha! (Although, admittedly, I do not sit in this position all the time. Because my legs do hurt eventually. ...and then they go numb, which is a pain. XD)Location: Japan
Mood: Content (iIt's only 9 PM!)
Watching: A TV-show where a man is currently trying to overcome a line of obsticles called "Sasuke". With Naruto-music in the background. Haha! Oh! He just failed...
Eating: Ate onigiri, which were made by Momo and me. ^^
Drinking: Fruit soda
Monday, September 15, 2008
A short note of LOL
I tried to open a link I got from my dad on e-mail today:
"Sorry! This content is for Norway only.
"Sorry! This content is for Norway only.
We believe you are in Japan."
Haha! Well, you got that right. Dagbladet.no only has the rights to distribute things in Norway, apparently.
Edit: There were some things I'd forgotten to mention in my Cooking equals tetris post. I've added another small paragraph to that post (no. 6 from the top).
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Taiikusai practice
Taiikusai is basically a sport's festival where everyone at school marches up and down the square. And play games. (Remember we went watch Ryotaro's? It's the same thing.)
Yesterday was our first day of practice. We practiced for about 2 - 3 hours out on the baseball field. This equals sitting and marching around under the blazing sun, in the sand, with no shade. Except for under the tent they've put up in case someone needs to rest or lie down. It. was. so. hot. The teachers kept talking (I fear there will be speeches on the actual day) and we kept marching, going back and then marching again because we couldn't get it right. The people who did were allowed to sit down in the middle. Francesco said he felt sick and went to sit under the tent. (He said he actually did feel a little sick. But I think he was pretty sick of marching too... ;) ) I refused to give up and "ganbatted" to the bitter, sweaty end! Hah! The Norwegian viking prevails!!
Dazey was impressed. He told me that we'll be doing this several times in the weeks to come. Sometimes the whole day. "Just pray for rain." ...yeah. This'll be fun . . . nooot.
We've been watching the weather forecast on TV, and it looks like we might be getting a typhoon here in Kagoshima! It's kind of scary, but I would like to see one too... X) I asked what happens at school if there's a typhoon.
Kaa-san: You get the day off!
Helene: ... ooh, what a shame~! ...now that we have taiikusai practice and everything...
Kaa-san: *laughing* You don't look sorry!
Well... I'm not! XD
Today I went for dinner with kaa-san, all my host siblings and the grandparents. It was really nice, and the food was delicious! I'll update with pictures later. ^^
Location: Nippon! Banzai!
Mood: Content
Listening to: A Japanese TV program. They're taking mini puppies out of a basket and guessing what race they are. The audience goes crazy squealing "kawaii~!"
Eating: -
Drinking: -
Yesterday was our first day of practice. We practiced for about 2 - 3 hours out on the baseball field. This equals sitting and marching around under the blazing sun, in the sand, with no shade. Except for under the tent they've put up in case someone needs to rest or lie down. It. was. so. hot. The teachers kept talking (I fear there will be speeches on the actual day) and we kept marching, going back and then marching again because we couldn't get it right. The people who did were allowed to sit down in the middle. Francesco said he felt sick and went to sit under the tent. (He said he actually did feel a little sick. But I think he was pretty sick of marching too... ;) ) I refused to give up and "ganbatted" to the bitter, sweaty end! Hah! The Norwegian viking prevails!!
Dazey was impressed. He told me that we'll be doing this several times in the weeks to come. Sometimes the whole day. "Just pray for rain." ...yeah. This'll be fun . . . nooot.
We've been watching the weather forecast on TV, and it looks like we might be getting a typhoon here in Kagoshima! It's kind of scary, but I would like to see one too... X) I asked what happens at school if there's a typhoon.
Kaa-san: You get the day off!
Helene: ... ooh, what a shame~! ...now that we have taiikusai practice and everything...
Kaa-san: *laughing* You don't look sorry!
Well... I'm not! XD
Today I went for dinner with kaa-san, all my host siblings and the grandparents. It was really nice, and the food was delicious! I'll update with pictures later. ^^
Location: Nippon! Banzai!
Mood: Content
Listening to: A Japanese TV program. They're taking mini puppies out of a basket and guessing what race they are. The audience goes crazy squealing "kawaii~!"
Eating: -
Drinking: -
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Cooking equals tetris...
Our cooking class is getting better. In fact, today it was rather hilarious.
In this cooking class, they write on the blackboard in French. Yet the dish we were making today was Italian. Don't ask me why.
For some reason or other, all the ingredients are cut into the same shape - squares. It's all in squares! Salad, potatoes, bacon... It's gotten so bad that I get slightly disturbed if there's a time when the cooking doesn't involve cutting the food into small squares...
Still, to quote Francesco: "Be patient. The squares will come."
Watching the chef prepare the food, we were equally amazed and horrified. They peeled the tomatoes, and then proceeded to pluck out the juicy parts (which we think is the best part!) and threw them in the sink. Only to add tomato juice to the food later. The horror! Francesco stared at the spaghetti we were going to add to the food with an anxious look.
Francesco: I just know something terrible is going to happen to that spaghetti!
Me: Yeah, they'll cut it into squares!
*both snickering*
Next think we knew, the chef's assistant proceeded to take the spaghetti and break it into small, square pieces. The horror! Francesco's eyes popped, I stared in disbelief, and then we both started shaking with silent laughter. The chef found it all quite amusing, smiling and commenting "Look, they must think this is weird!". Well, yes... If we want short pasta, we buy macaroni. And Francesco told me the only people who do this in Italy are those who have trouble eating. What do you expect? XD
The chef lost a small piece of square spaghetti that rolled across the table and stopped right in front of Francesco, the poor Italian... I snatched it up and put it in my pocket, demanding that we take a picture of him and the mutilated pasta after the class had ended. As the they started to add all the square food to the pot, Francesco leaned over and quietly started humming the Tetris-melody... I was unable to sit straight for the rest of the demonstration because I was shaking so bad with laughter!
I've also joined the Japanese dancing class for the first time! It's with the first years, and I completely love it! I get to wear a yukata (that I'll eventually learn how to put on too, I'm sure) and dance around on my knees. XD Yes, my knees. Almost everything we do in the first part that we learned is done sitting in seiza, getting up from or down in seiza (which is hard when you're sitting wearing a yukata) or shuffling around on our knees (which is hard to do without loosing your balance). After half an hour of this your legs hurt pretty bad, but it's loads of fun! Especially when we can all laugh at Francesco who has a considerably worse time than me maintaining the position because his knees are killing him. Once in a while we'll turn to look maliciously in his direction, laughing when he starts saying "owowowowoooowww...!" or when even the teachers are unable to keep a straight face.
Don't get me wrong, though - there's no hard feelings. We both love it! It's kind of comforting to see that even the Japanese students start rubbing their legs and making grimaces after a while. (Especially the cute first-year boy that makes me want to pinch his cheeks! Being all two years older than him and stuff. *cough* XD) Also, I've got to borrow a yukata from school. I look absurdly gaijin-Japanesey in it compared to everyone else, but never mind! I'm quite cute waring it too, so it's OK. Hehee! (^3^)/
I've obediently followed the poll results and bravely pushed the buttons on the toilet. I must say I'm no fan of water being sprayed at me while I'm seated at the toilet (heated, I might add)... The face-button essentially does the same thing, and the massage button(!) at a school I went to I couldn't get to work. Disappointment! o(-.-)o Still, I've noticed something else - while sitting at the toilet at my school, I happened to hit something "I just brushed it with my elbow like..." which caused a sound like flushing a toilet to come out of a box on the wall. "What the...?!" I went out, and saw a girl go in to one of the cubicles, followed by a familiar flushing sound... the box! When it went quiet, she flushed the toilet and came out. my suspicions had been confirmed - it's a sound box to disguise the sound you make while peeing! I hurried back to the cooking room and told Francesco, and we stood there laughing. It's just so weird! If you have diarrhea, I can see the point. But peeing? Come on, it's not that hazukashii...
The other day Momo and I sat by the dinner table laughing almost constantly for about 15 minutes. I'd said I'd share my ice cream with her if she finished her food (because she's been all cute and begging me calling me "onee-sama!"), and when she started stuffing away I couldn't help but laugh at how funny it looked. Especially when she paused to look at me with big brown eyes and her mouth full. Which resulted in both of us giggling uncontrollably. Every time we'd finished, one of us would start going "pfffftt..." and it would start all over again. In the end Madoka told me to look at her instead, but after about 10 seconds she was giggling too. "It's no use!" So kaa-san, Madoka, Momo and I sat around the table laughing for a good 15 minutes. When we eventually did finish, Momo came zooming into my room ready for ice cream, and proceeded to stuff her face with it and getting ice cream smeared all around her mouth. Which lead to lots of pictures being taken and more giggling. It was great. I love my family! ^^
Oh, and I've decided to take a Japanese language proficiency test in December. The test consists of reading, grammar, listening and writing. It'll be held in Fukuoka, so Francesco and I will go there together. I'm going to try level 2. (They have 4 levels, 4 being beginner, 3 slightly more advanced and 1 being advanced.) I don't expect to pass it, but it's a test just for myself to see how much I understand and get a paper back telling me what I need to practice more. So, yeah... I'm not saying I won't be nervous or anything, it's just a challenge for myself to see how much (or how little) I understand. XD
Tomorrow's the weekend, and we have Monday off from school! (Although neither Dazey nor we know exactly why.) Madoka has said she'll take me to karaoke! Fun, fun, fun!
Location: Nippon!
Mood: Tired but content (it's late again).
Watching: Naruto Shippuuden - aired on TV! (Although I haven't seen all the episodes XD)
In this cooking class, they write on the blackboard in French. Yet the dish we were making today was Italian. Don't ask me why.
For some reason or other, all the ingredients are cut into the same shape - squares. It's all in squares! Salad, potatoes, bacon... It's gotten so bad that I get slightly disturbed if there's a time when the cooking doesn't involve cutting the food into small squares...
Still, to quote Francesco: "Be patient. The squares will come."
Watching the chef prepare the food, we were equally amazed and horrified. They peeled the tomatoes, and then proceeded to pluck out the juicy parts (which we think is the best part!) and threw them in the sink. Only to add tomato juice to the food later. The horror! Francesco stared at the spaghetti we were going to add to the food with an anxious look.
Francesco: I just know something terrible is going to happen to that spaghetti!
Me: Yeah, they'll cut it into squares!
*both snickering*
Next think we knew, the chef's assistant proceeded to take the spaghetti and break it into small, square pieces. The horror! Francesco's eyes popped, I stared in disbelief, and then we both started shaking with silent laughter. The chef found it all quite amusing, smiling and commenting "Look, they must think this is weird!". Well, yes... If we want short pasta, we buy macaroni. And Francesco told me the only people who do this in Italy are those who have trouble eating. What do you expect? XD
The chef lost a small piece of square spaghetti that rolled across the table and stopped right in front of Francesco, the poor Italian... I snatched it up and put it in my pocket, demanding that we take a picture of him and the mutilated pasta after the class had ended. As the they started to add all the square food to the pot, Francesco leaned over and quietly started humming the Tetris-melody... I was unable to sit straight for the rest of the demonstration because I was shaking so bad with laughter!
I've also joined the Japanese dancing class for the first time! It's with the first years, and I completely love it! I get to wear a yukata (that I'll eventually learn how to put on too, I'm sure) and dance around on my knees. XD Yes, my knees. Almost everything we do in the first part that we learned is done sitting in seiza, getting up from or down in seiza (which is hard when you're sitting wearing a yukata) or shuffling around on our knees (which is hard to do without loosing your balance). After half an hour of this your legs hurt pretty bad, but it's loads of fun! Especially when we can all laugh at Francesco who has a considerably worse time than me maintaining the position because his knees are killing him. Once in a while we'll turn to look maliciously in his direction, laughing when he starts saying "owowowowoooowww...!" or when even the teachers are unable to keep a straight face.
Don't get me wrong, though - there's no hard feelings. We both love it! It's kind of comforting to see that even the Japanese students start rubbing their legs and making grimaces after a while. (Especially the cute first-year boy that makes me want to pinch his cheeks! Being all two years older than him and stuff. *cough* XD) Also, I've got to borrow a yukata from school. I look absurdly gaijin-Japanesey in it compared to everyone else, but never mind! I'm quite cute waring it too, so it's OK. Hehee! (^3^)/
I've obediently followed the poll results and bravely pushed the buttons on the toilet. I must say I'm no fan of water being sprayed at me while I'm seated at the toilet (heated, I might add)... The face-button essentially does the same thing, and the massage button(!) at a school I went to I couldn't get to work. Disappointment! o(-.-)o Still, I've noticed something else - while sitting at the toilet at my school, I happened to hit something "I just brushed it with my elbow like..." which caused a sound like flushing a toilet to come out of a box on the wall. "What the...?!" I went out, and saw a girl go in to one of the cubicles, followed by a familiar flushing sound... the box! When it went quiet, she flushed the toilet and came out. my suspicions had been confirmed - it's a sound box to disguise the sound you make while peeing! I hurried back to the cooking room and told Francesco, and we stood there laughing. It's just so weird! If you have diarrhea, I can see the point. But peeing? Come on, it's not that hazukashii...
The other day Momo and I sat by the dinner table laughing almost constantly for about 15 minutes. I'd said I'd share my ice cream with her if she finished her food (because she's been all cute and begging me calling me "onee-sama!"), and when she started stuffing away I couldn't help but laugh at how funny it looked. Especially when she paused to look at me with big brown eyes and her mouth full. Which resulted in both of us giggling uncontrollably. Every time we'd finished, one of us would start going "pfffftt..." and it would start all over again. In the end Madoka told me to look at her instead, but after about 10 seconds she was giggling too. "It's no use!" So kaa-san, Madoka, Momo and I sat around the table laughing for a good 15 minutes. When we eventually did finish, Momo came zooming into my room ready for ice cream, and proceeded to stuff her face with it and getting ice cream smeared all around her mouth. Which lead to lots of pictures being taken and more giggling. It was great. I love my family! ^^
Oh, and I've decided to take a Japanese language proficiency test in December. The test consists of reading, grammar, listening and writing. It'll be held in Fukuoka, so Francesco and I will go there together. I'm going to try level 2. (They have 4 levels, 4 being beginner, 3 slightly more advanced and 1 being advanced.) I don't expect to pass it, but it's a test just for myself to see how much I understand and get a paper back telling me what I need to practice more. So, yeah... I'm not saying I won't be nervous or anything, it's just a challenge for myself to see how much (or how little) I understand. XD
Tomorrow's the weekend, and we have Monday off from school! (Although neither Dazey nor we know exactly why.) Madoka has said she'll take me to karaoke! Fun, fun, fun!
Location: Nippon!
Mood: Tired but content (it's late again).
Watching: Naruto Shippuuden - aired on TV! (Although I haven't seen all the episodes XD)
Monday, September 8, 2008
Kanji and potatoes
I've done homework today - Japanese kanji for first-graders! XD Too-san's (father's) reaction to that was "Haha, kawaii!" (Cute!) Some of the kanji are actually a bit difficult since I don't know the meaning of all of them, or I'm able to recognize a kanji but not write it myself. The worst part is pronouncing them, though. Like the numbers who seem to have infinite readings... But it was actually fun! I sat at the kitchen table with too-san, who was working on some papers, ended up helping me with my kanji and how to read them. (And laughing at me whenever I did groaning because I'd found yet another reading, which I now knew about but wish I didn't. That was two literary references for you, mom!)
At school today I finally got my pink school slippers (pink for girls, blue for boys). Now I don't have to wear the green ones I always slip out of anymore! Yay! They look kind of Dorothy-ish, so I've told Dazey that if he ever sees me standing in the middle of the hall clapping my heels together and saying "there's no place like home, there's no place like home..." I'm in desperate need of immediate counceling! We had English conversation with Dazey-sensei today too. Really fun! We've started giving him a new name (a flower-name) everyday now because we thought he was called "Daisy" at first. Today it was Sakura. Up to now it's been Lily, Dandy (dandelion) and Rose! XD All meant in good fun, though. I really respect him for all the things he knows and the experience he has, among other things. And again - I'm very happy he's here.
I had cooking today, which is starting to grow on me. It was kind of fun - I taught them how to over-boil potatoes properly! XD (They were supposed to make mashed potatoes, but they weren't soft enough the first time. After they'd tried the microwave the Norwegian potato-eater came to the rescue!) Haha! XD
I went with Ma-chan (Madoka's nickname) to do some grocery shopping and buying some other things I needed, like socks to wear with my more dressed-up shoes for Rotary meetings and such. On our way home we sang the Totoro opening song "Sanpo". ^^ And when we were in front of our house I heard something I've never heard before - a monkey! Yes! The sound of a live, real monkey! So I thought of you, Banki! ;)
Fun facts: Whenever I'm hungry now I think of rice. It's my first thought. And bread is starting to look like sweet rolls when I think of it! Uh-ooh... If they have regular flour here, maybe I'll try to bake them some real bread one day! :D
At school today I finally got my pink school slippers (pink for girls, blue for boys). Now I don't have to wear the green ones I always slip out of anymore! Yay! They look kind of Dorothy-ish, so I've told Dazey that if he ever sees me standing in the middle of the hall clapping my heels together and saying "there's no place like home, there's no place like home..." I'm in desperate need of immediate counceling! We had English conversation with Dazey-sensei today too. Really fun! We've started giving him a new name (a flower-name) everyday now because we thought he was called "Daisy" at first. Today it was Sakura. Up to now it's been Lily, Dandy (dandelion) and Rose! XD All meant in good fun, though. I really respect him for all the things he knows and the experience he has, among other things. And again - I'm very happy he's here.
I had cooking today, which is starting to grow on me. It was kind of fun - I taught them how to over-boil potatoes properly! XD (They were supposed to make mashed potatoes, but they weren't soft enough the first time. After they'd tried the microwave the Norwegian potato-eater came to the rescue!) Haha! XD
I went with Ma-chan (Madoka's nickname) to do some grocery shopping and buying some other things I needed, like socks to wear with my more dressed-up shoes for Rotary meetings and such. On our way home we sang the Totoro opening song "Sanpo". ^^ And when we were in front of our house I heard something I've never heard before - a monkey! Yes! The sound of a live, real monkey! So I thought of you, Banki! ;)
Fun facts: Whenever I'm hungry now I think of rice. It's my first thought. And bread is starting to look like sweet rolls when I think of it! Uh-ooh... If they have regular flour here, maybe I'll try to bake them some real bread one day! :D
Sunday, September 7, 2008
It's official...
I've got two tickets to the Morning Musume concert in Kagoshima on the 4th of October! *squeals of joy*
They started selling them last month, so I was really worried that there might not be any left... then we found out that there were - and I even got seats! I'm so happy!
I paid close to 700 kr for two tickets (340 for each), but I don't think concerts are the worst thing to spend money on.
Also, getting to se Morning Musume live is a rare event if you live in the west - they never seem to leave Asia, and even if you decide to go to Japan to see them, you have to get someone in Japan to buy the tickets for you. It's a hassle.
Here's proof (edited the receipt):
The text highlighted in pink reads "Morning Musume"
Location: Japan!
Mood: Joy!!
They started selling them last month, so I was really worried that there might not be any left... then we found out that there were - and I even got seats! I'm so happy!
I paid close to 700 kr for two tickets (340 for each), but I don't think concerts are the worst thing to spend money on.
Also, getting to se Morning Musume live is a rare event if you live in the west - they never seem to leave Asia, and even if you decide to go to Japan to see them, you have to get someone in Japan to buy the tickets for you. It's a hassle.
Here's proof (edited the receipt):
The text highlighted in pink reads "Morning Musume"Location: Japan!
Mood: Joy!!
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Weird food and loose teeth
Momo's lost one of her milk teeth. It's been annoying her for the past week, making it painful to eat because it's loose. I told her what Norwegians do (or at least my family does) which is we tie a piece of string around the tooth and pull. Fast and mostly harmless. Or dad the bearded awesomeness comes in and asks to "look at it" - and before you realize his evil intent your tooth's in his hand instead of in your mouth. Plop! ("Plouhp!") Her reaction to that was "Damee!" (something like "Don't!") followed by a laugh and clasping her hands before her mouth. I said she should watch out - maybe the scary Norwegian would visit her while she was sleeping! XD
...Did you know? Here in Japan, they put teeth you lose from your lower jaw up under the roof so the new ones will grow straight up. Those you lose from your upper jaw they put under the house for the same reason. I never knew!
On Saturday, we went to watch Ryotaro's sports festival (a day where all the students at your school compete in different games). It looked quite fun - especially the tug of war!
Tug of war! I want to join~
After the games, we went into the nearby building to listen to the brass band play. They were really good! They also had a game where they allowed people in the audience to conduct - it was really fun to watch! XD Also, the logo over the band's head was kind of creepy - it's true what someone once told me: after going to my school for some years, you start seeing E's and the E logo everywhere! 0__o
Where we all sat.
They look suspiciously much alike if you flip either one. E! They're everywhere!!
While this was going on, everybody watching sat on the floor and ate lunch they'd brought along. Yum! Momo's tooth fell out while eating!
Tokage - Momo's favourite toy - had to take a look too. And I had to take a picture.
Also, I've figured out there must be some kind of weird rules for Japanese food (and snacks):
- Almost everything should have a variation with the taste of grape, green tea or peach. (Or all three.)
- "Bread" should be made of 100% white flour and taste sweet. (Basically, they equal sweet rolls.) And no, meron pan (melon bread) does not taste of melon.
- Pocky has a million tastes, not just chocolate, strawberry or green tea. There's orange, Brazillian pudding (whatever that is) and blueberry!
- Butter is something you put inside bread. In small lumps. Never on top!
- It's western? Cool! Let's take that - and Japanize it! XD
Location: Japan!
...Did you know? Here in Japan, they put teeth you lose from your lower jaw up under the roof so the new ones will grow straight up. Those you lose from your upper jaw they put under the house for the same reason. I never knew!
On Saturday, we went to watch Ryotaro's sports festival (a day where all the students at your school compete in different games). It looked quite fun - especially the tug of war!
Tug of war! I want to join~After the games, we went into the nearby building to listen to the brass band play. They were really good! They also had a game where they allowed people in the audience to conduct - it was really fun to watch! XD Also, the logo over the band's head was kind of creepy - it's true what someone once told me: after going to my school for some years, you start seeing E's and the E logo everywhere! 0__o
Where we all sat.
They look suspiciously much alike if you flip either one. E! They're everywhere!!
Kaa-san's examining...
Momo and her tooth!
Momo and her tooth!
Tokage - Momo's favourite toy - had to take a look too. And I had to take a picture.Also, I've figured out there must be some kind of weird rules for Japanese food (and snacks):
- Almost everything should have a variation with the taste of grape, green tea or peach. (Or all three.)
- "Bread" should be made of 100% white flour and taste sweet. (Basically, they equal sweet rolls.) And no, meron pan (melon bread) does not taste of melon.
- Pocky has a million tastes, not just chocolate, strawberry or green tea. There's orange, Brazillian pudding (whatever that is) and blueberry!
- Butter is something you put inside bread. In small lumps. Never on top!
- It's western? Cool! Let's take that - and Japanize it! XD
Location: Japan!
Birthday party!
Yesterday we met at the grandparent's house and had a birthday party for those family members (me included!) that have their birthday in September. Noriko (kaa-san's sister and mother of Chihiro) had her birthday most recently. Madoka will be on her one month exchange to Germany when she has hers this month and since that also means she won't be here for mine... well, it's a lovely excuse for a party! We had lots of wonderful Japanese food, delicious cake and sang the English birthday song eith three names! XD (There's no Japanese birthday song, so they sing it in Engrish instead.) Madoka also gave me my birthday present (so nice of her!), but I haven't opened it yet.
Everyone in front of my camera set on self-timer :D
Food, glorious food~
I also found something that made me very bikurishta (surprised) - a Japanese children's book with a title under the Japanese one. This subtitle read"Pappaen som ikke fant veien hjem" (The dad who didn't find his way home"). Yes - it was Norwegian! Everything inside was in Japanese, but I borrowed it to see if I'll be able to understand it. Hurrah!
Location: Japan!
Mood: "Oh my gawd, I have cooking again tomorrow... seriously, that's 4 days of cooking in a week! And one art lesson!!"
Listening to: Japanese samurai drama on TV XD
Eating: soon, I believe. *sniff sniff*
Drinking: -
Everyone in front of my camera set on self-timer :D
Food, glorious food~I also found something that made me very bikurishta (surprised) - a Japanese children's book with a title under the Japanese one. This subtitle read"Pappaen som ikke fant veien hjem" (The dad who didn't find his way home"). Yes - it was Norwegian! Everything inside was in Japanese, but I borrowed it to see if I'll be able to understand it. Hurrah!
Location: Japan!
Mood: "Oh my gawd, I have cooking again tomorrow... seriously, that's 4 days of cooking in a week! And one art lesson!!"
Listening to: Japanese samurai drama on TV XD
Eating: soon, I believe. *sniff sniff*
Drinking: -
Jumping the Shinkansen
I had my first dancing lesson on friday.
It was tough.
First of all: I don't mind dancing. I actually think it's fun, although I hate feeling like an ungraceful stork when I'm learning how to do it with people who already know how. I love music and rhythm.
It's just that most of the people in my dancing class are also in the dancing club. This means that they train dancing several times a week, they've probably been dancing for a while, and they're darn good at it. They learn choreographies much faster than I do. And they go from 1 ... 2 ... 3 ... 4 (which I can keep up with) to 1,2,3,4 go go go!! much too fast for me. So Francesco and I end up standing in the back feeling stupid while everybody else is dancing as if they've never done anything else. I feel like I'm slowing them down too, because they have to show me slowly several times (and I still can't do it at their pace. No chance). They're not pressuring me or anything - it's just that I feel bad because I want to keep up with them, but can't.
Quote Dazey: "You're jumping a train. They're asking you to jump the bullet train."
Another issue will be the clubs.
I thought about joining the kyudo club (archery), but heard from my homeroom teacher that the kyudo teacher doesn't have much time to teach. Which means that about 70% of the point's gone. There's very few members (only one guy we've seen training there) which means not so many friends. Another 20% gone. The remaining 10% would be that there's not so much training, so you don't have to come every day. Still, it looks like I won't be joining this club if it continues this way. But I'm not 100% sure yet. That one guy can teach me for all I care! XD I just want to learn something.
The other thing I thought of joining is the kendo club. It looked kind of fun, and I heard that they don't train so often. (My HR teacher thought otherwise, but she said she'd check so I'll know for sure.) Still, I know the other exchange student quit because he didn't get along with the kendo teacher, who's very strickt and noisy (according to Madoka). Madoka also told me that a friend of hers started in the kendo club the first year, but quit when she started the second for the same reasons. So I don't know. There's not much else I think I can do. There's several I'd be interested in, but I'm not good enough to join, and they train really hard. *sigh* I really want to join a club and make friends there too. What's Japanese high schools without the clubs? I want to experience that too!
Well, I'll keep trying my best! Ganbarimasu! Oo~! \(>o<)/☆
Location: Japan!
Mood: :cip:
Watching: "Charmed" dubbed to Japanese! It's hilarious! XD (I'm imitating the bad guy and the dubbing to my host mother's amusement.) :P
Eating: rice in a bowl filled with hot green tea (o-cha)!
Drinking: water and o-cha.
It was tough.
First of all: I don't mind dancing. I actually think it's fun, although I hate feeling like an ungraceful stork when I'm learning how to do it with people who already know how. I love music and rhythm.
It's just that most of the people in my dancing class are also in the dancing club. This means that they train dancing several times a week, they've probably been dancing for a while, and they're darn good at it. They learn choreographies much faster than I do. And they go from 1 ... 2 ... 3 ... 4 (which I can keep up with) to 1,2,3,4 go go go!! much too fast for me. So Francesco and I end up standing in the back feeling stupid while everybody else is dancing as if they've never done anything else. I feel like I'm slowing them down too, because they have to show me slowly several times (and I still can't do it at their pace. No chance). They're not pressuring me or anything - it's just that I feel bad because I want to keep up with them, but can't.
Quote Dazey: "You're jumping a train. They're asking you to jump the bullet train."
Another issue will be the clubs.
I thought about joining the kyudo club (archery), but heard from my homeroom teacher that the kyudo teacher doesn't have much time to teach. Which means that about 70% of the point's gone. There's very few members (only one guy we've seen training there) which means not so many friends. Another 20% gone. The remaining 10% would be that there's not so much training, so you don't have to come every day. Still, it looks like I won't be joining this club if it continues this way. But I'm not 100% sure yet. That one guy can teach me for all I care! XD I just want to learn something.
The other thing I thought of joining is the kendo club. It looked kind of fun, and I heard that they don't train so often. (My HR teacher thought otherwise, but she said she'd check so I'll know for sure.) Still, I know the other exchange student quit because he didn't get along with the kendo teacher, who's very strickt and noisy (according to Madoka). Madoka also told me that a friend of hers started in the kendo club the first year, but quit when she started the second for the same reasons. So I don't know. There's not much else I think I can do. There's several I'd be interested in, but I'm not good enough to join, and they train really hard. *sigh* I really want to join a club and make friends there too. What's Japanese high schools without the clubs? I want to experience that too!
Well, I'll keep trying my best! Ganbarimasu! Oo~! \(>o<)/☆
Location: Japan!
Mood: :cip:
Watching: "Charmed" dubbed to Japanese! It's hilarious! XD (I'm imitating the bad guy and the dubbing to my host mother's amusement.) :P
Eating: rice in a bowl filled with hot green tea (o-cha)!
Drinking: water and o-cha.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Morning Musume to Kagoshima!?
I've been baking cakes all day at school today, which was really boring because I didn't understand what the teacher was talking about for hours and let's face it, cooking was never my favourite subject. What made them give us a whole day of cake baking and three days containing cooking a week? Just wondering. O__o And I have one art lesson a week. One. I want to do nail art, cut hair and make yukatas! Please?
That being said, the rest of our schedule is pretty awesome, and I'll try to ask my homeroom teacher if it's possible to try some of these other things too. Besides, this is the first week after school. It'll probably get better.
/rant
Now on to something completely different (the larch!): Morning Musume is coming to Kagoshima! And they're holding a concert! It's called モーニング娘。コンサートツアー2008 秋 ～リゾナント LIVE or Morning Musume Concert Tour 2008 Aki ~Resonant LIVE. It's being held on the 4th of October at Kagoshima Cultural Hall. And it's a Saturday, which means no school and maybe time to go and see it...? Oh, that would be so fun! \(>.<)/ How often do you get a chance to do that anyway? I want to go see Morning Musume live! I asked my friends in class and they said they thought it might be like 6000 yen, which would make it about 300 kr. Not too bad, is it?
Edit: I checked their Japanese schedule. It's correct.
I wonder if I could drag Madoka with me if I could somehow get a hold of tickets...? Where would you do that anyway? I need to do some research.
...I want to go!
That being said, the rest of our schedule is pretty awesome, and I'll try to ask my homeroom teacher if it's possible to try some of these other things too. Besides, this is the first week after school. It'll probably get better.
/rant
Now on to something completely different (the larch!): Morning Musume is coming to Kagoshima! And they're holding a concert! It's called モーニング娘。コンサートツアー2008 秋 ～リゾナント LIVE or Morning Musume Concert Tour 2008 Aki ~Resonant LIVE. It's being held on the 4th of October at Kagoshima Cultural Hall. And it's a Saturday, which means no school and maybe time to go and see it...? Oh, that would be so fun! \(>.<)/ How often do you get a chance to do that anyway? I want to go see Morning Musume live! I asked my friends in class and they said they thought it might be like 6000 yen, which would make it about 300 kr. Not too bad, is it?
Edit: I checked their Japanese schedule. It's correct.
I wonder if I could drag Madoka with me if I could somehow get a hold of tickets...? Where would you do that anyway? I need to do some research.
...I want to go!
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
School day two
I just passed 50 blog posts, yay for me!
Today was awesome and really interesting, but man am I tired! I've heard, spoken, written and read Japanese all day, and my brain has turned into a soggy mass quite, but not entirely unlike tea. I'm beat! OK, so 6 hours of sleep, studying and then staying at school to watch club activities was probably not the best combination either...
Francesco and my schedule differs a bit from that of the other students in our class, so we're taking a lot of different subjects. Japanese dance, tea ceremony, art, aerobics, counceling and cooking (both cake baking and regular cooking) to mention some. Awesome, I know! A couple of girls take us to the different classes for the time being so we won't have to run through the entire building on our own. I also discovered, by looking at our timetable, that I've been spelling "Daisy"-sensei's name wrong. It's pronounced like "Daisy", but is actually written "Dazey"!
Today started off with meeting Francesco by the shoe box. (The black leather loafers are only used outside - everywhere else we wear those slippers that I have trouble walking in...) We found our classroom, and sat down. One of our classmates was practicing kanji, and we asked him about some of them and found some of those we knew. It said "English" on our timetable, but it turned out we'd be having a kanji test instead. Francesco and I got the same as the other students just for fun, but I wouldn't have stood a chance even though I knew the meaning of some of them. We did one for elementary-school children instead. XD
After this we watched the Japanese dance lesson. It was pretty amazing, and quite unlike anything I've ever seen before. The students all wore yukatas (which they put on themselves, btw,) and they had fans that they used to make a rhythm with. I think we'll be dancing with the first years (easier), but it was really fun to watch.
The third period was art (in a class with only girls except for Francesco!), but today we listened to the teacher telling us about colours and contrasts. I understood the very basics of what he was saying (combined with what he wrote on the blackboard and what I've learned in art class in Norway), which made me pretty happy. Still, I wish I could have understood more. He wasn't just talking about colours, but he talked about contrasts concerning makeup and accessories too, which I think I would have liked if I had more of a clue as to what he was saying. (The girls in this class study makeup and nail art too, which explains why he'd talk about such things and why there were no boys there.)
He mentioned how dark colours makes things look smaller and light colours make them look bigger. Then he said "for example, if you've got dark hear, your head may appear small". When he said this my hands immediately flew up to touch my own blond hear, my eyes slightly widened. "Eh?! Jya, watashi no atama wa... ookii mitai desu yo ne?" (Well, then my head... looks big, doesn't it?) Then everyone in the classroom, myself included, started laughing. I' not sure if everyone heard what I said, but my reaction would have spoken for itself anyway! :P
At around 11:15 it was time for o-hirugohan, lunch (finally!). Some of the students in our class invited us to put our tables together and eat our obento, lunch boxes, with them. We talked to them and tried to learn their names. Names are hard for me to remember no matter where in the world I am, so it was quite funny. XD We also told them about the whole Daisy/Dazey thing, which was quite funny once we managed to explain it to them. I had just written "DAISY" with big letters on a piece of paper when Dazey-sensei entered the room. Everyone looked up at him and immediately started laughing. He stood in the doorway looking puzzled and quite amused. Francesco and I couldn't stop laughing, nor could any of the others. Dazey smiled and said "well, I'm glad you're getting along!" and told us that it was time for our counseling "but just take your time, it's OK". In the hallway on the way to our class, we told him what had been so funny. He laughed and told us not to worry about it. "I'm not sensitive about that at all!" Great guy! (^^)v
"Impeccable timing, your majesty!" -Zazu
The counseling itself was spent talking about a lot of things and Dazey telling us about himself and how he ended up in Japan, ending with "That's me. I'll shut up now. Go ahead!" XD I really like him. He also told me that "You're doing fine. I mean - you're like a sponge, just soaking it all up and enjoying it. (About being in Japan, the culture +) You're riding this!" I think he's right - I really am enjoying myself right now. Although I'm sure I'll meet difficult things and things I don't feel as comfortable with, right now I'm fine, and I'm enjoying this to the fullest! With this feeling and everybody's help, I'm sure we'll make this a fantastic year! \(^^)/ -☆
Our last lesson was tea ceremony, which was basically spent introducing ourselves to our teacher and, well, drinking tea. I also tried to stir the maccha (green tea you stir into this green, foaming, delicius drink), which I managed to do very ungracefully I'm sure. (I did, however, manage to sit in seisa through the class whenever the teacher was in the room. Although she didn't require it.) Our teacher, Hideko-sensei, was really nice - I think this'll be fun!
When we finished school around 3:00 PM, Francesco and I decided to have a look around the building. I'd told my host family I would, so they were fine with it. All the floors have basically the same layout, but it'll take time to get used to it all. We also went to watch most of the different clubs (sorry, sport teams) around the school. We only wanted to watch a bit of it, but everywhere we went people pulled up chairs for us, which made us feel really rude when leaving to look at the next. Eeehhhh! The karate club was pretty amazing, but I don't think I could train as hard as they do every day. Besides, these kids are really good to begin with, and they want to become the best. Yeah, you can see where this is going. ;) Probably not my cup of o-cha. Kendo looked fun, but I'm not sure about it. Sebastian (the Swedish guy from last year) found it too tough and Vero-chan has suggested I try something else since she thinks I might find it boring after a while because of all the constant repetition. Kyudo looked fun too, but it was in a kind of remote place with just one guy practicing when we watched it. Quote Dazey: "It's kind of like you join a club without getting all the benefits of being in a club." (Friends, etc.) Also I think I might find it kind of repetitive after a while, I'm not sure. Dancing actually looked really fun too, and there were several students from our class there. Still, I'm not sure how often they train. They might be upset with me if I can't make it to their trainings that often when I have things like Rotary meetings and so on. Ah, what to doo... Well, we'll find out eventually, I guess.
Tomorrow's cooking - ugh. I hope I don't burn anything! XD
Edit: my last post is updated with pictures of my school uniform!
Location: Japan!
Mood: beat
Listening to: the clock playing music, again, because it's 9 PM.
Eating: Soon! Oh, food, glorious food...
Drinking: In a moment. Tea~ (Which means I'll be up peeing at 5:30 AM again. What a drag.)
Today was awesome and really interesting, but man am I tired! I've heard, spoken, written and read Japanese all day, and my brain has turned into a soggy mass quite, but not entirely unlike tea. I'm beat! OK, so 6 hours of sleep, studying and then staying at school to watch club activities was probably not the best combination either...
Francesco and my schedule differs a bit from that of the other students in our class, so we're taking a lot of different subjects. Japanese dance, tea ceremony, art, aerobics, counceling and cooking (both cake baking and regular cooking) to mention some. Awesome, I know! A couple of girls take us to the different classes for the time being so we won't have to run through the entire building on our own. I also discovered, by looking at our timetable, that I've been spelling "Daisy"-sensei's name wrong. It's pronounced like "Daisy", but is actually written "Dazey"!
Today started off with meeting Francesco by the shoe box. (The black leather loafers are only used outside - everywhere else we wear those slippers that I have trouble walking in...) We found our classroom, and sat down. One of our classmates was practicing kanji, and we asked him about some of them and found some of those we knew. It said "English" on our timetable, but it turned out we'd be having a kanji test instead. Francesco and I got the same as the other students just for fun, but I wouldn't have stood a chance even though I knew the meaning of some of them. We did one for elementary-school children instead. XD
After this we watched the Japanese dance lesson. It was pretty amazing, and quite unlike anything I've ever seen before. The students all wore yukatas (which they put on themselves, btw,) and they had fans that they used to make a rhythm with. I think we'll be dancing with the first years (easier), but it was really fun to watch.
The third period was art (in a class with only girls except for Francesco!), but today we listened to the teacher telling us about colours and contrasts. I understood the very basics of what he was saying (combined with what he wrote on the blackboard and what I've learned in art class in Norway), which made me pretty happy. Still, I wish I could have understood more. He wasn't just talking about colours, but he talked about contrasts concerning makeup and accessories too, which I think I would have liked if I had more of a clue as to what he was saying. (The girls in this class study makeup and nail art too, which explains why he'd talk about such things and why there were no boys there.)
He mentioned how dark colours makes things look smaller and light colours make them look bigger. Then he said "for example, if you've got dark hear, your head may appear small". When he said this my hands immediately flew up to touch my own blond hear, my eyes slightly widened. "Eh?! Jya, watashi no atama wa... ookii mitai desu yo ne?" (Well, then my head... looks big, doesn't it?) Then everyone in the classroom, myself included, started laughing. I' not sure if everyone heard what I said, but my reaction would have spoken for itself anyway! :P
At around 11:15 it was time for o-hirugohan, lunch (finally!). Some of the students in our class invited us to put our tables together and eat our obento, lunch boxes, with them. We talked to them and tried to learn their names. Names are hard for me to remember no matter where in the world I am, so it was quite funny. XD We also told them about the whole Daisy/Dazey thing, which was quite funny once we managed to explain it to them. I had just written "DAISY" with big letters on a piece of paper when Dazey-sensei entered the room. Everyone looked up at him and immediately started laughing. He stood in the doorway looking puzzled and quite amused. Francesco and I couldn't stop laughing, nor could any of the others. Dazey smiled and said "well, I'm glad you're getting along!" and told us that it was time for our counseling "but just take your time, it's OK". In the hallway on the way to our class, we told him what had been so funny. He laughed and told us not to worry about it. "I'm not sensitive about that at all!" Great guy! (^^)v
"Impeccable timing, your majesty!" -Zazu
The counseling itself was spent talking about a lot of things and Dazey telling us about himself and how he ended up in Japan, ending with "That's me. I'll shut up now. Go ahead!" XD I really like him. He also told me that "You're doing fine. I mean - you're like a sponge, just soaking it all up and enjoying it. (About being in Japan, the culture +) You're riding this!" I think he's right - I really am enjoying myself right now. Although I'm sure I'll meet difficult things and things I don't feel as comfortable with, right now I'm fine, and I'm enjoying this to the fullest! With this feeling and everybody's help, I'm sure we'll make this a fantastic year! \(^^)/ -☆
Our last lesson was tea ceremony, which was basically spent introducing ourselves to our teacher and, well, drinking tea. I also tried to stir the maccha (green tea you stir into this green, foaming, delicius drink), which I managed to do very ungracefully I'm sure. (I did, however, manage to sit in seisa through the class whenever the teacher was in the room. Although she didn't require it.) Our teacher, Hideko-sensei, was really nice - I think this'll be fun!
When we finished school around 3:00 PM, Francesco and I decided to have a look around the building. I'd told my host family I would, so they were fine with it. All the floors have basically the same layout, but it'll take time to get used to it all. We also went to watch most of the different clubs (sorry, sport teams) around the school. We only wanted to watch a bit of it, but everywhere we went people pulled up chairs for us, which made us feel really rude when leaving to look at the next. Eeehhhh! The karate club was pretty amazing, but I don't think I could train as hard as they do every day. Besides, these kids are really good to begin with, and they want to become the best. Yeah, you can see where this is going. ;) Probably not my cup of o-cha. Kendo looked fun, but I'm not sure about it. Sebastian (the Swedish guy from last year) found it too tough and Vero-chan has suggested I try something else since she thinks I might find it boring after a while because of all the constant repetition. Kyudo looked fun too, but it was in a kind of remote place with just one guy practicing when we watched it. Quote Dazey: "It's kind of like you join a club without getting all the benefits of being in a club." (Friends, etc.) Also I think I might find it kind of repetitive after a while, I'm not sure. Dancing actually looked really fun too, and there were several students from our class there. Still, I'm not sure how often they train. They might be upset with me if I can't make it to their trainings that often when I have things like Rotary meetings and so on. Ah, what to doo... Well, we'll find out eventually, I guess.
Tomorrow's cooking - ugh. I hope I don't burn anything! XD
Edit: my last post is updated with pictures of my school uniform!
Location: Japan!
Mood: beat
Listening to: the clock playing music, again, because it's 9 PM.
Eating: Soon! Oh, food, glorious food...
Drinking: In a moment. Tea~ (Which means I'll be up peeing at 5:30 AM again. What a drag.)
Monday, September 1, 2008
1st day of school!
I've actually looked forward to starting school. I look forward to learning about new things like kanji, Japanese culture, customs and Japanese school life. Most of the subjects I probably won't understand, but I can observe, participate and practice the language, which is more than enough for me! \(^^)/
I wasn't really worried about today - that was until I heard a couple of days ago that I'd be making a speech in front of the entire school. Students and staff included, I think that's about 1400 people! Quote Sid from Ice Age: "I'm fine! I'm fine! ...I'm gonna die~!" Still, I was told it was only supposed to be a short self-introduction (1-3 min.) with a bit about why you wanted to go to Japan, what you're first impression was etc. So with a bit of help from Madoka, I made a short speech in Japanese and thought "OK, this'll be fine. I can handle this".
This morning I woke up pretty early (like around 5:30 AM) because my traitorous body decided it had to pee. Now. So off to the toilet I reluctantly went. After this it was kind of hard to fall asleep again, so I half-slept until 6:30 AM when I got up, put on my uniform and ate breakfast while whimpering to my host father about being nervous because of the speech. (We made many jokes about this, of course. "Pretend the microphone's not working!") Then I got into the car with my host parents and drove off to school.
I was feeling quite nervous as I walked through the school gate with my host mother, but it was fun seeing the students (mostly girls) who looked at you, smiled and waved while saying "hii!". Once inside the school (which, let me tell you, is big), we met up with Daisy-sensei and Francesco, who looked rather pale. We chatted a bit before entering the principal's office. Here we talked about the speeches we'd be making and what the day would entail. This is where I learnt my first lesson: never lower your guard! Just when I thought that "OK, I'll be fine", one of the Japanese teachers handed Francesco and me a piece of paper. "Oh, and if you could add these two sentences to the end of your speech it would be great!" Wait, say wha!? Although I understood most of it, there were some kanji I didn't know how to read, so I borrowed a ball-point pen, asked the teachers and scribbled down the furigana over it. (Google furigana!) Daisy-sensei said something like "Sorry about this last-minute thing." and calmed us down by reassuring us that even if we went up to the podium and "completely butchered that speech", they would think it was great. Even if we spoke in Norwegian or Italian, it wouldn't matter - "as long as you go up there and do your best, that's fine."
Upon coming to the assembly hall, the first thing that met my eyes were Japanese. Millions of them! Gaaaah! They're everywhere! XD But in a way I felt more at ease too, because most of them were kids roughly my age, which is a bit less intimidating than Japanese Rotary men in suits with business cards...
When we followed our homeroom teacher in (while wearing green plastic slippers that I had trouble walking in and was sure I'd slip out of while giving my speech (oh, the terror!)), all the students clapped their hands. Now that felt kind of weird! XD
We sat down in some blue plastic chairs while the principal, a teacher and a student representative help their speeches and told the students about us. (All the while having things translated into English which I sometimes didn't quite catch. (A bit of Engrish and slightly funny mistakes too - "please sit down" actually meant "stand up"). Sometimes I understood parts of the speeches better in Japanese, haha! :P)
Then I was told it was time for my self-introduction. I walked up to the podium feeling surprisingly at ease. (I had thought the night before that I'd imagine this as my self-introduction upon entering the Japanese pop group Morning Musume, which made it kind of fun. A bit like this. XD) It was even kind of fun, although I was a bit nervous, of course. I finished my speech, reading the two last sentences off my piece of paper, and bowed to leave the podium... and lost my slipper! "Great success!" XD I whisked it up from the floor, smiling to myself. Upon sitting down next to Francesco again I whispered "I told you I would!" :P (He told me later it was behind the podium so the audience didn't see it. Too bad!)
After Francesco finished his speech, we went out of the assembly hall again. Daisy-sensei was really impressed, saying he thought those were the best speeches he'd heard from fresh exchange students. One of the Japanese teachers shook my hand and patted me on the back while telling me that it was really good and that I spoke Japanese better than a native Japanese. Well... I laughed and thanked him, relieved that it was over. The rest would be OK - I wouldn't understand anything anyway! XD
After this we sat down close to the main entrance and talked with Daisy-sensei about various school and host family-related things. Also he told us a bit more about himself - he's been working as a police adviser, among other things! We also talked about drinking, and Fransesco admitted that he does drink a little, and might want to try the special alcoholic drink they have here while on exchange.
Francesco: ...but only a little!
Helene: Don't do it. It's against Rotary rules. You'll get sent home.
Daisy: ...and I thought I was the one with police background! XD
(...Hermione, anyone?)
After having chatted for a while, Francesco and I were followed up to our classroom by our teacher. Here we held another short self-introduction, which really felt like entering Morning Musume because of all the "aaaah!" and "ooooh!" after my introduction. XD This was just fun!
It was followed by the Japanese students introducing themselves (seeming more nervous than we were!) some in English but most in Japanese. One of them was really nervous and stood there not saying anything, just fumbling until the teacher led him back to his place. He came up afterwards and said his name and "douzo yoroshiku". Everyone was really supportive and sweet saying things like "don't be shy!" and "go for it!" as he went up in front of the class. It made me happy to see. :)
One of the students (a boy) walked straight up in front of our desks, got down on his knees and said his name clearly followed by "yoroshiku onegaishimasu!" while bowing low to the ground. Then he jumped up and grinned from ear to ear while the class laughed and applauded. He seemed like a fun person, and is clearly the class clown. I liked him! :)
School ended pretty quickly today, so after school my teacher grabbed hold of me (well, almost) and rushed with me to catch my school bus home. (No. 14, which turned out to be rather hard to find. My teacher ran around stressing to find it while I followed as best I could. XD) The bus ride home was kind of weird, seeing as I was the only foreigner and didn't know anybody. The girl I sat next to didn't say too much either, but it's my first day, so I expect that'll get better when I start making friends. I managed to get off at the right bus stop thanks to my note written by Madoka, and bought some chocolate pocky and a small notebook for writing down new words at the convenience store before heading home. "Tadaima~!"
After lunch I went with Madoka to see some different things around the area, which was a lot of fun, but I'l blog about that some other time. It's late.
Tomorrow will be a regular day with bento (lunch box), timetable and everything. After school Francesco and I plan to go and take a look around the building. I'm looking forward to that!
Me in my school uniform, looking very gaijin (but oh so adorable).
The natives wearing the winter (indoors/outdoors) and summer uniform.
Location: Nippon!
Mood: tired ;P
Listening to: my host brother Ryotaro playing FF on the PS2
Eating: not now - I just finished a delicious dinner and taught my family the phrase "stuffed to the gills"! XD
Drinking: cold green tea (no wonder I have to pee at 5:30 in the morning...)
I wasn't really worried about today - that was until I heard a couple of days ago that I'd be making a speech in front of the entire school. Students and staff included, I think that's about 1400 people! Quote Sid from Ice Age: "I'm fine! I'm fine! ...I'm gonna die~!" Still, I was told it was only supposed to be a short self-introduction (1-3 min.) with a bit about why you wanted to go to Japan, what you're first impression was etc. So with a bit of help from Madoka, I made a short speech in Japanese and thought "OK, this'll be fine. I can handle this".
This morning I woke up pretty early (like around 5:30 AM) because my traitorous body decided it had to pee. Now. So off to the toilet I reluctantly went. After this it was kind of hard to fall asleep again, so I half-slept until 6:30 AM when I got up, put on my uniform and ate breakfast while whimpering to my host father about being nervous because of the speech. (We made many jokes about this, of course. "Pretend the microphone's not working!") Then I got into the car with my host parents and drove off to school.
I was feeling quite nervous as I walked through the school gate with my host mother, but it was fun seeing the students (mostly girls) who looked at you, smiled and waved while saying "hii!". Once inside the school (which, let me tell you, is big), we met up with Daisy-sensei and Francesco, who looked rather pale. We chatted a bit before entering the principal's office. Here we talked about the speeches we'd be making and what the day would entail. This is where I learnt my first lesson: never lower your guard! Just when I thought that "OK, I'll be fine", one of the Japanese teachers handed Francesco and me a piece of paper. "Oh, and if you could add these two sentences to the end of your speech it would be great!" Wait, say wha!? Although I understood most of it, there were some kanji I didn't know how to read, so I borrowed a ball-point pen, asked the teachers and scribbled down the furigana over it. (Google furigana!) Daisy-sensei said something like "Sorry about this last-minute thing." and calmed us down by reassuring us that even if we went up to the podium and "completely butchered that speech", they would think it was great. Even if we spoke in Norwegian or Italian, it wouldn't matter - "as long as you go up there and do your best, that's fine."
Upon coming to the assembly hall, the first thing that met my eyes were Japanese. Millions of them! Gaaaah! They're everywhere! XD But in a way I felt more at ease too, because most of them were kids roughly my age, which is a bit less intimidating than Japanese Rotary men in suits with business cards...
When we followed our homeroom teacher in (while wearing green plastic slippers that I had trouble walking in and was sure I'd slip out of while giving my speech (oh, the terror!)), all the students clapped their hands. Now that felt kind of weird! XD
We sat down in some blue plastic chairs while the principal, a teacher and a student representative help their speeches and told the students about us. (All the while having things translated into English which I sometimes didn't quite catch. (A bit of Engrish and slightly funny mistakes too - "please sit down" actually meant "stand up"). Sometimes I understood parts of the speeches better in Japanese, haha! :P)
Then I was told it was time for my self-introduction. I walked up to the podium feeling surprisingly at ease. (I had thought the night before that I'd imagine this as my self-introduction upon entering the Japanese pop group Morning Musume, which made it kind of fun. A bit like this. XD) It was even kind of fun, although I was a bit nervous, of course. I finished my speech, reading the two last sentences off my piece of paper, and bowed to leave the podium... and lost my slipper! "Great success!" XD I whisked it up from the floor, smiling to myself. Upon sitting down next to Francesco again I whispered "I told you I would!" :P (He told me later it was behind the podium so the audience didn't see it. Too bad!)
After Francesco finished his speech, we went out of the assembly hall again. Daisy-sensei was really impressed, saying he thought those were the best speeches he'd heard from fresh exchange students. One of the Japanese teachers shook my hand and patted me on the back while telling me that it was really good and that I spoke Japanese better than a native Japanese. Well... I laughed and thanked him, relieved that it was over. The rest would be OK - I wouldn't understand anything anyway! XD
After this we sat down close to the main entrance and talked with Daisy-sensei about various school and host family-related things. Also he told us a bit more about himself - he's been working as a police adviser, among other things! We also talked about drinking, and Fransesco admitted that he does drink a little, and might want to try the special alcoholic drink they have here while on exchange.
Francesco: ...but only a little!
Helene: Don't do it. It's against Rotary rules. You'll get sent home.
Daisy: ...and I thought I was the one with police background! XD
(...Hermione, anyone?)
After having chatted for a while, Francesco and I were followed up to our classroom by our teacher. Here we held another short self-introduction, which really felt like entering Morning Musume because of all the "aaaah!" and "ooooh!" after my introduction. XD This was just fun!
It was followed by the Japanese students introducing themselves (seeming more nervous than we were!) some in English but most in Japanese. One of them was really nervous and stood there not saying anything, just fumbling until the teacher led him back to his place. He came up afterwards and said his name and "douzo yoroshiku". Everyone was really supportive and sweet saying things like "don't be shy!" and "go for it!" as he went up in front of the class. It made me happy to see. :)
One of the students (a boy) walked straight up in front of our desks, got down on his knees and said his name clearly followed by "yoroshiku onegaishimasu!" while bowing low to the ground. Then he jumped up and grinned from ear to ear while the class laughed and applauded. He seemed like a fun person, and is clearly the class clown. I liked him! :)
School ended pretty quickly today, so after school my teacher grabbed hold of me (well, almost) and rushed with me to catch my school bus home. (No. 14, which turned out to be rather hard to find. My teacher ran around stressing to find it while I followed as best I could. XD) The bus ride home was kind of weird, seeing as I was the only foreigner and didn't know anybody. The girl I sat next to didn't say too much either, but it's my first day, so I expect that'll get better when I start making friends. I managed to get off at the right bus stop thanks to my note written by Madoka, and bought some chocolate pocky and a small notebook for writing down new words at the convenience store before heading home. "Tadaima~!"
After lunch I went with Madoka to see some different things around the area, which was a lot of fun, but I'l blog about that some other time. It's late.
Tomorrow will be a regular day with bento (lunch box), timetable and everything. After school Francesco and I plan to go and take a look around the building. I'm looking forward to that!
Me in my school uniform, looking very gaijin (but oh so adorable).
The natives wearing the winter (indoors/outdoors) and summer uniform.Location: Nippon!
Mood: tired ;P
Listening to: my host brother Ryotaro playing FF on the PS2
Eating: not now - I just finished a delicious dinner and taught my family the phrase "stuffed to the gills"! XD
Drinking: cold green tea (no wonder I have to pee at 5:30 in the morning...)
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