Grant

We'll it's morning on the first day here! After the initial tiredness of not sleeping on a plane and the jet lag I'm feeling pretty good. Yesterday we just flew in and got to our hotel rooms and crashed on the beds. It was one of the best feelings. We woke up really early this morning 5 o'clock Japanese time to be exact, and explored some of the luxuries of the beautiful hotel we were in. They serve a fantastic breakfast! They had absolutely everything from soup to eggs to waffles and sticky rice, my favorite thing currently. Some people tried natto, a fermented soybean sticky substance that I didn't have the bravery to try. That was one of the most satisfying breakfasts I have had. After breakfast we got on a bus to go to the train station and take our train to begin our journey to Tokyo. I'm trying to take as many pictures as possible on the train and getting my thoughts of what's been going on so far down on paper, or a screen. Feeling of pure excitement being here and hearing everything in Japanese and seeing so many new things is undescribable. I'm going to take a break from typing this because I believe something's about to happen. Having a great time and "hello!" to the people at home!

It's about 9:45 here in japan and we just transferred to our Shinkansen to to go Kyoto. This is the smoothest train I've been on in my entire life. It feels like a plane and it moves as such. Everything's just flying by too quickly to see for very long but these cities are so much different from Evanston and Chicago. The hustle and bustle still exist but there's none of the hostility or urgency. It's more like people know what they're doing rather than rushing around. Its a weird feeling. Max just issued a challenge to try and speak or gold a conversation in Japanese with someone on the train so maybe I'll try that in the next 3 hours we're on this phenomenon of modern science. Before then I should probably get some work done. Until later owarimasu.

Well it's half an hour later and I never thought I'd have my ears be popped on a train. This is truly a unique experience. I'm sitting between two people, a woman on my left wearing an outfit that looks to be made of entirely wool. It's very soft. She brushed past when she went to take the window seat. To my right is a man that looks like he's on some official business but still learning the ropes. He's doing papers that look a lot like what we do in Japanese class. Just thought I'd share this new development with whoever is willing to read about it. We should be visiting a temple and a couple parks later today according to the itinerary so those should be fun. Trying to blog as much as possible but sometimes wi-fi doesn't permit me to post them until way later. Thanks for the patience! Now recto get back to finding a plane.... Train.

Just got back to the hotel after seeing so much stuff today. We climbed a mountain and at the top there were monkeys and we got to feed them and they just walked around freely with us. After that we went and got the largest most filling meal I've ever experienced. We went back to the train station in Tokyo to go to the very top and look down over the city. We are all just resting in our rooms after a long day and it feels quite nice. Now it's time to get some much needed rest. Sayonara.

Today was the most tiring day I've ever experienced. Starting at 7a.m. We went to the conbini down the street from our hotel to go grab some breakfast. I was amazed at how much you can get with 400 yen. I bought something that tasted a lot like a croissant, a bottle of tea, and this incredibly good yogurt for only 4 dollars! We then went to these temples in the mountains. I believe we visited 4 all as a group and some people got to see 5. I kind of splurged on the souvenirs but I got a whole bunch of awesome stuff for only 30 dollars! How!? The first temple we visited was so incredibly beautiful and peaceful it was breathtaking and nobody else was there which made it so much better. We the temple stretch from ground level to halfway up the mountain. I'm extremely tired so I'm just going to quickly describe dinner. Delicious. They served us a seven-course meal that had the best seafood I have ever tasted. They served baked salmon that all of us had to have second servings of. We tried to speak to the servers as much as possible in Japanese and they gave us blotting towels. I'm not quite sure what they're used for but it feels good to be given a gift. We missed a train on the way back and all of our legs are hurting when we walk but we made it back and it's time to crash. I'll try to keep up the blogging when wi-fi permits. Goodnight. -Grant

Time to leave Tokyo. After a stressful morning that required us to get up at 5:30 a.m. Then packing and getting downstairs by six o'clock was quite stressful. We walked rather quickly to the Kyoto train station and took a thirteen minute train ride to get on the real ride. We are going to see and old castle today and I'm excited to tonight to be an early-to-bed night. We just got on the Shinkansen and it's super fast. This is the second one we've been on and it never ceases to amaze me. We'll be on this for about 4 hours so I'm trying to get as much work out of the way as I can. On a final note for right now, I'm sorry for the shortage of blogging. The app is really weird and sometimes doesn't let me post, not to mention the lack of wi-fi in many places. The seats on this train rotate so people can have 4- person conversations it so cool! And now is the time to get comfortable on this train. I'll try to get this posted later if possible.

After another long day of walking I feel like my legs and feet are starting to adjust. This morning we were out of the hotel by 6 a.m. And on a Shinkansen by 7:30. We arrived in Tokyo at around noon and we dropped off our stuff at this beautiful hotel. The ceilings are really short and it smells like smoke because it's not prohibited which bothers me but the beds and baths make up for it. Today we went to Kumamoto castle and that place was spectacular in so many aspects. It was huge beautiful stone architecture and woodwork and it truly made japan feel real. We watched a samurai show and they used swords and traditional outfits to act out some kind of story I think. After the castle we went to an ancient samurai house and I used that time to just exist and kind of meditate because it was a very tranquil place with great foliage everywhere. After leaving there we went to dinner and I think this meal takes the prize yet. I had beef with sticky rice with beet shavings on top, udon with this incredibly spicy broth, tempura fish, and what seems to be Japanese cole slaw. It was all amazing and my chopstick skills are improving. I picked up a nat that feel into my water glass. I was very proud. I'm typing this having just gotten out of the baths. They were fabulous. A constant steamy temperature and cool air was very relaxing on more than one level. I feel so relaxed right now it's hard to keep my eyes open. Yet another successful day in a foreign country! I'm sorry for the late post again. Best wishes to back home! -Grant

We are currently at Dezaifu after taking 4 different trains to get here. We were issued a challenge to find artifacts that were somewhat familiar to us and some that weren't. Doesn't really make sense because everything is new. This national museum is incredibly strict about electronics so only iPods and iPads are allowed. No pictures of anything once inside. The item that stood out to me in particular was a golden braided lance that was easily 10 feet long. Something that struck me as unusual was the large anchor that is currently to my left. It's just wood, rock, and rope and it looks stronger than anything I've ever seen. I feel like I never see anything that relates to anchors in museums. I'm beginning to feel like this trip is slightly too structured and that we need a chance to explore independently rather than just being given a small area to explore for over an hour. I'm very much lacking in the picture department because all the places we visit have everyone else taking pictures that will most likely be shared and I'd like to take the opportunity to truly get the experience rather than worry about "the shots" my personal opinion but I'm trying to take a few here and there. I'm going to go now. So until later goodbye.

We'll today is coming to a close and this will be again the last thing I post before I go to sleep. Today we went to several famous sites but those weren't really the highlight of the day. Where two of the famous places were situated there was this long straight street that had every sort of anything you could possibly want. We had a great breakfast this morning but I was still ready to get food immediately when Sensei allowed us to roam the street by ourselves. I've discovered that I really like tempura ebi and ika, or as most people know them, cuddlefish and shrimp. Those fried skewers were absolutely delectable and I am fairly certain that I could eat those everyday for life. I think I could really get used to having all the shops you could want very close to you. I found a little stuffed owl for aunt Peggy and I grabbed some assorted other goods that I thought were cool. Still looking for something for Andi but that will come soon enough. When we were on our way back to the hotel, again, spectacular, we stumbled across a curry restaurant. And I have added three words to my vocabulary to describe it. Best. Curry. Ever. This was so incredibly good just by itself then I added fried whole shrimp and some torikatsu which is a chicken thing. The real thing that blew my mind today was when we were at least half a mile from the restaurant the man that served us our dinner comes biking up the street holding Rodrigo's glasses! That was the nicest thing I've ever seen in my life and that man was the definition of "good". It was unbelievable. I just did the communal bathing and I'm really starting to like it a lot and I'm so relaxed right now that I could very likely fall asleep standing up. Stuff here is great and I'll see if I can get in to read comments on the blog because it'sty  being weird. Comment on what church was if possible (mom and dad) thanks! Goodnight. -Grant

Today was very relaxing. We basically just bathed all day. Sensei got us tickets at a day spa and we went to 3 different baths of our choice out of the 30 that they had there. They all smelled like minerals and it felt very nice. The first bath we went to was the best and it had 4 different temperatures of baths ranging from freezing cold to a sauna (probably spelled wrong) I'm so tired and it's just become natural to me. It's not the best feeling but it's impossible to get rid of. I guess it's worth it because I feel really immersed in the culture and that's the point right? Everything here is great and sorry if I don't have too much to say. Also I have a lot of money left over that I didn't spend. Good thing no? So yes, I'm turning in for the day because I fell asleep 6 separate times on the bus ride home. Only 1 week left until I'm home! Yay! Goodnight -Grant

Well it's the first day of the honestly and I just had dinner with my host family. It was incredible. It's unbelievable how much someone can learn by just watching their tv and having dinner with them. They made this beef stew with raw egg and it was incredibly delicious. My host student tota is a great host too and he and his entire family are some of the nicest people I've ever met. I was nervous at first to talk and enjoy myself but they've already adopted me in a way. Don't be jealous mom and dad. I gave them the gifts and they loved them! Score! The grandparents are really inquiring about my grandparents and my cousins while the dad mainly talks about sports and such. Tota acts as a translator in a way because sometimes it's hard to understand what they are trying to say to me. This is a truly fantastic experience and I look forward to a whole another week of it before I go home. Thanks to everyone in the family for making this possible. -Grant  :)

Today was my first day at Japanese school and I actually like it a lot more than our school purely because it's smaller. Everyone was so. Nice and I learned so much about Japanese history and something that I believe was economics. It felt great to help tota and his friends in his English class with his grammar and plurals and opinions and they appreciated it as did I. After school we did our presentations to KJ and I was super nervous as I always am for first time things. We did it! It went as smoothly as it could've gone with only Japanese jeopardy. Like the game show. My brain has fully kicked into Japanese gear and I keep talking to myself in Japanese. Is that weird? I feel like I understand more and I'm able to communicate so much better just after less than 12 hours of Nihongo dake. When coming home from school we missed our bus due to some communication which first freaked me out because I couldn't find Tota but then we walked to the train station which was about 25 minutes away and we talked the whole way and it felt great. Theold didn't bother me just because I was socializing in a new language. We talked for about 45 minutes waiting for the bus and then from the bus stop to his house. We got here and they let me take a shower and then we had some more super good curry rice with tonkatsu. Tonkatsu is like breaded fried chicken. On the bus ride home, before dinner and such we talked with one of Tota's classmates and he was super nice and it got me thinking that I haven't met a single person that hasn't been the most respectful possible. They aren't bothered by trivial things like we are in America and they treat everyone with respect and honor them as individuals. I hope one day I can be kind of like them in that sense. This trip hasn't only been educational but it's inspirational. When we see how hard they work at school and how good they are at respecting people it makes us, or at least me, think about things I can do to improve myself and try to make that positive impact on people. Just thought I'd throw that out there. I'm exhausted as usual so I'm going to retire to some homework then my futon. Thank you everyone again for making this possible. Best, -Grant

Today felt very short but none the less tiring. We went to Tokyo today and it was, in one word, majestic? I'm sure I could find a better one to disc rive but that's all I have at this moment. We took three trains to get to Tokyo and three back so I'm only tired from those. That, and the arcade that they had in Tokyo. First of all, I feel in a way honored that Sensei would trust all of us with meeting back at a place that May or may not have required a train to get to. We all made it but it just seemed like I big trust leap on his part so thank you. I'm home now and Tota isn't here, this is a little strange. I'm making his family laugh though. I have no idea why. They keep asking me if I'm cold because it's winter here and I'm wearing a tea shirt in a house with no central heating. I believe they think I'm odd or have no feeling in any part of my body. I think while I'm here they've used the word daijjobu at least a hundred times because they refuse to believe that I am, in fact, a human being capable of feeling the harshness of winter. That out of the way I feel like I'm learning from just listening to the family talk and ask me things about America. Sometimes I have no idea what the rest of the words in the sentence are but if I know three or more I'm good! It feels quite nice to be able to communicate without Tota as the mediator. No disrespect to him of course. He's a badminton right now. I guess a lot of people in their school play? Seems that way. I got my family chocolates from Tokyo and they seem to like chocolate so that can't hurt me can it? Oh! I neglected to mention that I rode my first Ferris wheel today. Is that sad that I haven't before? Anyway it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be considering I have a fear of heights but after having the window seat of a plane it felt like nothing. Those were the hi lights of my day. I apologize if I'm rambling. I also got a really nifty erasable pen from Sensei. I tried it, it works great, thanks! Again, best to back home and family and friends who helped make this a meaningful experience and thanks to Sensei for losing very likely a ton of sleep planning it. Thanks again. -Grant

It would apper that I am not quite done blogging for the day. We just went to go have noodles at some cool noodle shop that's relatively close to Tota's house. Best miso ever! They were surprised that I finished it and I felt proud. I also found 2 rocks in my soup which startled me at first because I thought "this isn't edible, what should I do?" But then they said that it was just to keep the soup warm and I relaxed. Dinner was very enjoyable but there were some communication issues as well as English translation issues that didn't quite work out the way that they should've. We managed to get around the complications though. I'm going to turn in for today. Regarding my previous post, thank you! -Grant

Another day has come and gone and today was a tour day! The first thing we did was we went and actually made soba. There was an absence of pictures due to the intense amount of flour and seaweed gel stuff on my hands but it was very fun. I would've preferred to have eaten them warm with broth but they were still quite tasty. We then went and tried on these traditional kimonos much like the ones we tried on like 5 days ago. They were very comfortable but definitely not enough to keep out the chillies of the hotel. After that they gave us some shopping time but I didn't find anything that I was particularly taken with. I tied Van in air hockey! Success! And we came back to our host families. I had a slight communication error of where to be picked up but my host father was very quick to react to my mistake. I thoroughly apologized. When we got home I actually learned the most today by watching Finding Nemo in Japanese, that was super fun. We then went to a sushi place and I impressed my family with some chopstick skills that I didn't know I possessed. I had octopus, tuna, salmon, potato, squid, something that looked like a scallop, and head-on shrimp sushi. They were all very tasty. I got home and I was wiped so I'm going to some review of the vocabulary we are supposed to learn for Japanese class and hit the hay because these days really tire me out. Also my family likes Taylor Swift and they were enthused about my pronunciation of her name. Interesting no? Today was one of those days that you feel like you could get used to living in Japan but one that also makes you miss home. Goodnight, -Grant

I'm actually getting to blog earlier this evening because I do not intend to do it after dinner. I'm exhausted yet again. This morning we had a leisurely breakfast and wake up time and we had toast and tea and soup for breakfast. Then since it was the weekend Tota was home for the whole day which was nice. We went apple picking this morning and that was a blast. It may not sound like it but climbing into trees to get apples was quite fun. These things were gigantic and fresh as they come. I think I may attempt to eat one later. It was about an hour away but it was worth the wait. Next we went higher into the mountains that all tend to look the same which is scary in a way. We went to the higher area of the mountain and got lunch which was very very tasty. We then went to go see these rapids that flow throw this shallow gulley kind of thing and that was intense. We went back and got ice cream at the restaurant place and took an hour and a half long drive back home. We had scarcely been home for 5 minutes when one of the other KJ hosts called Tota and asked if we wanted to go bowling with them so we decided to and I played two games with Rodrigo, Alex G. And Tota. I haven't bowled in forever but I didn't do entirely awful which made me proud. We are back home now and I'm going to attempt to acquire and apple before we go out to dinner with my host mothers parents. I'm trying to do as much school work as I can without making the next day of adventuring unbearably taxing. I need to catch up on sleep still. Trying my best to stay up-to-date and healthy. -Grant

In addition to what I previously have typed, I just got back from dinner with the entire family and it was, yet again, delicious. I had ramen with pork seaweed and baby bamboo and it was so incredibly good! I also got a caramel tofu sundae which was weird at first because I was trying to figure out what the gel-like substance in my mouth was. I succeeded in speaking Japanese to the grandparents that just got here. They are very nice people. As apparently all Japanese people are. They also gave me two beautiful fans. One is gold and green with stained wood and the other is gold and midnight blue. They are so cool! Just thought I'd add that to today's post. Learning a lot, feeling full, feeling tired! Goodnight -Grant

Today I went to school. Twas a long day. To be very honest, even though their school days are longer I like them more than our days back home. There seems to be more interaction with the students than back home. I could be going crazy. That's provably the case. I beginning to feel almost babied here and that my family doesn't trust me to do anything by myself. I know they are just trying to be nice but sometimes it's annoying. I'm probably just tired. I got a bunch of work done at school though. I helped Tota in English a lot and the history and literature teachers let us participate in class which was cool. It's kind of weird how much I can understand if I really try. Especially when the teachers use the chalkboards which they almost always do. I like the low-tech school system. They also use less paper than us per class. How is that possible when we have technology? Interesting no? Well again I am quite tired very early in the evening but today was full of good stuff so that's probably why. I apologize for the lack of incredible insight fullness but my brain is losing power. Only 2 more days to enjoy. Goodnight -Grant

We'll it's the end of pretty much our last day here. 'Twas a great day. We went to school in the morning as any day would start but during classes was when things got interesting. The first 3 periods I spent doing work for America because I needed to finish/learn some things for anatomy and a test that I have to take this coming week if possible. We then went to lunch which we always just eat in the hallway outside the classrooms. It's a very social time. Next we went to the gym and played badminton and ping pong using the rest of our lunch period. After that we had judo! I found their form of p.e.! I figured out that I'm actually quite good at it which is weird because I've never done it before. My student got the opportunity to flip me and I flipped him too so it was mutual fun. It didn't hurt mom don't worry. I then got called out to demonstrate my somehow perfect technique to the class which completely astonished me. The instructor said I was really good and asked if I had ever done it before and I replied no because, I haven't... That made me feel great and everything just seemed to get better after that. We had one class then 2 periods of art! Yessss! Finally! That was such a nice almost-closer of my day. We then went to English class and we got to draw things that make us happy. Then we talked to KJ students and found what made them happy and that was a lot of fun. After school we had a goodbye ceremony and party and that was a very bittersweet time. I thought I was ready to leave Japan but how it seems that I'm really not. Just thinking that It is probably the last time I will see any of these people is kind of a sad thought. I got home and we had steak for dinner. Yumm. I'm currently in my room getting ready for bed and hopefully I get a great nights sleep because I'll need it to adjust to jet lag stuffage. Coming home tomorrow. Look forward to seeing peeps. See you soon, -Grant