First Post

August 17, 2018

Today is my last full day in Canada. This is my first post, so I hope it works out and everyone can see my cool adventures in Japan!

Second Post, Travelling on the way to Japan

August 19, 2018

A very tiring, but exciting experience. I went on a very short flight to Vancouver, and got some food. The longest wait was 7 hours in the Vancouver airport. It was getting close to boarding time and no one was there! Apparently I was at the complete opposite end of the airport 😟I made it onto the flight on time and it was a 12 hour ride to Taipei in Taiwan. When I first got on the plane I mixed up my boarding ticket with my pass to get to Osaka, and I was sent to the business seating area (which was very nice) but someone was sitting in my spot! After he got up and searched for his ticket I found out I mixed mine up and had to wait for them to find my seat while other flight attendants offered me drinks 😅 After that I was in the right spot and got to sleep a little/eat a good meal of shrimp rice, fruit, bread, and juice. I’m in Taipei now and waiting for my next and last flight to Osaka, Japan! It’s only about a 5 hour flight, and I’ll get to meet some people there :)) (I will add photos in a bit when I figure it out on my device) 

Third Post

August 21, 2018

I went on the plane to Osaka, and met both of my host families! I will stay with one for 1 month and the other for the rest of my stay in Japan. They were very friendly. I got to the house to meet their Ainu dog and eat dinner with the family, while we waited for some other guests to arrive to have a welcome party for me! They were all very nice and I get to practice my Japanese a lot! 

Fourth Post

August 23, 2018

Today we walked to a cake shop and looked around in a convenience store. My host mother’s friend works at the cake shop, and I got introduced to the other chefs. We got ice creams and mini cakes:)

Fifth Post

August 25, 2018

Today I went to Katsuo-ji-temple! It was an amazing experience. The temple is on top of a mountain, where the forest is thick and a vibrant green. I went with my host mom and sister. We loved finding all the hidden Daruma scattered around the temple and feeding the koi. We easily spent a few hours exploring, and taking pictures! Afterwards we got some ice cream, and relaxed while enjoying the incense.

I think it can go to my profile and see photos there. 

Sixth Post

August 25th, 2018

First day of school

For my first day of school we woke up at 6:30am and got into our school uniforms, ate breakfast and headed out the door. We took the train to school. When we got there (host sister and I) we went to separate places and I went to the teachers office to do an introduction into a mic. After there was a big ceremony and I said the same speech (in Japanese) and then in English! Then we went to classrooms and talked a bit- I made a lot of new friends! A lot of students would stare at me and then as soon as I turned my head they would scream ‘Kawaii! Kawaii!’ Which means ‘cute’ in Japanese..😂💓 After school I went shopping in Kyoto and to a chocolate shop with three friends and we all had a great time:) 

Unfortunately I couldn’t meet my friend, Rion, who goes to KGN (my school in Japan, and also went to Belmont Secondary school (my high school in Canada-how we met) because of the recent typhoon stopping trains from going on their usual routes. I will see her next week though and am excited 😊 

Seventh Post

September 8th, 2018

So far, I have been very busy with school, but I still have time for fun after school (like karaoke) and on weekends! Today we drove to a KFC  restaurant for lunch, where my host family and I met up with my host moms parents! They were so sweet❤️ Her mother makes flowers out of cotton and teaches other how to, so she gave me some flowers as a present and also some old Japanese paintings for my parents! They have a traditional Japanese tea ceremony room we got to look in as well. It was beautiful. 

After their house, we all got into the car and drove to Shiga, where the biggest lake in Japan is! I thought we were going to hangout there for a bit but we drove to an old Japanese Castle instead. I read about them in books but seeing it in real life was amazing!! There were tall, square rock walls surrounding a river with very calm and reflective water. It reflected the rocks, trees, and bridges. We all went to a path that goes up the mountain and climbed up the many stairs to the castle. The castle was used over 400 years ago, and was re-built. My host mother and brother and I went inside the castle while the others waited outside. We had to take our shoes off and put them in a bag. The castle looked different inside than I imagined it would look, all made of wood (not painted) and spacious. The stairs were so steep to the next level that it was like we were climbing a ladder, but instead of grabbing he next stair we had the railing. After we got back down, we got our shoes on and handed the plastic bags back to the staff and we all headed to the garden in the castle grounds. It started to lightly rain, and I got nervous that we’d all get soaked, since the last time it rained on me in Japan I was walking to school, had no umbrella and got completely soaked! This time it was just a nice rain. Anyways, the garden was gorgeous and very zen. The evening sky reflected on the garden water and the bridge reflecting as well made it even more pretty. After the castle we went to a Chinese restaurant and ate a lot, then got ice cream back at my host moms parents house with a friend of mine and my host sisters from school. It was a great day!