#27 Jan

Ah… Well today, I met Jan. He is like the YFU poster boy. His host mom is the YFU Area Representative so it makes him like the center of all things YFU.

The guy speaks Italian, German, English, Japanese, and a little French. He is seventeen and from Switzerland. But, he is half Italian and half Filipino. So let’s just say he is an interesting character. And no, he is not my type… He is like a head shorter than me.

We went out to lunch with Yan, another exchange student from Switzerland. It was his going away party. He has been in Japan for ten months and is going home in a week.

The lunch was extremely fancy, but entirely western at the same time…

After lunch we did Pitikura at Apita Mall. We met some of Jan’s friends there. :)



We got done with Pitikura just in time to catch the next train back to Handa where we would be meeting another exchange student from Germany. We headed to the Red Brick House to go see the Handa Choir sing. Another YFU exchange student would be singing in the choir which was the reason for going in the first place.

By the end of the event I was surrounded by three Germans two girls and one guy and two Switz guys. Europeans… They can speak every language I swear. They were flowing from Japanese to German to Italian to English like it was normal. It was an experience and altogether a good day. :)

#26 A Wednesday in Handa

Another Wednesday, that means… English Club!

The girls taught me how to do “Traditional Japanese” flower arranging today.

I also showed them my newspaper from home. They were amazed when I showed them that my brother was actually in the newspaper for graduating high school. The thing that probably caught their eye the most was the housing ads and the clothes ads. The houses were very large! The clothes, they were so cheap! It was pretty funny.

After English Club, I went to a different AEON mall with Tomoko and Mayuko. Mayuko wanted to do some shopping and take Pitikura with me. :)





The whole girl gang went out to Udon after that. We ate on the traditional tatami mats. Yeah, we had French fries for an appetizer. I thought cool so I reached out grabbed one and popped it into my mouth like any other American would do. Oh no, bad call. My host mom looked at me, made sure I was watching, picked up her chopsticks and used her chopsticks to eat the French fries. Yeah…

Yummy Udon with Tempura on the side :)

#25 Meetings

I started off the day embarrassingly wearing a not flattering white polo shirt and really hot long length jeans because we would be going to Handa High School for an informational meeting on my 2 week stay.

Before Handa though, we went to my host mother’s volunteer school Miyaike Elementary. This time I wouldn’t be attending class though.

My host mother is a very good painter. She and the other volunteers hand painted onto big poster board the scenes from a Niimi Nankichi book. They all practiced reading the story aloud and flipping through the scenes. Even though I couldn’t understand the language, the pictures were good enough so that I could follow along.

This was the volunteer group. My host mother painted this first scene.

After Miyaike we went to the meeting. Basically, they gave my host mother a long list of things I can’t do or wear, otherwise known as rules. The list was really long too.

For example: 1) You can only wear black, navy blue, white or grey socks. 2) You can only wear skirts that go past your knees and it has to be black, blue, white or grey. 3) You have to bring your slippers, gym, and PE shoes to school every day. 4) You must cut your nails. 5) etc. etc. etc.

Needless to say I didn’t follow number 4. Cut my nails. No way. I need these babies to survive. I don’t think my fingers could function properly without them.

The meeting wasn’t that bad. I found out that my homeroom teacher is the English teacher. Lol.

#24 Humiko

Yesterday, I hung out with a member of English Club today we will go to a Drawing Club member’s house.

Guess what I am learning to do?

Weaving.

Yeah, I got to use the cool little wooden machine and everything too.

Humiko, is the lady that showed me her weaving hobby. She was extremely nice, almost a polar opposite to the forceful Mimi.

Weaving doesn’t sound like a fun hobby but I found it completely fascinating. I always like to know how things work and I learned how to make the most used material in the world, cloth.

These are pictures at my failed attempt to make string from cotton using a traditional Japanese spinning wheel. Humiko made it look so easy when she was doing it. I spun the wheel one time and the string broke.


This was me trying to use the western style spinning wheel.

I couldn’t use that one either. :(

When I actually started weaving the fabric was when I started feeling better. I could do this part. :)


After weaving, I got to play Wii. As far as I have seen, everyone has one in Japan. I played Wii Fit. I beat all Huniko’s scores on the Balance Games. Hehe. She still has the record for dancing though, I couldn’t do that to save my life.

The finished project.

#23 The Cinema

If you really knew me, you would know that I have deep addiction to movies. I am full blooded American on that front. We love our movies.

At home, we have stacks of movies to choose from and a Netflix subscription. My dad and I have our movie nights, at least twice a week.

Here in Japan, they don’t really have the same love. They have the cinema and DVD rental shop.

Today, Nariko, my host cousin(?), took me to the cinema. :) I didn’t have to worry about not understanding anything because we chose to go see The Prince of Persia, which would be in English with Japanese subtitles.

I was extremely excited. My first movie in like 2 weeks!

Normally, in America, if my friends and I wanted to go to the movies, we would just hop in our cars and go. It’s not the same here. You have to plan it out with your parents and make sure it’s not conflicting with any of your club activities or after school study classes. And if you are free to go, your parents still have to drive you because here in Japan you don’t get your license until you are 18 years old.

I can’t imagine what they would do if they ever wanted to go on a date. Kids definitely have a lot more freedom in America. That is for sure.

Anyways, the move was great. :) Now that I have seen a movie again, I want to see another. I’ll probably walk down to the rental shop one of these days. Apparently I have a huge home theater in my bedroom. What I mistook as a broken over head lamp is actually a ginormous pull down screen that can be hooked up to a projector. I won’t have to pay the 1,400 yen to go to the theater. :)

#22 Mimi

You remember my visit to English Club? Well, one of its most senior members took me out to see some of the most historical spots in Handa today.

Her name is Mimi. Mimi is probably about 76 years old and still driving…

Anyway, our first stop was Mizkan Museum. It’s also called Mizkan Factory. Handa is famous for producing Mizkan Vinegar. They were one of the first factories to produce Vinegar from Sake leaves and ship regularly to Tokyo.

It was really interesting to tour the museum. Then again, I am a history junky.

I think what made it great was the fact that I could actually understand it. Oh yeah, English! Apparently I’m not the only foreigner in Handa :)

These are the storage cases they use for fermenting the vinegar.

These are the storage vats. I think they said that if you drank a cup of vinegar every day from one of these things you could drink for 80 years without refilling the vat.

These are the famous Mizkan warehouses. Apparently they shot a scene here for a very famous Japanese film (that I can’t remember the name of..).

After Mizkan, Mimi and I went to a Japanese buffet. Mimi took the liberty of filling my plate with all kinds of crazy looking foods. I could do nothing to stop her either. Trust me; you don’t mess with this woman. I can’t imagine what she was like when she was younger, she is very forceful at 76..

After Japanese buffet, we went to a Buddhist temple. Mimi and I were the only ones there. The rain fall completely covered the noises that usually come with modern life. As I walked on the stone path, without people or anything else modern to distract me, I could almost imagine I was walking into another age.

We walked up to a water basin that had these wooden scoopers resting across it. Mimi told me that they are used to cleanse the body and soul before entering. First you rinse your hands and then you take a sip.

Thoroughly cleansed we made our way to this traditional Japanese house. I don’t think I will ever forget it. When I first walked in the aroma of tatami mats immediately overwhelmed me. Honestly, I wish I could bottle the smell and take it home with me. It is so unique. The reeds that are used to make tatami were a golden brown and were everywhere in this traditional house. Stepping onto the mats is like combining the best things about hard wood flooring and carpet. The texture is smooth and cool but soft and springy to walk on.

I walked through the house, once again travelling back in time, thinking about how people hundreds of years ago used see exactly what I was seeing now. Smell the same aroma, walk on the same floor, sit the same way, and bow at the same shrine.

Sigh… Moving on… After we left the temple, we went to Kunizakari Sake Museum.

Sadly, this tour wasn’t in English, but they did give me a handout that explained everything in English so it wasn’t bad. Making Sake is very similar to making Vinegar surprisingly. There are only a few different steps. And no, I didn’t get to try anything. The ladies working there kept pushing sake into my hand saying “Try! Try!” But Mimi firmly explained to them my age. Which was a surprise to them, apparently, I don’t look 16…

#21 Part 2- Good Afternoon

After giving me medicine and making sure that I was okay, my Okasan went to her painting class. Of course, not before she gave me money to go buy food and a phone card so I could call if I needed.

When she was gone I did some heavy sleeping, thinking, and typing. It was very therapeutic and I started feeling better. So I did what she had suggested and went to go buy some food down at the Seven Eleven not far from the house. By the time I got home and took the first bite, I felt completely better.

My Okasan came home shortly after I had finished my lunch to check on me. Since I was feeling better I went back to the painting class with her.

Apparently, it’s not a painting class but a drawing class. And as it turns out, they wanted me to be the model. So, I sat there for ten minutes, nothing to do but listen to the strange thoughts that occasionally pass through my head. I figured out that you can think about a lot in ten minutes. I also figured out that you can’t help but think about your flaws when you have six people constantly analyzing your appearance…

Anyways… their gift to me (because they are Japanese, that’s what they do) was their drawings.



:)