First Earthquake

Seeing as I've spent most of my life in Alberta, an area that, to my knowledge, simply doesn't have earthquakes, my first minor quake here in Japan was a bit of a surprise. There isn't much of a story to tell, but it certainly got my heart pounding. I was simply laying in bed, trying to get some sleep, when I felt the shaking start. It took a moment or two for me to realize exactly what was going on, and my thought process was alternating between 'oh my gosh this is scary' and 'wow, cool, an earthquake'. Anyway, the shaking lasted for what felt like a minute or two (though it felt like I was still shaking a little afterwards, I guess I'm not used to the sensation) before dying away. It was a pretty minor tremor, did zero damage, and probably felt very commonplace to the locals, but it still seemed like another adventure to me.

School & Summer Heat

I've been reading the Sapporo & Hokkaido section of my Japan travel guide, and they really like to emphasize how cold this area supposedly is. The island repeatedly described as a 'frozen hinterland' and 'bitterly cold' while summers are apparently mild and good for 'escaping the heat' in the rest of Japan. I feel very confident that whomever wrote that has never been here in August. The past few days have been crazy hot! But thankfully, the heat is my only complaint, and according to my guidance councillor, it only gets this hot for a few days each year. 

Anyway, I'll stop boring you with my silly complaints about the weather (I guess I'm just too used to Canada) and get onto what this post is really about: school in Japan. My first day of classes was yesterday, and I admit I had absolutely no idea what to expect, but it certainly wasn't what I got. People had told me that foreigners tended to be popular, but I definitely did not expect my class to scream the first time I walked into homeroom. Though after the initial excitement died down, everyone was incredibly welcoming and friendly, as well as very patient with me and the language barrier. I introduced myself in front of the class in Japanese and in English, and each member of my home room introduced herself to me as well. They seem like a great group, and the class seems to have a high energy, fun vibe to it. 

It's also been interesting seeing how much of my classes I've been able to understand. I have a pretty good grasp on numbers, so I was able to manage in math. Except for doing the actual math, apparently I have no idea how to do trigonometry without a calculator. One of my history classes and my bible class were also easier because I was already familiar with the material (the interwar period and Noah's arc, respectively) and I have one English class that seems to be conducted mostly in my mother tongue. Japanese History, what I think was Literature, and another English class that revolves mostly around grammar were more difficult, though I could catch a word here and there. We also had an assembly today, very little of which I was able to understand, but there was some singing and lots of excitement. 

So far, school in Japan is both fun and challenging, and seems simultaneously similar and wildly different from my old school in Canada. I'm finding the uniform thing pretty easy to get used to (no pictures yet, sorry, but I look just as goofy as you'd imagine in a sailor style uniform), and the religious aspect and lack of boy is also fairly easy to adjust to. The obvious language barrier is the biggest challenge, but I hope to keep working on my Japanese until I can overcome it. In the mean time, however, I'm still managing to make friends and enjoy the experience. 

First Week In Japan

So today marks one week that I've been here, and man, it's been a great experience so far. Though I've only been here for seven days (I guess it's closer to six, I arrived kind of late monday night and it's only midmorning as I write this) I've been lucky enough to see so much and try some great food. My Japanese is still pretty rudimentary, but I'm learning new words every day, and getting better at communicating with my host family.

Earlier this week, my host family took me on my first trip within Japan. We drove up to northern Hokkaido to meet my extended host family, if that's the right term for it. I got to meet my host father's parents as well as his brother and cousins, who had a two month old daughter. Everyone was very kind to me, and it was a great experience. We also saw a traditional Japanese temple and the ocean, where there was a small aquarium of sorts housing several seals. A presentation on the animals was given (in Japanese, so I didn't understand much, but I was able to learn how the seals were related to one another) and then we were allowed to pet them. I even got a kiss!

We stayed for one night at a hotel that had it's own onsen, or, in english, hot spring, though onsen are quite different from the hot springs back home. You wash before entering, and every one is naked (male and female baths are usually kept separate). I was a little uncomfortable at first, but a situation is only awkward if you let it be, so I think I'll get used to it pretty quickly. On day two of our trip, we began driving back to Sapporo and stopped at a few gardens along the way. One of the gardens, Kaze no Garden (Garden of Wind) was also famous for having a drama television by the same name use it as the setting. The gardens were all very nice, and a welcome brake from long drives.

From left to right: My host father Tatsuo, me, my host sister Ai, my host father's mother, my host mother Naomi, my host sister Anri and my host brother Tarou at Kaze no Garden

Since returning home, I've most been relaxing and working on my language skills before school starts, with a few outings to go shopping, go to a sports club, and eat at a few japanese restaurants. Today I'm going to see my school in session for the first time, meet the Principal and some of my teachers, as well as get my uniform. All in all, having a great time in Japan! 

In Japan!

Hello, everyone! Though it still feels a little like a dream, I arrived in Japan last night! I'm really here! It's almost hard to believe this is really happening, being here is a dream come true. Before I say anything else, I want to thank everyone who's made this possible for me. My family, friends and the Rotary Club of Canmore have all been amazingly supportive of me and have done so much to help me get here. No matter how hard I try, I don't think I'll ever be able to find the words to express how extremely grateful I am for this opportunity. I want to thank my parents for supporting me on this journey so far, everyone at rotary who's made this possible, and especially Janet Matthews, my host counsellor for everything she's done for me and Sari, the other exchange student from Canmore. I also want to thank my coordinator, Rob Whitfield, the International Chair for Canmore's Rotary Club and President Elect, John Waterhouse, and everyone here in Japan helping me along the way.

It's been a wild couple of days. Yesterday I had to say goodbye to my family, board several planes, navigate Japanese airports and then finally arrived in Sapporo. Though I expected one or two people, I was greeted by a large group of rotarians, my current host family, two of my future host families, my host counsellor, and another exchange student here from Australia. Everyone was incredibly warm and welcoming, making it a very pleasant surprise, if a little overwhelming for a tired traveller. My host family then took me to my new house, where I learned how to use a Japanese toilet and and bathroom, had some juice, called home to tell my family I had arrived, and went to sleep. 

Today was a day for new experiences. I was taught how to use the transit system here, and got to explore the area by daylight for the first time. My new host sister, Ai, helped me navigate the transit system here to find my school, a bus and two train rides away. After checking out campus, we met up with Thomas, an exchange student from Australia, and two Japanese girls named Haruka and Midori. We explored the giant shopping centre of Sapporo and bought me some chopsticks, a water bottle, and a Japanese lunch box called a bento. After that, the group showed me the mall's game centre, something that doesn't exist in Canada. Imagine an arcade, but bigger, brighter and more colourful. They had a whole section dedicated to Pokemon! While we were there I got to try purikura (a sort of Japanese photo booth) for the first time! I didn't really know what I was doing, but it was a lot of fun! Next we went out to lunch, where I tried Udon noodles for the first time. Yum! After lunch, we did karaoke, also lots of fun, and then Ai and I separated from the others and went to the Ward Office to deal with some official matters before heading back home. 

It's been a great day, and so far my experience here has been incredible. I can't wait to keep exploring, learn more Japanese, and continue experiencing this amazing country. Thanks again to everyone who's made this possible, and I'll post again soon. 

So close!

Well, things are finally coming together now and my days in Canmore are running out. I'll be departing on Sunday the 12th and arriving in Japan Monday the 13th. I'll change flights twice, once in Vancouver and once in Tokyo. I finally have my visa and a solid date, just pulling some loose ends together before I leave.

It's a little nerve wracking, I admit, being this close to my departure, though I can't seem to find the words to fully describe how I feel. I suppose everything is feeling more solid, tangible, and that is both very exciting and well, rather frightening. The next post on this blog will probably be made from Japan!

As for what I'll be spending my last days in Canada doing, I'll be buying some more gifts for my host families, packing (haven't even started yet! Gulp!) and spending a little more time with family and friends before I depart. I haven't got much else to say, so I'll talk to you soon. Thanks for reading and wish me luck!

I Lied

You know when I said I won't be posting again for a little while. Well, I lied. Sorry. Though in my defence, I didn't know I was lying at the time. Adding another short little update to tell you that I now know the day I'll be leaving Canada and Arriving in Japan. August 13th, a monday. I start school exactly one week later. One month and two days in the country! It suddenly feels really, really close. I'm still not sure if it's really hit me that this is actually happening! I've been thinking about it almost every day for a long time now, but I still feel like it hasn't totally hit me yet. I am super excited though, and in all honesty, a little scared. Better work on my japanese (I can almost read hiragana without looking a chart now, woot!). I'll update when I get back and/or when I have something else to tell you.

Update!

First off, sorry I've taken so very long to update this blog, but I've honestly gotten very little news about what's going on. I'll try to update more frequently once I'm actually on exchange.

So I finally have some more news about my exchange to Japan! The documents came to confirm I'll be in the city of Sapporo (the capital of the Hokkaido Prefecture) and more specifically, my club with be Sapporo East. I'm very excited about Sapporo, from what I've found in my research, it's a city rich with culture and history, is near some excellent skiing, and is also home to the amazing Yuki Matsuri (or snow festival, the english translation)

The festival by day

Lit up at night

I also learned a little about my first host family, and have been in touch with one of my host sisters through Facebook. I'm going to have three host siblings, two sisters, aged twelve and nineteen, and a host brother who is my age, sixteen. My eldest host sister, Ai, went on exchange for the 2010-2011 exchange year and came to my district in Canada! She stayed in a city very close to my town, so we already have that connection. I can't wait to contact and talk to the rest of the family.

As well as learning about my host family, I learned that I'll be going to Hokusei Gakuen Girls' Junior and Senior High. As the name says, I'll be going to a girl's school. At first, I wasn't sure what to make of that, but after giving it some thought, I'm excited! I've never gone to a single gender school, so it'll be a new and unique experience, which is what exchange is all about. I'll also be wearing a uniform, which you can see on the school's website here (the page is in Japanese), which I'm also looking forward to. No more trying to decide what to wear in the morning! School starts on August 20th, a little over a month from now, and I will likely be arriving in Japan a week before then. Already beginning to count down the days!

I probably won't be able to update this for a couple more weeks, as I'm going to the Grand Canyon with my family, but I'll be sure to update when I can.