Happy Thanksgiving!

Hello and Happy Thanksgiving to everyone back home! Thanksgiving wasn't even a thought here in Japan, and I almost forgot about the holiday myself. Yet, this really made me think about what Thanksgiving is all about (besides just a day of over eating eating and then saying goodbye to your old waist size). Now that  I miss all my family and friends back home on days like today, I now realize that Thanksgiving is really about being with the ones you love. I have so much to be thankful for, in American and Japan. I have a loving family, and great friends, school, and life back home, but now I'm making new families and friends here who are all taking care of me too. I couldn't be more thankful. Enjoy your holiday!

Also, I will soon post about my new host family, my Rotary trip to Kumanokodo , and some other things I've been up too (photos too)! 

Bye! Sayonara!  さよなら!

News News News

My most recent news:

I will be moving to my second host family on Sunday the 11th! I'm excited yet sad to do this, because I want to meet my new host family but I don't want to say goodbye to my first. Luckily, the 2 host families don't live that far apart, so I'm sure I'll be back to visit! In my new host family, I will have two younger twin sister. I better start packing my luggage- can't wait!:)

Also, I will have another Rotary trip on the 17th-18th with the other local exchange students. I believe the trip will be some type of camp, but I'm not too sure- more details about that soon.

Slowly but Surely...

Slowly but surely I swear I am forgetting English. Right now I feel that I have the Japanese skills of a toddler, and the English skills of a old woman. I just can't win with this! Haha Even in English class at school, I spell words wrong on quizzes, and have to second guess myself on some grammar. I think this may be because I want to speak Japanese so naturally that I've been trying to think so hard in Japanese! Also, it may be because if I do speak English to anyone in Japan it's very broken so it's easier to communicate with them. Haha Maybe soon I'll be dreaming and talking to myself in all Japanese...

Late Blogging- My Adventures from 9/28/2012 to 11/3/2012

Hello! I'm so sorry that I have not updated my blog recently. I've really been meaning too, but I've just been busy with school, volleyball, and basically being an exchange student! All is going great here. I cannot believe that almost 4 months have gone by soo fast. In these past months, I've been having a great time all while making memories, and learning! Here is what I have done lately:

• I attended a Rotary dinner where I had a delicious meal with all the Rotarians from my host club. That same day, the emperor of Japan was in Gifu because of the Gifu Sports Festival! He was staying at a local hotel that was near the restaurant he Rotary dinner was at! We got to see him, but there was a lot of security around so it was kind of difficult to get a good view! After the dinner, we watched cormorant fishing, which is what Gifu is known for! I was waiting to see it, and it was amazing! 
• I went to Nagoya Aquarium for the day with a friend from school! We watched a dolphin show there, and later went shopping and got lunch together! It was a fun day for us! 
• School, Volleyball, School, Volleyball.... everyday.. besides some weekends:)
• My host family took me to Gifu Art Museum where we saw some old, traditional Japanese art and pottery. Also, they took me to a small historical town in Gifu called "Hida Takayama." We visited a shrine, ate at a small restaurant, and walked around the town.
• Ate eel for the first time! It was actually pretty tasty- surprisingly!
• Met a boy who lived in Texas for 4 years, so it was nice to talk to him! Also, met a waitress who lived in London for a year as an exchange student. Her English was good, but she had an English accent! haha 
• Finally went to a Japanese McDonalds, and Krispy Kreme ( which the Japanese people are obsessed with- the line was a half hour). The food choices are pretty much the same, but there are some different options on the menus too! At McDonalds they have somethings I've never seen before like a serving of corn with fries, and a shrimp burger, and corn beef sandwich! 
• A lot of shopping, karaoke, bowling, and purikura with other exchange students! 
• Visited the home of my host fathers family. There house was beautiful and they owned a small farm. I helped the family members pick fresh vegetables  We later made dinner, and I met the great-grandmother who was 98 years old. She was great!  
• Studying Japanese of course, and practicing my calligraphy at school. They both seem to be getting better!:)
• At school, we had a volleyball festival! Basically, we got into teams and played volleyball outside the whole day. It was so fun! Some teams even dressed up. Also, we had dodge ball day at school, my class split into two teams, and we played a good game! Yet, the Japanese version of dodge ball is a little bit different than what I'm use to playing back home. 
• Had a school trip to Kyoto with some students visiting from Kano High School's sister school in South Korea. From school we took a bus together to Kyoto, and went to lunch, shopping, visited Kyoto Shrine, and went to the International Manga Museum. I made great friends with the students from South Korea, and I was sad to say goodbye to them at the end of the day!
• Recently, we had a cooking class for Home Economics class. We made pasta, fruit salad, and a mushroom type soup. This meal wasn't really Japanese, but it was really simple to make. 
• On Halloween we exchange candy at lunch time and that's all we really did to celebrate since Halloween is more of a western holiday. 

Those are all my recent main adventures, and there will be many more to come. I uploaded all my photos from these events- be sure to check them out. http://www.flickr.com/photos/haileymertes/

Thank you!!