moving day part 1

room post breakfast - Sunny. Today is moving day. Yesterday I didn't do too much except catch up on world news online. I also watched a TV special of Susan Boyle with my host mom. I also washed my hair and got everything packed up for today. Huh, guess I did more than I thought.

Today my host mom will drive me to the dorms and help me get moved in. My friend Moeko is going to come visit sometime today I think. I hope the move in goes well and I hope my suite mates are nice. I don't know whether the internet will be automatically hooked up yet or if it will take a few days. I will write again as soon as I can though.

guest, goodbyes, and welcome to Meme!

room post breakfast - Sunny and windy. Yesterday one of my host mom's friends from her English lessons came over and brought her daughter with her. The daughter goes to Nanzan University too and is studying Spanish. We exchanged email and she is going to help me move into the dorms tomorrow along with my host mom. She seems really nice so I hope we can be friends. I have accumulated a few Japanese friends which is good since all the other study abroad students I know have left to return home. Kai leaves today. I will miss everyone but I have their email addresses.

When they came over they brought a present for me. They gave me a plant called Cat's Tail. It looks like this. I love it and I hope I can take care of it right. I already looked up how to care for it online. On its card it said its name is Meme. I usually name my stuff but this time I don't have to! So Meme is the newest addition to all my stuff. Apparently they said they chose it for me b/c they heard I love cats. Well I am most pleased!

English lesson, roses, sushi

room post lunch - Sunny. Today I went with my host mom to her English lesson. Again I had fun talking with all the ladies. Then afterwards a few of us went and looked at a rose garden in the area and then went to a sushi restaurant. It was really fun.

graduation but not for me, Kai, kitten

room pre dinner - Yesterday sunny, today rainy.

Yesterday was the graduation ceremony for the Nanzan study abroad students. I didn't participate b/c I won't graduate until the end of next semester. But I was in the class pictures and watched the ceremony and went to the after party. A friend of mine had a bunch of food left over that she couldn't take back home with her so he gave it to me in a big bag! My stash just grew a whole lot! :d

Afterwards my host mom, me, Kai, and her host mom all went to my host mom's house. We talked and showed pictures and I showed Kai san my room. I saw hers months ago when we visited their house and now I got to show her mine. She is leaving for Burma next week but we intend to keep in touch. After eating dinner they left.

Today I went to Aikido practice. I walked around Meijo park beforehand like always. I loved the rain today. I got home and soon my host mom's son and daughter arrived with their kids. The daughter (Megumi san) and her two boys (Tomo and Ko) brought their new kitten. It is really cute, I took pictures of it. Meow!!

summer, heat and change

room post hair washing - Yesterday was sunny, today was sunny. It's starting... summer. DX

I cleaned and organized yesterday. Today I went to Nanzan University to get my summer arrangements all sorted out. Tomorrow is the graduation ceremony and party. I won't graduate but I can still come. I definitely want to see all my classmates again one more time before most of them leave.

finals over, a new name, walking in the rain

room post lunch - Raining. I have finally finished with finals and papers.

Yesterday was fun b/c my host mom's English class came over and we had a party. I was the main attraction. It was all middle aged ladies who were learning English along with my host mom. We went back and forth talking in English and Japanese. The English teacher gave me a stuffed cat as a present. Everyone was really nice. But the best part was when the English teacher asked me if I had a way to write my name in Kanji. I said I had heard of people doing that but that I didn't have one yet. She decided to create my kanji name using the meaning of my name. It came out to be, Mizutori Jun. Mizutori corresponds to my family name and Jun, to my given name. She wrote it down for me and I LOVE it!!! I was so happy and grateful she did that for me!

水鳥純　That is my new Japanese name in Kanji!!

Today I slept in and went for a walk in the rain!! I love walking in the rain. I took an umbrella this time and strolled around the rice fields for a while. It was nice.

lecture

room pre dinner - Clear and windy. I talked with my sister online today. I have been working on my research paper but at 12:15 I left to go to a lecture being given by my tea ceremony history sensei. I got to talk to him afterwards and he is leaving to return to Shanghai on Tuesday. Again he told me to email him if I needed too.

I am back now and will probably be up late writing. As such won't be able to make it to Aikido again tomorrow. :( I miss Aikido!!

Shanghai, and the UR's worldwide reputation!!

room, pre dinner - Yesterday was clear. My host mom took me to lunch and I studied in a library while she was in her painting class in another part of the building.

Today was clear and windy. I met with my professor from China. He is returning to Shanghai in a few days. We talked for a while and he said again to let him know when I am going to Shanghai so he can arrange my stay in the dorms at the university he works at. He also asked me if I had an interest in Chinese and I had to confess that I did. He said he thinks it is so important to study languages because we are all one human race and all one world. I like that professor more and more each time I talk with him! ^_^

Another professor came by his office and said it was time to go to lunch. Apparently a bunch of teachers were taking my professor to lunch before he has to leave. The professor that came to the door introduced himself and I did likewise. He saw that I was wearing a Rochester shirt and asked if I am from there. I said I go to school at the UR and he said he really loves teaching students from the University of Rochester! He said they are eager to learn and do their work and are always respectful! He must have encountered them before b/c lots UR students study abroad. I think a couple go to Nagoya each year. He said that Rochester is such a great school. I was beaming. I am so happy that other people know about the UR even in other countries!! I love the U of R and I love being a part of the legacy. I definitely want to represent my school in a positive way while I am here as well. I told this professor that next semester I would like to take his class (foreign policy). He said that would be great!

I arrived back at my host mom's house and ate lunch. This weekend I must finish a research paper.

excitement

room post shower - Clear today. I took my kanji final. I think I did alright. My last final is Monday. Tonight I washed my hair. Yeah the excitement never ends around here! :P

finals

room pre breakfast - Yesterday was rainy. Yesterday I only went to school for one final and then came back home. I studied the rest of the day for my final today. I will leave for it in about 45 minutes. It is my kanji final. DX

Today, I also got up early, jogged/skipped, studied more, and am about to eat breakfast. :P

going home orientation for one not going home, rare method of extension

room pre dinner - Today cloudy and light rain. Yesterday hot and sunny. Yesterday I went to a going away party for the IES students in the heart of Nagoya. I was at a restaurant and I was so stuffed afterwards!

Before the party was our going home orientation where we were briefed about stuff like reverse culture shock and the like. I am not going home though so I just politely listened. Listening to people talk about going home and how they felt about their Japan experience was sort of strange b/c my experience is far from over.

I talked to our program director about this summer and next semester and he said that only one other student had ever extended from the spring to fall semester (most do fall to spring). He said that it had been ten years ago and it had been another University of Rochester student like me!! I thought that was really cool.

Today went fine. It was the last day of official classes. Now it's finals time. Joy.

elixir, Shanghai, skipping

room, post shower - I was clear today and rained all day yesterday. Yesterday was a good Friday. I enjoyed the rain. I felt a bit woozy around lunch time for some reason. I decided to make a rare purchase and bought a carton of milk at the convenient store on campus. I felt better immediately. Milk is my elixir, it truly is. Xd I had my last Religions class in the afternoon. I hung out with some friends for awhile before heading back home. I watched the news with my host mom and now I really, really, really, really, really, want to go the Shanghai expo!! :P I have until the end of October to do it. China, wow, I am too ambitious sometimes...

Today was really nice. Got to talk to my friend online for awhile and had a lovely walk in the rice fields with my host mom. As we were walking I felt compelled to skip all of a sudden. It felt so good! I usually skip all the time b/c I prefer it to walking. Except I can't skip if I am carrying anything. I hadn't realized it had been so long since I last skipped!! So freeing. X) Tomorrow I am going to Nagoya train station to meet the IES students for our re-entry session. I am actually not going back home but I NEVER miss a free meal!!! =P

Kyoto, first day back

room post shower - Today was hot and sunny... DX

On Tuesday was the trip to Kyoto with my host mom. We had to get up really early. We left the house at 6:50. We drove to the train station and took the train to Nagoya train station where we could catch our bullet train to Kyoto. The bullet trains are called "shinkansen" in Japanese. I learned the kanji for shinkansen back in Japanese 101 or 102 but I have since forgotten it b/c I never have the opportunity to use it. I love the shinkansen though, so fast. It took 40/45 minutes to get to Kyoto!! That's fast, take my word for it.

We ate breakfast on the train. When we got to Kyoto station we took a bus to Heian Jingu, a shrine. It was really nice. It had a huge tori gate. We participated in a tea tasting which was cool. The tea was supposed to be really high quality stuff. It tasted really bitter. We then walked around the garden and grounds. I saw a few miko (mee-koe), which are shrine maidens. But you're not really allowed to take pictures of them. There was also a double wedding ceremony going on!

Then we took a taxi to a temple called Sanjusan Gendou. It is famous b/c it houses 1001 statues of Kannon, who is a bodhisattva of compassion. In Buddhism, a bodhisattva is a person who has vowed to help others attain enlightenment.

Then we took a train to Sagano. Sagano is a section of Kyoto. We had lunch which was a traditional Japanese lunch. We saw a garden and walked the streets to different shops. We saw a bamboo forest and visited a shrine dedicated to hair. You go there to pray for heathy hair for your entire life. My host mom insisted we go for my sake. Since I have such long hair. :D There were four male high school students at the shrine with long, well groomed hair all praying too. That made me smile. My host mom bought me a fan which is so beautiful I probably won't use it much.

We then took the train back to the shinkansen station. We bought dinner, two bento boxed lunches and caught our bullet train home. It was a really fantastic day. I love Kyoto.

Today was my first day back to school. I had to be there by noon to take my final oral test. Went well but I sorta got weird at the end and forgot a vocab word. XP I had a good history of tea ceremony class. It was our last class. The teacher is going back to Shanghai on the 17th. I really liked him and his class.

hail to the internet

room post shower - I think it was clear today. But I wouldn't know for sure b/c I didn't leave the house! :P

I usually would have gone to Aikido practice on Sunday morning but today I decided instead to help my sister prepare for her Japanese final via IM. We had an awsm study session through the magic and wonder that is the internet. :3

I spent the rest of the day applying online for scholarships for next semester. Again, the internet is a beautiful thing people. I also spoke with my dad for 45 before he left for work. Yes I basically spent the day online so Celery and I are exhausted (Celery is my computer's name).

My host mom's two daughters and their children came over as well. They brought Joe the dog. We had a yummy lunch and dinner of pizza and then sushi. Now I am about to go to sleep. Looking forward to it.

koi no bori (carp streamer)

room, pre-shower - Bright and sunny today. I did cleaning and laundry and talked to my sister online for a while. My host mom took me to a park to show me some koi nobori. It was cool. The fish are carp and they are hung for the children's festival. There is also a traditional food you eat during the children's festival. It is mochi wrapped in bamboo leaves. You have to unwrap it first and unwrap it and unwrap it. I tell you it is a good thing there is mochi inside b/c by the time you are finished unwrapping it you're starving!

I have been trying to get work done all day as well. I should probably try harder... :/