JAPAN!!

Japan!

Oh goodness, what a crazy two weeks it has been. I arrived safely into the Narita airport on the 23rd of August and have been living it up ever since. The day after arrival, I had a very long, one day orientation explaining about the program and Japan as a whole. The day after THAT, I met my host family. My host sister and host mother picked me up at the train station and took me to their lovely home. On the way, we stopped at this amazing Japanese resturant where (for my first real meal in Japan) I got my favorite Japanese food: tempura. After meeting my family, I started school the very next day. And man, was that an adjustment.

Not only was it my first time EVER wearing a uniform, but it was my first time ever being a new student. I guess being foreign makes everything just a little bit better. Besides the craziness of not knowing the daily routine and everyone being overwhelmed by my blonde hair, it wasn't half bad. Everyone at my school (teachers and students) are extremely nice and helpful when I don't understand.

Besides the normal routine of school and host home, I've been to a lot of other places already! Last Saturday, I went to the Tochigi Boys' School Festival (in Shin-tochigi); last Sunday, my host mother took me to the Toshogu Shrine in Nikko city; and today, my host family took me to the Fukushima Museum of Art.

Minus all the new places, I've got to experience a lot, too. On Wednesday, I experienced my first ever earthquake. It was pretty different from Indiana (where the ground never shakes!), but at least no one got hurt. I've even made my first new friends within my first week of school.

With everything I've seen and experienced already in my first two weeks, I can tell you right now that I'm overly thrilled with my choice to study in Japan.