This is it. It's Friday, February 3rd and in less than 24 hours I will leave this house for Tokyo train station, which will take me to the airport, which will take me...home.
Most of this week has been taken up with goodbyes: to schoolmates and teachers, and later, close friends. There were tears involved.
I think the photos will do it a lot more justice than I could:
Kohei, from tennis group. All the tennis people got together for dinner at an okonomiyaki (think cabbage pancake, with yummy stuff like shrimp in it) but first we went to a boardwalk which had nighttime light shows.
Top: Anime Club. They threw a small party for me, where we ate lots of food and watched (what else) anime and talked.
Bottom: one of my English classes. They asked me to teach them an American game for the last day, so I taught everyone how to play Heads-Up 7-Up. They were pretty good at it.
The other exchange student, Nom, and my Japanese teacher.
The last view of school: the walk leading up to the University library, and if you turn right at the end of the path you get to the highschool building. Then there's the security guard who made sure that we crossed the street safely in the morning.
My best friends here (from left to right): Yukiko, Mizuki, Me, Manae, Shiohara (we all call her by her last name) and Saho. They all came over to my apartment and we ate and played games and later cried.
Rina and Emi, some of the first friends I made here (they walked with me to the train station since we took the same train home. They saved me a bunch of times in September when I wasn't as good with the train system here.
We went to a shopping complex the size of a small American town where I bought my third suitcase. For some reason I find it ironic that in the photo that says "best shoot" (*coughEnglishcough*) we were doing our "hengao" (strange face) shot.
That is the stack of letters I've recieved from home, as well as from my friends here. I'll treasure lots of the things I got here, but I honestly think I'll treasure the letters most of all.
So to everyone reading this blog, WOW has it been an adventure. It's been hard and fun and eye-opening and inspiring and it has made me grow immensely as a person and a student and I don't regret coming one bit! It has given me a new family and a new culture and made me treasure everything I have at home all the more. I guess I'm trying to say "thank you" for supporting me when I decided to go, when I've been gone, and support for when I get back and am totally clueless in school and going through culture shock since I won't be able to decide if I'm Japanese or American. If I start bowing or random Japanese phrases pop out of my mouth...well, I'll try to curb the bowing to a minimum.
Lots of love from the Land of the Rising Sun
T-24 hours!
Claire
Most of this week has been taken up with goodbyes: to schoolmates and teachers, and later, close friends. There were tears involved.
I think the photos will do it a lot more justice than I could:
Bottom: one of my English classes. They asked me to teach them an American game for the last day, so I taught everyone how to play Heads-Up 7-Up. They were pretty good at it.
So to everyone reading this blog, WOW has it been an adventure. It's been hard and fun and eye-opening and inspiring and it has made me grow immensely as a person and a student and I don't regret coming one bit! It has given me a new family and a new culture and made me treasure everything I have at home all the more. I guess I'm trying to say "thank you" for supporting me when I decided to go, when I've been gone, and support for when I get back and am totally clueless in school and going through culture shock since I won't be able to decide if I'm Japanese or American. If I start bowing or random Japanese phrases pop out of my mouth...well, I'll try to curb the bowing to a minimum.
Lots of love from the Land of the Rising Sun
T-24 hours!
Claire
Dear, Claire
ReplyDeleteYou seem to had a wonderful times in Japan:) While I'm reading this one, I realized that I have to say good-bye:'( I'll miss you. But maybe, your family and friends in the US are waiting for you:D have a nice flight. I'm looking forward to seeing you next time;) love you<3
Sarah
It sounds like you had a great time! When you get back, let's get coffee or lunch so you can tell me all about it.
ReplyDeleteHey Claire!
ReplyDeleteI've read your blog since the begining and it has been so much fun! I can't beleive your going back home already and I really hope you keep blogging! you're really good at it! ^^ I'll be going to Japan next year with AFS and you really helped me out with my decision!
Can't wait for you to post again!
Amy, from Québec! :)
Hi !
ReplyDeleteI'm also one of the people that followed your blog since the beginning, and I'm also supposed to go to Japan next year with AFS, for a full year :) Your blog is really nice, and you almost always keep a very neutral point of view about Japan, explaining what's different and such… Thank you, so so much for this :D
I hope you'll keep on blogging even after you come back !
Lots of love from Belgium <3
Hi!
ReplyDeleteI've read your full blog and you've really confirmed my plan to go to Japan next year for the full year! Thank you so much!
Hello!
ReplyDeleteI just discovered this blog today, and I just finished the whole thing.
You see, I'm only 12, but once I get into high school I REALLY want to do this too!
I'm positivily obsessed with Japan, and it's my dream to go there. I'm currently learing Japanese (even though I only know 20 hiragana and how to say random phrases like "Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore")
Anyways, I'd love to do exactly what you did! Granted, it will be several years, and I'm not sure we'll ever be able to scrounge up the money, BUT I'm going to dream about doing this someday! ♥
P.S. I hope you don't embarrass yourself at school back in America by bowing or saying random Japanese things. XD
Hi! I love your blog and your exchange experience stories. I'd like to inform you about an intersting project... Could I have your contact?
ReplyDeleteJust let me know about it here, that's probably easier.
ReplyDeleteI was just wondering if your host family could speak English or not. Im going to Japan next year and I can speak some Japanese but not a lot. So I kinda worried about that...(ありがとう！！！）（thanks!)
DeleteContact me at mikelalice@libero.it ;)
ReplyDeleteHi! I was reading your blog, because I'm interested in the AFS program to Japan, too. In a cool coincidence, my name is Claire, too. I was curious about some of it and have a few questions. Would it be okay if you emailed me? Mine is rowanclaire0@gmail.com. It would be cool to know someone who has done the program before. Thanks!
ReplyDelete-Claire :)
Hey!
ReplyDeleteok so im planing to go to japan next year and i hope you dont mind if i ask you some questions about your trip to japan. and also did you have professional lessons in Japanese or did you self teach, because im kind of self teaching and i need some advice. so could you like email me at AshleyAgwatu@gmail.com i'd really appreciate it.
arigatou!!!!!!
こんにちわ、Ｃｌａｉｒｅ－さん！ I've read your blog a long time ago (like, the last time you posted), and some days ago I wondered if you had to repeat the school year in your home country. So I thought hey why don't I just try asking? If you actually read this comment, your reply would help me a lot. :)
ReplyDeleteありがとう。