Let's discuss!

It's almost to the end of week 2, that means TOKYO TRIP will be coming up soon! We left for tokyo on the Friday of week 2. So stay tune!

The sleepover at Karen's host parent's was very fun. Her host mother and father are both such humerous people and they made me feel so welcome. Hopefully, I'll be able to visit her host parents as well as my own in the near future! :D

That morning after the sleepover, we got to see a very nice view of Mt. Fuji. Throughout this trip, we can only see Mt. Fuji clearly maybe 3 or 4 times because it's pretty cloudy everyday in Japan since we were there during the rainy season.

Matsumoto (松本) is where the Kobayashi family lives. Taking a picture in front of the bus station!

Here's the view near Karen's home. It's pretty isn't it?

After school that day, we had some free time before heading to Kochiro-sensei's seminar. We will be having a discussion with some 日大 international relations student about life in America. I thought it would be interested to share our views and also a good chance for us to meet some students and make some friends.

A bunch of us decided to go back to Numazu to hang out. Numazu is pretty much a place close enough to our school that we can go to just to walk around and explore.

New in Japan! Ramune flavored Kit Kat! Ramune (ラムネ) is a popular beverage that is pretty just soda in a nice glass container with a glass marble in side. This flavor of Kit Kat is actually pretty good. There are also a few other new Kit Kat flavors not found in the states: Apple Cider (one of the previous entry) and green tea.

Taking the train to Numazu!

The train we took.

Part of the gang: Rob, Karen, Vicki, and Krystal!

We went to Mister Donut once again. I think a lot of us are jsut addicted to that place! The donuts in that place is absolutely amazing. The donuts tastes nothing like that donuts in Dunkin' or Krispy Kreme.

These are some of the moscot of Mister Donut! The lion on the left, I got one as a souvenir! His name is Pon De Lion- named after the store's signature donut - Pon De Ring! The donuts from Mister Donut has a more mochi-like consistency, so their donuts are chewy and delicious!

Mister Donut doesn't only serve donuts, they also serve lunch items such as the lunch set above. I orderd the black pepper ramen, it comes with a donut of your choice and also a drink. It was delicious!

Nagase-sensei also bought a Pon De Lion! He has a REAL Pon De Ring mane though! 可愛いね?

Some of us decided to go to an arcade after lunch! Of course we have to go to an arcade! Aracades in Japan are SO. MUCH. FUN! There are so many UFO machines - what they are is the claw machines, where you try to move the claw in order to grab onto a toy. They are super hard! We played other games though, like that taiko game you see right there. I did not want to leave! But we had to leave or Kochiro-sensei's seminar, but I'm glad that I got to see a real arcade!!!

Hiroki-san started off the discussion by giving us a brief introduction on how the economy of Japan is compared to the states.
Kochiro-sensei is writing down all our names. Getting ready for the discussion group to start. We read the material prepared for us by the seminar students as we waited.

Some of the participants of the discussion group!

It was really fun to be able to meet some of the students from Nihon University. The discussion was very interesting because we got to hear a lot of the stereotypes that Japanese students/people have on Americans.

*Most University students in Japan do not pay for their own tuition. Usually, their parents are the one that provides for them.

*We party all the time and live like celebrities. (For examples: all about name brands, party till sunrise)

Some of their misconceptions are true to a certain degree and may apply to some students in the US, but a lot of us from the US work hard and have had part time jobs since we were in High School.

It was also interesting to learn about their economy compared to ours. They have one of the smallest percentage of unemployments in the world. While the US, has one of the highest. It intrigues me how a country so small is able to hold out for themselves and do so well.

I was so glad I got to talk to them and meet them. A lot of us are actually staying in touch with them still! Actually, one of the students, Yuki, is going to be arriving in NYC this Monday! I can't wait to see him!

Maggie out~

SLEEPOVER~! <3

I had an oppourtunity to sleepover at Karen's host family's for a night. It is her host family's first time participating in the program. They were very generous and fun people! They also have a really cute doggie, although he has some seriously doggie breath!

Of couse, I gotta head to school first.

The bike rack for high school students. Everyone in Japan bike to school or work. It's eco friendly and you can work out your legs!

Let's see what KP-san brought in that morning for his second breakfast. On the left we have apple mango ice cream. Looks really good. On the right we have almond flavored tofu drink. He said it was pretty good. I'll just take his words for it.

Here's what I had for lunch that day. This was also delicious like the fried oyster lunch set I mentioned before. This is the Miso-katsudon lunch set with miso soup and a small little beansprout salad.

After lunch we went to HAC - Health and communication - which is a store like Duane Reade in the states.

On our way back from the store. We crossed over this little river and we had a little fun with the fish and the pidgeons there. =]

Some stuff I bought at HAC. I love Japanese makeup.

On my way back to Karen's house!

She takes the bus to school everyday. This is how it works in Japan. When you get on, the first thing you do is grab a ticket right by the entrace. On the ticket, you'll see a number on it. At every stop, you'll see the prize next to a electronic board like the one you see above. There is the price of the bus fare next to every number. Let's say your number is 6 (this signifies you got on the bus at stop #6) you may see 270 next to that number. That means at that certain stop, you'll have to pay 270 yen when you get off.

These are the cakes that Karen and I bought for her host parents. I wanted to give them something for their hospitality. These cakes were from a bakery close to Karen's house. Some of the cakes are made inside these little cute containers which you can keep! They were absolutely delicious! For dinner, Karen's host mama made 焼きそば (yakisoba), which is Japanese panfried noodles and also お好み焼き (okonomiyaki), which is Japanese pancake. She stuffed us to the max! It was very good!

Meet Dakku. The doggie of the Kobayashi family. He's pretty old and according to Karen's host mama, he has cataracts in one eye, deaf, and also has hemmorhoids. Nonetheless, he's a cutie and gets excited at the sight (or smell) at a new visitor!

He was very friendly and also want to play!

We took the picture the next morning we went to school. This was their beautiful flower garden right outside their home. On the left is Karen's host mama and on the right is the host papa! Thanks Kobayashi family for inviting me to your lovely home!

Maggie out~

I got hit on by a monk!

Sorry for the delay, it's the second week of summer classes and I'm feeling super lazy, hence the lack of entries.

So I left off at the end of week 1. So let's head onto week 2 then!

What's better to start off a week with some meditation? We went to a temple called Jyogan Ji. It was a bit far from 日大, so we all had the pleasure of taking the taxi there! Before that though, of course we still had classes!! Let's see what KP-san brought to school that morning!

Grape ice cream (he said it was yucky) and Apple cider KitKat (it was delicious...and I realized that was something I should have brought back to NY... -_-'')

Fruity Jelly. It's sort of like that Aloe drink you can buy in oriental supermarkets. Not sure how it tasted.

I got a snack too! This is a cream puff from Karen-san's host parents. It was light and fluffy. Absolutely delicious.

I had an Oyster set lunch today. The picture won't come out the proper way and I don't know how to fix it....but this was probably my most favorite lunch in 日大. After lunch we head straight to Jyogan Ji!

Yes guys, the Japanese drives on the right! Our very own taxi!

Mukid-san in the other taxi!

Inside the temple

L to R: Sam-san, KP-san, Rob-san, half of Ryan-san, and Becky-san.

Little statues in front of the temple.

Monk-san was demonstrating how to put on his robe and was answering various questions we had.

What we did at the temple was the monk taught us the way of Buddhism, so we had a short lecture by him. After that, he taught us the proper way to 座禅 (zazen), which means sitting meditation. It's not as easy as you think, there's a whole set of rules you must understand before 座禅.

First thing we must do is clear our head of anything thoughts, which is hard because once you start telling yourself not to think about anything, you starts thinking about all sorts of things. Second, we must prepare for the cushion we'll be meditating on. It's a small round pillow but it's not big enought for your whole butt. We had to fluff it up so then we'll be as comfortable as possible.

You have to sit up straight and your tailbone is supported by the cushion. Your head and your back is suppose to make one straight line. The monk actually walked around with his yardstick to make sure our posture was correct. We have to sit in the lotus position, which is impossible for me. Your hand must be one on top of the othe, palm up, and the tip of your thumbs must gently meet each other. Your eyes must not close. You must be looking down and about 1 foot in front of you. So you gaze down the whole time that you're meditating.

Now we're ready.

So the whole time I was trying not to fall asleep and nurse my numbing feet. THe numbness was probably one of the most horrible thing I've felt in a long time. That wasn't even the beginning of it. About half way through the meditation, the monk stopped us to tell us something. I can barely hear it since I was at the front of the room and he was talking at the back, but Nagase sensei translated what he said and I heard words like "discipline", "stick", and "shoulder". So I sort of knew something bad is going down.

What we had to do was we had to move our head to the left shoulder, and what the monk did was using a "discipline stick", gave us a "tap" on the shoulder. And let me tell you that "tap" hurted. He explained later that it was a tap, and he demonstrated what a real hit would be like, and it was way scarier. Usually, practicing monks might get hit because they fell asleep meditation, and the tap was just to wake them up and let them remember what happens if they fall asleep.

After our detox, we went to a 旅館 (ryokan), which is kind of like a bed and breakfast in the states. Some people prefer to stay in a ryokan during their trip to Japan because you can definitely get a more traditional feel to it. It's a bit more pricey, but I think if you can even just stay there for one night, it's worth it.

The hostess of the ryokan was nice enough to invite us back. She has been doing it since the beginning of the program. It was a real treat. We got to enjoy a nice onsen experiment and afterwards we get to sing KARAOKE~!!!!

Before that, we had a chance to soak in the onsen. It was pretty uncomfortable because in Japan, you do it in the nude! It was a bit scary because we just got to know each other and we're about to be completely naked in front of each other!! There were two obaachans there and they were kinda touchy. It was funny because they were so shocked to see us becuase some of us were pretty well endowed. So I guess in Japan, girls are slim and small. So for them it was as if they went in a foreign country.

After that, we went back to the room for some KARAOKE TIME~!!!

Will-san in his jinbei and I in my ryokan yukata after the onsen.

Singing Disney songs.

Singing some Johnny's songs, while Chris-san is backup dancing.

The new BSB, coming to a town near you!

After onsen!

It was so fun at the ryokan, but unfortunately we had to leave after 2 hours of karaoke fun. We took some pictures outside the ryokan.

This was the ryokan we were at.

It was quite nice.

Will-san and the hostess of the ryokan.

advertising for the ryokan.

Engrish sign we saw on ou way back to school.

By the time we got back to the university, it was already 7. So a few of us decided to go to MOS burger fora quick dinner before heading back home. MOS burger stands for Mountain, Ocean, Sunshine burger. It is kind of like McDonald's but not. It is supposedly "healthier" than your regular fast food chain becuase its freshly cooked and it's not very oily.

This was a 海老バーガー. (shrimp burger) It came with delicious melon soda! The burger and fries came out steaming hot and it was absolutely delicious.

Week 2 started without a hitch. There are more fun times to come. Stay tune!

Maggie out~

"Because I'm your mom, I'm ALWAYS right."

What a great line to use on your kids, eh?

I've heard it so many times, each time I hear it, it makes me want to bang myself on the head.

I've heard it from so many people that I should just grin and bear it when it comes to my mom. I usually forget all about that and retaliate, and then I get in trouble because of my big mouth. A lot of the times, I deserve it. I might be in the wrong for a lot of things she yells at me about, but I don't really care about that part. What I care about is I just want her to give me respect.

A lot of the comments she hurls my way are just straight up hurtful. I don't need to hear how I'm a good for nothing, useless bitch from my mother. I really don't. If you want me to wash the dishes, vacuum, mop, just tell me! That's not hard right?

I can't read minds! She wants me to be one step ahead of her all the time. Frankly, I am slow, I'm the type that have to be told what to do. It's not hard to tell someone what to do right? Isn't it easier to just TELL someone what to do then to be angry over it? It just really bugs me. Because I feel like, if I didn't do what she asked me in front of her, I didn't do it. What kind of BS is that? I clean, I do my part, just because she comes home and messes everything up doesn't mean I never did it.

I live in constant fear about what she will yell at me about all the time. I do something, I get yelled at; I don't do something, I get yelled at. There's just no avoiding it! Yelling at me about not doing things around the house isn't the worst part. It's the way she uses her words and make you feel like you're not even human.

I'm already yelled at about not doing my part, I don't need to be insulted. I tried explaining to her how hurtful her comments are, but she thinks I'm just making excuses for myself or she just doesn't care.

I just want a little respect.

また, 日本!

It's my last night here in 三島. The past 4 weeks went by as quickly as it came. Yesterday was the farewell party in the lounge at 日大. Being there reminded me of the day we met our host famiy. We were right where everything started.

Everything comes in full circle.

I still remember the time when I got the acceptance letter, the excitement I felt, and then before I know it, it was time for the week-long, 9 to 3, intensive Japanese boot camp. I'll never forget having to get up at 5 every morning to make the train to Stony Brook on time, trying to finish lunch in 30 minutes at the new renovated SAC that will be "derenovated" once we return, cramming 1 and a half chapter of Japanese into our heads before heading to Mishima...

I'll never forget.

My host family, the Nishimuras (西村) were wonderful host parents. My host mother always made delicious dinners, my host father always willing to pick me up when I'm going to be returning home late. Both of them are willing to take me to wherever I want without questions. I'm going to miss watching TV and talking to them about everything and anything. Oh yea, and all the little funny misunderstandings we have between us. I'll always cherish every moment I had with them.

Hopefully, I'll have a chance to come back and visit everyone.One of the faculty memeber at the farewell party said, " I don't like to say good bye, so see you again!"

西村家, どうもありがとうございます!

TAs, どうもありがとうございます!

皆さん, どうもありがとうございます!

Maggie out~