March 11, 2011

Before you read this, I'm sorry for the bad writing, grammar errors, and all that jazz. I'm still a tad bit lazy and lacking internet time. I think typing this on my phone would take several months. :P 

March 11, 2011 began like any normal school day.  I woke up, ate breakfast, and headed off for school. It was test week, so school would end early at noon. I had planned to go to basketball afterwards. Because I am an exchange student, I am not required to take school tests. Ariane (the exchange student from Germany, who is also my best friend) and I decided to go shop around the store for lunch and possible gift ideas to take home. We always spent at least an hour looking around because when you can’t read, buying food juts takes that much longer. You don’t want to buy something gross, right? As we were walking back from Yokomachi store (a 15 minute walk) we felt the first small tremble. The small earthquakes are always a surprise and get your heart racing a bit, but we were almost used to them. From the first month of living in Japan I had experienced a number of small earthquakes. They always seemed harmless, if not entertaining. It’s funny to watch the girls scream and overreact. Even the first earthquake didn’t really phase me. I just accepted it as part of Japan. I’m sure I was more excited than scared. I digress.

About an hour after the small earthquake, I was studying with Ari on the top floor of the school. St. Urusula’s has three stories; one for each grade level. Since the third years graduated, we found the third floor to be a place for us to study and mess around while we didn’t have class; we didn’t have to worry about bothering anyone. Again, we felt a small tremble, nothing to worry about. Ari was always a bit frightened by any earthquake, but because I didn’t freak out, she stayed calm. We continued to talk and eat lunch unaware of anything about to happen. Ten minutes after the tremble, the big earthquake hit. 

It began as a small tremble, but soon began to shake violently. Because we were on the top floor, we went through the worst of the shaking. It wasn’t like we were falling down as the building collapsed, but those are the thoughts that cross your mind. Earthquakes make a person very dizzy, and we had never experienced one very high on the scale, so we didn’t know what to do. We decided to sit on the floor where nothing would fall on top of us. I screamed a couple of times because I didn’t know what else to do. As the earthquake continued, I began to feel calmer about the situation. I convinced Ari to get up so we could find someone else. Luckily as we were headed for the stairs, we were met by a teacher. The shaking stopped for several minutes, but the aftershocks continued. Everyone in the school met in the newest gym (which by American standards would be far too old) to count heads and make sure everyone was OK.

Many students were crying, boys and girls. Everyone was worried about family. The biggest problem was the lack of electricity and phone service. We couldn’t get in contact with our families and no one knew about the tsunami. It’s hard to sit in the dark wondering what to do. Teachers decided to get everyone home, but trains don’t run during earthquakes and maybe 70% of the students take the train. Slowly parents came to collect students, but my host mom could not. I live an hour’s train ride from Hachinohe City and the train station is a 45 minute walk from St. Urusula’s. Usually walking isn’t a problem, but teachers were worried about safety because the traffic lights weren’t working and there was no guarantee we would get home. After several hours in the gym my English teacher decided to drive another student, Sakiko (my host sister) and myself home. The weather was terrible, a mix of snow, hail, and wind. With the traffic it took about 3 hours.

At home the electricity was out. Everyone arrived around the same time. No one was expecting anything like this, so we didn’t have a lot of food or water prepared for a night like that. We ended up eating sweet potatoes, baked in the fireplace, and miso soup (water with miso flavoring. It’s kind of gingery J). We listened to the radio to try and figure out how things were going. Mostly we got static. It sort of felt like a horror movie; dark with the sound of radio static. The next day was basically the same. It was lighter of course, being day, but we didn’t really leave the house and weren’t able to cook like normal. As funny as this is, my host mom couldn’t cook rice without a rice maker. She tried and it…burnt. And we ate it. It was gross.

We didn’t suffer for days or go hungry, but those thoughts cross your mind when you don’t know. Most people didn’t even hear about the tsunami for at least 4 days. Our town got electricity first. After that, it gets less interesting. Mostly sitting around and staying inside due to bad weather.

Hachinohe, Aomori

 

Just when you thought you were comfortable....

Alright. So pretty much changing host families is always weird and a little bit awkward. I mean, mostly I've learned to ignore that part and just sort of go with whatever, but sometimes...I just don't know. haha. You start getting used to a certain life style and boom, you're somewhere else. The rules always change! Some families are more traditional in a certain way, and the next with throw their own version of western culture into your life.

Sannohe. This little town is freezing. It's 10.5c below. I finally feel like wearing a coat. I don't usually get cold, but it's ridiculous. I had to walk to and from the train station with my last host family, but it was only 20-30 minutes without snow. With my new host family it's an hour (if not more) with snow. I'm afraid of frost bite. I mean, I'm sure it'd have to bee a lot colder, but it takes about the whole night + a bath to thaw them out. baths are painful when you're this cold. As for heating....well we are all relying on the fireplace. Which doesn't really help at all.  By morning I can see my breath. Most other families have individual heaters in their rooms, but here we are eco friendly (more so than the rest...I guess). I just kinda wonder how they think masks will save them from getting sick when we are sleeping in negative temperatures. Who knows. :P

This current family lived in Holland for three years, so they do have some idea of western culture. however, when they think they have an idea about our culture, it's somehow morphed into something...well completely not like ours. It's just the way we think; our entire mind set. So I'm probably interrupting their culture wrong too, it's just how it looks from me perspective. I'm just saying....like if we have a sandwich for lunch it's like...hamburger, spaghetti, shrimp, mayo, and cabbage. We eat cabbage instead of lettuce. It's crazy. Weird. I miss lettuce. Haha. No, somehow it works, but it's just strange. Because my host mom actually thinks we eat like that....now I wonder what a sandwich in Holland looks like.

I'm memorizing a dictionary. It's....well something to do. It seems like I should be further along by now, but Japanese is hard!!!

I'm going skiing hopefully this week. And my family is taking me to do kimono pictures. I'm excited. :) Should be fun. I've been super tired, but in a great mood because I'm drinking green tea all the time. my host sister is on a diet or something, so everyone has to drink it too!

I have more to write, but it's time to go! Haha.

It's a family thing...

So it seems like you can count on the following things in any country:

1. Someone is always making the little kids scream.
2. All the adults are yelling shut up, but no one listens.
3. There is always a "kids" table and an "adults" table. (The 17-21 year olds will go back and forth.)
4. An elderly person always makes a dish no one really wants to eat. Except the adults...kind of. :P
5. Before a family get-together, mom will run around yelling at everyone to clean. Breakdown.
6. The children will whine while doing a half-a**ed job.
7. Everything turns out fine anyway. No one notices the dirty parts.
8. You always eat too much!
9. That pile of dishes....you know the one.
10. Everyone falls into food coma.

I had such a long list. Haha. But getting together with families is a lot of fun here. Mostly because the adults always drink and they are really funny. We play card games until we have played all of them at least 5 times. :) I miss everyone, but I am really enjoying my time here.


Sara <3s

Beating Rice

Wow. I have a lot of time on my hands at night. Haha. I'm not lonely, I'm just not tired and everyone else has school or work to get up for. That's why I have time. Just clearing that up. :P

So this morning we went to make New Years food. In Japan New Years is bigger than Christmas, so we had to take down all the Christmas decorations and put up New Years ones, which are more elaborate? I don't know if that's the right word. I can't speak English. I speak Enrish now. :) The decorations are all edible. Ok! Back to food....

We made rice cakes! It was crazy fun. We went to a...home (?) for the mentally disabled. So they have older people who can't take care of themselves and younger people whose family can't take care of them. They visit everyday and take them out when they can though. I think it's just hard with everyone working. I met two brothers, one disabled, and the other...well not. It was really sweet. I think I made a friend. Haha. And this old man said I should just live in Japan because I smile and Japanese people don't. I know what you're thinking! I smile now. Crazy.

You start off with white rice boiled in sugar water to make it sweet. When it's soft enough you pour the rice into a big bin. It's like a giant salsa grinder. I have know clue what they are called, but you can check out the pictures. Then you beat the rice into dough with a huge hammer! It's really heavy and I'm not strong enough to do it very long. (Even with my man arms Dad.) We had to rely on this guy to do it mostly. Although, the older fellows were pretty entertained and wanted to show off. Haha. While beating the rice you have to constantly knead it with cold water and make sure the hammer is wet enough so it doesn't stick. The dough will burn you if you aren't careful because it's still really hot from being boiled. I'm forgein, so you know, I can't handle it. :) They like to do things for me, it's cool. I'm lazy like that. After the dough it ready, you cut it into strips or put it in bowls. The strips are rolled and put into boxes, while the pieces in bowls are decorated. I didn't get to stay for decorating, but we took a box home to eat on New Years. The dough has to be boiled again because over the next couple of days it will become extremely hard.

And that sums up the process!!! I'm really happy I get to go do these kinds of things. This is the culture that is interesting to see. I mean, shopping malls are great, but when you are too big for the clothes and too broke to buy anything it's not as fun. :P

Today I had to buy a coat to fit over my uniform blazer. So I had to get an extra large. But I think when I go home I can get it taken in so I can wear it normally. I also had to buy snow boots because mine were getting ruined by wetness. Boo. I hate spending money on things I need. I much prefer spending it on things I want. Oh life. I don't want to be responsible.

Every night I play card games with my brother and sister. I suck at the matching game. My memory is terrible. I'm totally gonna practice playing.

Tonight we ate Japanese curry. I ate two servings. I feel soooooo full, but it made my host mom happy. I also cleaned the bath tube/shower and washed rice. Tomorrow we have to clean all day for the New Years party. I'm glad I'm treated like a member of the family. I really missed cleaning. :P

Love you guys!

P.S. I'm too lazy to edit this :) Also, more pictures are on shutterfly!!! Except I'm not really sure if I know how to use shutterfly properly...so help?!!

Exchange Life

Hey Guys!

So hopefully...well some of you read this so I don't feel like a complete loser. You know, writing to myself. (I already have to talk to myself) Haha. I'm kidding! No seriously.

I know everyone is worried about my mental/physical well-being. Thanks! I feel loved! I love you too, but seriously, I'm doing alright. I'm pretty sure I just look tired because I'm a lot paler. I've been avoiding the soap, so it's probably the lack of sunshine. I bet vampires could live here. ;) Well...I might be a little tired. The beds are kind of like sleeping on a wooden chair. Maybe I'll buy sleeping pills. Haha. But...probably not. I won't become a pill popper.

With that said, I'll go for the happy, "what I love/what I'm doing" deal. :D It's the best part.

So my new family....errr...it always takes me at least 2 weeks to figure out the family name...so at a later date, anyway, my new family lives in Sannohe, Aomori. Which is a town in the middle of the mountains. It's about an hour and a half from Hachinohe (the city). Right now we have about 2 feet of snow and it's still going! I can't believe it. It's intense.

My host dad is an elementary school teacher. He speaks some English and is trying to learn. So, he brings me the little kid homework for me to study, then asks me to translate his sentences to English so he and I can both learn at the same time. It's great. I've learned quite a bit in 3 days. My host mom is also an elementary school teacher, but only part time. She also teaches piano. I'm going to start learning! I wanted to before, so now I get free lessons. Yay! My host parents lived in Holland for 3 years, so the know about coffee, bread, and are interested in other cultures. It's refreshing. They still keep Japanese culture though, so it's not like they ditched it. My host sister Sakino is my favorite. She's sarcastic and doesn't squeal and act like she's 5. It's super cute here for girls to act like that? I don't know. It's like hyper, but in an even more immature way than Americans. It's like...Jessie. Sakino likes music and reads magazines or just talks to me. So compared to my last host sister, it seems like she actually enjoys having me around. ( I love you Jess!) My host brother, Hayato is loud and hyper. I've never had a little brother, but I think you could compare him to Jake. Jake without chickens. :) They are just a cool family. Plus, they make me do chores so I actually feel like part of the family.

Alright, so I kind of bashed my other host family. And you might think I didn't like them, but that's not really it. My first family, The Yokomachi family was great! Minami, my host sister, who is currently at university gave me advice and helped me learn some basics to start of language. My host dad was extrememly loud, funny, and kind of abnormal for a Japanese businessman. (Everyone says that about him) My host mom was funny and really kind. We did a lot together. They took me to see castles, shrines, and parades. I was only with them for a month, but I still feel like part of that family. Ryousuke, my host brother wants to major in English, so he would always talk to me when he could, but he was busy with tennis and studying mostly. He went to the best high school and was like....a tennis champion? I didn't quite understand. But I still talk to the Yokomachi family. I love them! (Not like you guys of course.)

My second host family was the Takahashi family. My host parents didn't speak English and were working mostly. My dad....maybe fished or did something with....fishing boots. Haha. I don't know!!! They never really told me. My mom had a part time job selling furniture. She made me breakfast, lunch, and dinner. They were both kind, generous, and I liked them a lot, but I didn't feel as connected. Language can do that. Mizuho is in my class. She was an exchange student in America, but she was really unsympathetic. She got annoyed and didn't really talk to me. But at times she was really funny and nice, but only if she felt like it. I guess that happens. Oh well. Sachiyo was in Jr. high, so she had to study all the time for the big entrance exam to get into high school. She wanted to get into the same one as my first host brother, but I guess it's really hard. And Honoka...she was the youngest. I spent most of my time with her. yeah, my best friend was a 7 year old. Haha. But she would talk to me, and I could sort of start understanding things towards the end. I felt closest to my host mom and Honoka, who were the only ones there when I left. Haha. Ah, still sounds negative. We went shopping, but mostly they introduced me to a lot of traditional Japanese food like, raw squid, sukiyaki, octopus, Japanese radish, and Japanese sweet potatoes. Probably a bunch more, but those stood out the most. Fish guts! It looks like a brain the size of a bouncy ball. :D But it doesn't taste. I also gained a love for tofu.

So that sums up host families. Though, I could probably write novel about both, I just don't think anyone has time for that. :)

Alright, so for now that's it!!! I'll write more soon...ish.

Love you guys,

xoxoxo
Sara

P.S. Snowmen here are only made of two parts! You know, short. Haha. Ah, that's bad. Kidding! But seriously.