First Host Family- Aug. 28 - 29
Trip Start
Aug 17, 2010
1
4
54
Trip End
Jul 29, 2011
Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Saturday was the welcoming party for rotary exchange students. We arrived at 1 and at first it was just a formal introduction to the rotary exchange by the exchange counsellors, talking about trips and rules of rotary. So far it seems they are trying to plan something for every month to happen with rotary students which is exciting. Then it was time to meet your Japanese teacher that is provided by Rotary but mine wasn't going to arrive until 4 30, so I went with Dakota's teacher and I learnt one new word, aka meaning red, like my jacket. Then we sat at separate tables and I think we were supposed to have a conversation between counsellor and Japanese teacher but mine wasn't there so we just sat around waiting. Afterwards it was banquet time Japanese style, which is basically the same as Western style except smaller dishes and more fishy. Every new exchange students had to do a welcoming speech and I was first, scary, but easy after doing one to 800 students. Then the oldies, from Australia, did presentations on their lives so far and the rotex, who just got back from there trip abroad, did slide shows on how their trip went. I was told before that all the new exchangers had to do speech, slideshow and skill presentation so I had my slideshow ready but no one else knew what I was talking about so I ended up being the only new exchange student to do a presentation. According to everyone else it went great, with the help of Mei, who is going to be 4th host sister <3, translating for me. Afterwards everyone was going to go out to do karaoke and chill around Sapporo but I had to change houses to my first host family. I was a little upset but one of the australians, Laura, told me she wasn't to go out after her first orientation, and I mean she turned out alright, so I felt better. On the way to the house we listened to Micheal Jackson and also when I got to the home I saw a This Is It DVD, I think they like him. I love my first host family, they are so nice. My sister, 10, and brother, 13, are awesome and there is Minto, the dog, who is so cute I could die. Every time I come back from school I always go say hi to her in her pen and she is so excited; she is the dog I never had. The house is amazing and big and it has a nice porch and I have a bigger room then back home. It is by a creek and there are walking paths along the side where I plan on going for runs. The reason for all this greeness is because I am pretty sure it is on the outskirts of town. If you look one way you don't see any city buildings only farm like ones. It is also 1hour and a bit to my school going bus, subway, change of subway,and another bus. I was scared of the subway system at first but now I am starting to understand its working and the direction of each tram. It also helps that there is english included in the signs. The bus system is completely Japanese and still scares me.
The next day, Sunday, I spent with my family. First we went to a market near home and it was a little crowded but being Japanese, it worker efficiently. Then we went downtown to visit a niece who just had a baby. The baby was so cute and adorable, I was able to hold her and she was so precious. They also had to little dogs, and they were cute in an annoying way as they always bark but the way they tried to get your attention was funny to watch. Afterwards we walked along Odori park and there was the Sapporo marathon that was happening and we walked alongside the race course. I was in awe and I also felt sorry for these people running in the heat, and their tired, worked face expressions didn't make it look any easier. We walked along the track until we reached a hotel were Papa was crown member to go swimming/work out. I decided to swim and while it was laps it was extremely refreshing and also a good work out as I hadn't done any exercise up until that point. I need to do more because I am determined not to put on weight on my trip. It is my goal. After wards we had dinner at the hotel restaurant. It was Chinese but still good and a different experience, according to my dad it is the 3rd best restaurant in Sapporo. I liked all the dishes given except one which I only half finished, but that was because I was already full on the other plates. I still had room for dessert though which was delicious and I believe better then Canadian ice cream, at least vanilla flavour is. It was a tiring weekend but also fun.
