Farewell Party + After Party

Farewell Party
Last night we had a Farewell Party at the cafeteria at the school. Us, the tutors, the coordinators, our host families, and friends were there. It was a fun and memorable day! There were some really fun entertainment like some of the ryugakuseis performing a dance for two tutors. The tutors' reactions were priceless! And the ryugakuseis did a wonderful job! We also danced to this dance that's used often at taisous in schools (you can look that up cause I'm lazy to explain it XP). I only watched the demonstration video once so I failed a lot lol We also gave our speeches about our experience and what we thought about the program. It got really emotional at the end. Oh yeah, at the beginning one of the head of the school presented us with certificates for completing our courses at the school. I know how it feels like to graduate at a Japanese school ;D even though it's technically not a graduation haha Our tutors gave us each a cardboard plaque with notes from each tutor and several pictures taken throughout the program. They are so awesome <3 I talked with my host family alot. They gave me a photo album. When I looked through it this morning I cried :( I'm going to miss them so much! They're my Japanese family and I'll definitely never forget them!

Sorry this is short. I'll probably edited this later.

After Party
Of course there was an after party. It was just us plus a couple of friends. There were actually 2 going on at the same time and people just went back in forth. It was at the same apartment complex so it was no biggie. One was where the crazy party was while the other was like where you go to relax (cause the person hosting that one has a kotatsu lol). I went to the crazy one first. I love that people don't force me to drink and don't pester me about not drinking. I did have a chuu-hi, but of course that's nothing compared to what people were drinking. This will also be the last time I'll witness these kind of parties. It was fun, though. The problem was that it was a small apartment and there were a bunch of people. Things started to thin out since people moved back and forth between parties. I ended up going to the other one after things got overwhelming. I just sat with my legs under the kotatsu. It felt very good. I want a kotatsu >.< I ended up staying there for a while. All of a sudden a bunch of people from the other party came over. It got pretty crazy. People eventually went home (it was about 2am at the time).

Yesterday was definitely a memorable day! The Farewell Party was emotional and fun and the After Party was just fun and crazy. A great way to end the program! I still have today left which I look forward to because I'll be having my last get-together with my host family. We're going to get sushi for dinner :3 It's going to be fun and delicious! I just hope I don't end up crying when they drop me off and say bye to me :( oh gosh......

Mochitsuki (Mochi-making)

(Again, I forgot my camera so no pictures of mine. All pictures in this post are from the internet)

Yesterday, we went to a small camp-like place where we were to do mochitsuki. Mochitsuki is generally the traditional way to make mochi. At first, we thought that was all we were going to do, but it turns out there was more.

So, we ended up at the place for like 5 hours. There was us (not everyone came just a couple of us), plus 2 English teachers, and a bunch of Elementary school students.  The first thing we did was aisatsu (introductions) then the coordinators had the kids learn how to say Hello and Thank You in English, Chinese, and Korean (since there were Americans, Chinese, and Korean exchange students there). Then we had to play this aisatsu game where we had to talk to 5 people we don't know and greet each other. After that we got into groups of 4 where we had to learn about each other more. Everyone in my group likes sushi lol after that we played another game where we each got a paper with an animal and we had to act like that animal and find other people who had the same animal. Then we played yet another game. 2 animal groups were put together to form one group so that there were 3 big groups. In this game we had to run up to someone on the other side of the building and do rock paper scissors. If you win you run back and another team mate goes. If you fail you have to tell your teammates to "Come on!" and everyone has to run behind the guy and back. We had to do that so many times lol but we ended finishing first! After playing all these games we went outside (it was scary cold btw!)

usu

When we were outside we saw the log that's used to make mochi. I was wondering when we were going to make it. We first had a quick introduction and then we went straight to mochi making! So how it works is there is a log that had it's center hollowed to form a sort of bowl in the center. This is called an usu. One of the old ladies brought oover steaming cooked rice (which I believe is glutinous rice) and put it in the usu. One of the guys took a large mallet and started to smash the rice against the sides. As he was doing this the lady had a bowl of hot water and would dip her hands in it then brush her hands against the side of the usu where rice was sticking. They did this for a few minutes then  the guy started pounding the rice. What's amazing about this is that at the same time the guy was pounding the rice the old lady was continuously dipping her hand in the hot water than wetting the mochi and turning it as the guy was pounding. They were doing it pretty face so they had to be in rhythm with each other. After a few pounds the guy asked who wanted to pound the rice. Of course all the elementary boys were yelling yes and starting lining up behind him (so cute haha). The first few boys used the same mallet the guy was using which looked really heavy. They pounded the rice. They eventually switched out that mallet for a smaller one to our relief lol. After several pounds the rice turned into a mass of sticky mochi! It's really amazing seeing how rice suddenly turned into one giant ball of sticky stuff. We made 3 batches of this stuff. Of course, I had the chance to pound it, too! It's a lot harder than it looks. It was fun though. I wasn't going to do it, but people convinced me to. We ate the mochi with various stuff in which it was rolled in. There was azuki beans, kimchi, kinako, but my favorite was the maccha powder. So good!!!!!!!  We also had soup with our mochi which made a lot of us happy because it was cold outside.

kendama

After the mochi activity we pretty much had free time for nearly 2 hours. Some people played soccer while some played with the toys they had. They were all traditional Japanese toys. My favorite was the kendama. I played with that toy for a pretty long time. Not to sound cocky, but I was able to catch the ball on all 3 cups and even was able to get it on the spike! I'm pro ;D lol jk not really. But it was still cool that I was able to do it right since apparently it's not that easy. If you've never heard of kendama it's pretty much this toy that has 3 cups and a spike. There's a wooden (I think it's wooden) ball attached to a string that's attached to the toy. The ball has a hole where the spike is supposed to go through. You have to try and get the ball to land on one of the cups. You can only use one hand so you swing the ball and try to get it to land on one of those 4 places. I found getting the ball on the bottom cup the easiest. The spike is the hardest. I couldn't get it in until someone told me a trick to do it. After I was able to achieve all 4 I felt very accomplished lol I actually want to get one of these.

After free time we went back into the building where one person from each country (America, China, and Korea) taught the kids (as well as us) about their country then the kids would ask questions about it. I learned a few things. I didn't really pay attention most of the time, though >.< I kept thinking about how hungry I was lol

After that we headed back home.

Last day of Elementary School Internship + Thoughts

Friday was the last day of the Elementary School Internship. The day started out as usual where I helped the teacher teach the kids English. We taught them how to tell time. The kids were really competitive with this one lol They had to ask me "What time is it?" then I would say the time. They kept saying the answer in Japanese to each other and they kept yelling out the answer. So energetic XD haha We then learned animals in English. First I held up cards with animals on them and would say the name out loud while they repeated. Then we played karuta (a Japanese card game). They seemed to really like that game despite some of the kids were accusing each other for cheating. It was pretty XP but don't worry no injuries happened!

Since it was the last day I ate lunch with the class. The way they do lunch is different from how I did lunch when I was in Elementary school. They moved their desks into a circle then they set tables in the center. They then get tubs of food which are made at a different facility and put them on the center tables. Then the kids serve each other. I believe they take turns being the server. The food we ate was ok. I had some bread with jam, a piece of ika covered in curry stuff, some milk soup thing, and salad. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't that great either. The kids were still hyper like they were in regular class time. Some of the kids kept asking me questions about America. Some of which I couldn't answer haha Oh, before lunch each one of the kids gave me a letter thanking me for teaching them English and each one made origami for me <3 They are so sweet. After lunch I had to leave. Some of the kids ran up to me and hugged me. Then a lot of them led me back to the principal's office where I usually go after the internship. They just kept holding my hand and slowly taking me their. When I went inside they kept saying "bye bye Rhena-sensei!" and for about 5 minutes they did this lol they kept closing the door then opening it again while saying the same thing. Oh gosh they are so cute! I miss them so much (T.T) They're a great group of kids! As we walked out of the school one of my students was watering the plants outside so I said bye to her. A lot of kids (most of them were the students of the other interns) came out and waved by to us. We got into the car and as we were pulling out I looked out the window and saw that my class had came out of their balcony and I heard one of my students yell "レイナ先生、待って！" (Rhena-sensei, wait!). I almost cried (T.T)

Reflection/Thoughts
I am so glad I decided to do this Internship. It was a great experience and it just made me so happy. At first it was awkward and sometimes I had trouble communicating with the kids in Japanese but overall it was fun! I had a great time teaching the kids English. My students were super hyper and sometimes I got annoyed, but in the end they're just kids. I love my kids so much. I love it when they smile at me when I teach them and when I play with them.  They reminded me why I love kids so much and why I want to be a teacher of some kind in the future. They are just a bundle of happiness! I hope they'll grow up to be great adults. I will never forget about them. I'll always remember them no matter what. They are a great group of kids and I'm happy that I was put in their class. To anyone who's going to Tsuru for study abroad I recommend doing this Internship! Especially if you love kids and want to teach in the future.

Earthquake!!!

About 30 minutes ago a pretty big earthquake just happened. I was taking a nap and it woke me up. At first I thought it was just another regular earthquake (Japan gets earthquakes a lot), but it lasted a pretty long time. The place shook for about 5 minutes and it wasn't just a small shake. I knew it wasn't an ordinary earthquake. When it stopped I got out of bed and turned on the tv to see if there's any news on it and it turns out there was a 7.3 magnitude earthquake!!! Hardest hit was the east side same place where a huge earthquake hit Tohoku in 2011. There are tsunami warnings. It's kinda freaky hearing the people on tv telling people in certain cities to runaway.

Also, don't worry about  me because I'm fine! Nothing even fell off any of my tables during the earthquake. The earthquake was smaller around here than in east Japan. I hope everyone is fine over there!

What I'll miss about Japan

The program is coming to a close. Time sure did go by fast :( but during the 4-5 months I've been here I've had a lot of great experiences. There are several things in Japan that just amazes me and makes me happy. I've compiled a list of things I'll miss about Japan (no particular order)

• Delivery System! Japan's domestic delivery system is just simply amazing! At least in comparison to back home. I've bough several things online so I've experienced it a lot. Usually after the item ships the package arrives within 24 hours! For example, I've bought from Book Off Online several times and I usually get an email saying it shipped around 5pm one day and then on the next the package arrives before 11am! And that's with standard shipping. Also, this doesn't apply every single time, but there are times when you can choose the delivery date/time. This only happened to me when I bought from Amazon Japan, though, but I'm sure it's available on other sites as well. This is extremely efficient! Not done yet! Usually, they don't just leave your package if you're not home. What they'll do is leave a note saying that they came, but no one was home. What you do is call the number they provided and you tell them you're home and they'll come and give you your package. I've had to do this once and the guy came within 15 minutes! Definitely better than America's system, in my humble opinion. (Sorry, this point kinda got too long lol)
•  The food! Yeah, I would put food on the list lol but back home I don't live around very many Japanese restaurants (or very good ones anyway) or stores that sell Japanese ingredients so it's not common for me to eat Japanese food. Oh man, I'm just going to splurge on food until I leave (>.<)
• Speaking/Listening to Japanese everyday. Although, I can listen to Japanese everyday back home by listening to music, watching anime/dramas, etc. it's not the same as listening to people speak it naturally. Back in the US, I have very few friends who I speak Japanese with and most of them either graduated or is still going to be studying in Japan. I think speaking will be the hardest for me to maintain because the lack of conversation partners =/ I'm gonna have to figure out how to fix that...
• Coin Toy Machines. They're everywhere! Almost like vending machines, but not as common. Now, why would I miss these when there's coin toy machines in the US? Well, that's cause of what they put in the toy machines here. Being Japan, they have a variety of stuff and they're quality! (well they're also pretty expensive). Also, because it's Japan you'll see a lot of Anime/Manga related stuff. There's also a bunch of other stuff like animals (cats, dogs, etc). I've bought from these machines several times actually XP 200円 isn't so bad lol Most of the stuff you get are keychains (or rather phone charms that you attach to your phone). 
• Riding the trains. Trains are the most useful things here. It only sucks when you're on a crowded train you have to stand up during the entire time. Other than that though the train system is great. It's on time all the time (except when there's an accident or the weather makes it hard for the train to function safely/properly).
• Japanese Restaurants. This point isn't about the food (though, the food is delicious!), but more about the actual restaurants themselves. I love the set up the restaurants (talking about the Japanese-style ones not the Western-style ones). All the Ramen restaurants I've been to were usually small and usually didn't have tables, but instead you sit on counters facing the chef. I also like going to restaurants where you sit on the floor instead of chairs. Something interesting I discovered, at several restaurants I've been to in Tsuru they have manga that you can read. I think it's because a lot of people who work go to the restaurants for lunch and so sometimes they'd read the manga while they eat to relax (or something like that).

That's all for now because I just saw something that'll distract me on TV lol

Soba Making

This past Saturday we participated in a soba making activity. Turns out it was an activity for foreigners. At first I thought it was like the tea ceremony one where it was just us, but when we got to the place there were a bunch of other foreigners (the most I've seen at once in Tsuru, actually). We got split into groups according to where we were from. Of course us Tsuru exchange students were one group (There was also 2 Chinese exchange students who was with us).

The first thing we did was watch the professionals do it. Making soba is a pretty complicated process, but amazing none-the-less. Just making the dough was complex. They would constantly stir the powder mix and some water with their hands. They would do it in a certain pace until the flour turned into bigger clumps and eventually they would clump them together into one big clump of dough. Then they would knead it and knead until the right consistency. They kept kneading it until it made a sort of pyramid shape then they would transfer it onto a flat wooden surface which they used to flatten the dough. Next they pounded onto the dough of which it turns into an almost perfect circle (years of practice!). Then they would proceed to flatten it more by using the palm of their hands. Then they would take out the rollers and use it to flatten the dough even more. They use a cat-like movement while rolling where they curl their fingers inward so it looks like a cat was using the roller. After it was rolled at a certain consistency they took out a longer roller and would wrap the dough around it and they would lightly roll the dough while it was wrapped around. After a few rolls they would unroll it and go to a different side and proceed the same process. Eventually, the round dough turned into a square dough (this part amazed me because I've never seen a round piece of dough turn square before!). After making a good square they fold it I think 3 times? I forgot but somewhere around there. Then they took out the special knife they use to cut noodles. They use a specially designed wooden board to help keep the cuts straight and the lengths consistent. The way they cut it was once they cut down they would lightly tilt the knife against the board so it would move a little and they would cut from there. And that's how the soba noodles were made!

After watching the demonstration we got a chance to try and make it! Of course, we didn't make our own individual soba noodles. Instead we took turns doing the steps. It's a lot harder than it looks!! They make it look easy because they've been doing it for years. I think the hardest part was rolling it into a square. Cutting it was pretty hard, too. It was fun, though! I know how to make soba noodles! But I'm sure they would turn out bad XD haha After making our noodles we got to eat them! (of course, they were cooked first :P). I also tried tororo for the first time. Personally, I didn't like it very much. It was because of the slimy texture...

That's it for the soba making! It was really cool watching how soba noodles were made. It was an awesome experience and awesome to see other foreigners lol