Less Than Two Weeks Left!

The exchange is almost over. Dannggggggggggggggg!

I feel like when it comes to starting and ending an exchange, emotions tend to contradict. On one hand, I am incredibly excited to see my mom/family/friends and go to American school again. No more 9 hour school days and getting home at eight everyday! Plus I`ll be able to choose what I eat for breakfast and lunch and make healthy choices. And English. I`m so pumped to be able to understand 100 percent of what is said to me.

But on the other hand, I`m leaving behind an entire life here. Everything I`ve done here will start to feel like a dream. It already feels unreal and I haven`t even left yet. I will no longer be able to casually meet the Japanese friends that I love. No more Japanese kindness, or being in awe of how much I love Japanese girls` personalities. No more using casual Japanese, even when it`s sometimes much shorter than the English phrase. When I get back to America, I probably won`t have as much freedom as I did in Japan (depending on my mom, of course ;) ) And Japanese food. I can guarantee I`ll crave it, SUPER hard.

So there`s a ton of emotional difficulty that comes with the end of an exchange. Feels so surreal.

As for the technical/physical aspects, I spent a whole day cleaning my room and packing boxes to send back home. And I`m still nowhere close to ending. Why did I let my room get so dirty!? I`m also starting on some work for my American classes since I`ve missed the first 3 weeks or so of the semester. The schedule I want to do when I get back makes it really clear I like languages/foreign places. Two English classes, International Relations, World Religions, online Japanese and Arabic, and a Japanese Teacher Assistant. Ahah!

Cheers,
Camilla Pernell

My Trip to Kyoto and Osaka!

I stepped onto the ferry and got to the room where I`d be staying with my friend Mizuki and four strangers for the night. First time on boat for 11 hours straight; I prayed I woudln`t be sick. But even being sick couldn`t put a damper on my mood, I was going to Kyoto! AND Osaka!

After a night of restless sleep, we arrived in Kobe, where we took a train to Osaka. After cramming our luggage into a tiny locker, we had the entire day to ourselves. And only one place we really wanted to go. America-Mura! It seems a bit ironic to go to an American-themed place when I finally got the chance to go to Osaka, and to be honest I was a bit skeptical at first too. But once we got there, all doubt faded away.

Us with our shopping bags

America-Mura is basically a shopping neighborhood for people who are into `American` fashion, which means tons of Adidas, oversized hoodies, and bright colors. For Mizuki and me it was heaven. As soon as we started shopping I knew coming with Mizuki was the right choice, because we share a similar, slightly crazy sense of fashion. And America-Mura is perfect for anyone who wants to be different from the norm. Every store person was incredibly kind, and we got clothes discounted several times just from being friendly. It was truly the best way we could have spent the day!

Also got to try famous Osaka takoyaki, which kind of tastes the same as every other place ahah. This could be because Miyazaki, the place I`m living now, is said to have the most delicious meat and fish in Japan. So even when I eat out at restaurants in Kyoto and Osaka, I find myself craving Miyazaki food.

Osaka`s takoyaki

After getting home late, we were up early once again to spend the day in Kyoto. This time, our day was carefully planned out. First, we went to a Kimono rental store. I chose a blue kimono to help bring out the color of my eyes, and Mizuki chose a black kimono because it gives off a cool image.

Every minute I was feeling closer to Mizuki, and even though it was my first time meeting her, I loved Mizuki`s cousin Tamami too.

The first shrine we went to was the famous gold shrine, which is either painted gold or made out of gold. It was absolutely beautiful. As expected, there were TONS of tourists rushing to take pictures, and we took plenty as well. Also ate matcha icecream with gold flakes on top!

Delicious!

After the gold shrine, we went to another shrine that I can`t really explain with words so I`ll just show a picture.

The time at this shrine was really fun! It was a lot of walking, but they also had really delicious food and we met a kind stranger. He was taking a selfie and I jokingly posed in the corner of the photo, and he laughed and had us all take a selfie together. We saw him later and he sent me the photos!

Such a nice dude!

Also, since we were in kimonos, people took our pictures without asking. That was something I did not expect. Whenever I noticed people taking our picture I`d always pose, which usually made them laugh and take more. One Chinese couple swept up behind us and very forcefully took a picture, but that was also a fun experience.

After that shrine we went around and ate a ton of matcha flavored things, like cake, yogurt, etc. After all, Kyoto is famous for matcha!

We spent the final day shopping for souvenirs and shopping in Kyoto, too worn out from the past two fun-filled days to really do much. And then we were on a plane and back to our life in Miyazaki!

The JLPT: N2

I went to the test site with my Taiwanese friend from school, and we agreed to go eat out afterwards as well. The thought of eating some tonkatsu was what I considered a reward for taking the test.

Tonkatsu

Hong Yi and I met at the station, and we could immediately tell what bus to ride. The bus stop was surrounded by foreigners. Since I`m in rural Japan, it shocked me to see so many foreigners at once. Surprisingly, there were almost no white or black people. Everyone was from places like Malaysia and Indonesia. And a LOT of Vietnamese people. Everyone crowded into the small bus and I began to feel a tad nervous.

Once arriving, we studied a little before going to the test site. I think N2 was the most crowded; there had to be well over 150 people. There was also no clock, practically a death sentence to some people there.

During the break time between the reading and listening sections, an American woman I met gave me cookies! So nice! In fact, all the Americans were nice.

The test itself was harder than I thought it`d be, particularly the listening section. I felt the most prepared in listening, yet I think that`s the section I did worst on. I`m hoping that my reading score will make up for the listening. I find out the results in the end of January, so here`s to hoping they were good!

National Pocky Day!

This past Saturday, 11/11,  was national pocky day! Of course Japan has to have a national pocky day ahah.

I started out my Saturday by helping out at my school's open campus. This meant performing a ~2 minute speech in front of middle schoolers. Since I was told on Friday that I'd be doing the speech, I had to write it on the train in the morning. Despite this, I didn't mess up, yay!

Then, since it was pocky day, everyone that helped out at the presentation got free pocky!


After that, someone who was coincidentally my friend bought $400 worth of pocky (wowza!) and was handing them out at the station. Since we're friends, he gave me extra :)

Pocky I got from my friend

Even though it may have just been pocky day, the city seemed more busy and bustling than normal. It feels great to eat some pocky with friends, so I'm happy this cute little holiday was created :)

I guess pocky day is my replacement for Thanksgiving!

Japanese High Schooler's Halloween

Although this halloween may have been the least dramatic halloween I've ever had, it was still fun in a sweet way!

There was absolutely NO way that we were going to be able to wear halloween costumes. Not even halloween makeup. However, that's to be expected, considering my school dress code doesn't even allow hair bands that aren't black or brown. Strict to the max! So on the surface, it seemed like a normal school day. But just entering the classroom, I could see that everyone was happy, cheerful, and in proper halloween spirit. Despite everyone never having trick-or-treated, I was shocked to hear my Japanese classmates saying things like "trick or treat!" and "happy halloween!"

In fact, most people (including me!) bought little snacks to hand out to our classmates. And sometimes, like people in America, they wouldn't give the candy out until the receiver said "trick or treat!" It was so cute! I was so glad I stopped by the convenience store on the way to school so I could also participate. Everyone was so energetic, even if they didn't understand the meaning of halloween. Wait wait, is there even a meaning?

I did miss trick or treating a little (this year is actually my first year not doing it!), but school turned out so pleasant that I didn't really miss it that much. At the end of the school day, one of the upper classmen even bought candy specially for me <3 and SOO many snacks at club, because the retired upperclassmen gave a lot to us. Yeessss!

I would also recommend everyone slowly eats their halloween candy. I ate mine all at once, and stayed up until 12 with stomach aches/problems. Pretty embarrassing to spend an hour on the toilet ahah!

As for costumes and make up, Japanese teenage girls get dressed up on the weekend before/after halloween, or for halloween themed events, and then take pictures in the Japanese photo booths. While walking downtown, I happened to see a lot of 'bloody' faces, maid costumes, etc. these past few weekends. It's been entertaining!



Hope everyone had a spooky halloween!
Cheers!

Cooking in Japanese School!

This past Tuesday, I made food at school for the first time ever!

At my school, everyone is required to take Home Ec, and we  have it for two class periods in a row once a week. This gives us time to sew and cook, although we usually just read from a textbook. My teacher is really nice and has a soothing voice, so I'd say about half the class sleeps when we read. 

Before we could do any cooking classes, we had to sew our own aprons. When we did that, I used a sewing machine for the first time ever, and called the teacher over for help about 15 times ahaha. I was the only person who had never used a sewing machine before, which shows how thorough  Japanese school systems are with their Home Ec. I felt pretty proud when I finished my apron through all the sewing machine struggles. 

Everyone in their aprons preparing the dishes

So when we finally got to use our aprons for the first time this Tuesday, I was really excited! My only experience with cooking was grilled cheese and the occasional batch of pancakes, so I was enthusiastic about learning how to make a traditional Japanese dish. We made a dish called "Oyako-don," which means "parent and child rice dish." It's called parent and child dish because it contains chicken (parent)  and eggs (child). Cute, right?!? Speaking of cute Japanese names, they call the ends of bread the bread's "ears." So cute! 

We started with chopping onions and other japanese vegetables. My eyes have always been really weak to onions; they would burn from someone cutting onions in a whole other room. So of course, guess who decides to volunteer to cut the onions. I almost got through the whole onion. Then my eyes burned like hell's fires, tears were streaming down my face, and I couldn't see clearly. Not only was I the only one who cried from my class, but the stinging  came back several times so I ended up crying next to the teacher when she was demonstrating something to the class. It was pretty entertaing!

After making the food and washing the dishes, we sat down to eat. At first I was worried I wasn't going to be filled up, but it turned out to be far too much ahah. It was  delicious! But  I wished I had some salt and pepper or some kimchi to add some spice.

Oyako-don and some soup

Overall, I became closer to the people in my group and I also know an easy Japanese recipe now! I can't wait until our next cooking class :)

My Group!

A Little Homesick

I thought it wouldn't really hit me, but with the start of school again I've become homesick. It's nothing drastic, and definitely not to the point of crying, but it's still an aching feeling in my chest.

To describe it, I want to eat American food a lot right now. Don't get me wrong, Japanese food is delicious and I love it, but I could really use some chili or a Chipotle Burrito. I also think about my American friends a lot, as well as my school. What doesn't help is that this week is Spirit Week for my school back home. I see tons of fun pictures and end up missing my school more.

Another feeling I get when I'm homesick is a little bit hard to describe. When I remember places, it gives off a sort of feeling in my chest, like an aura. Rather than remember certain words or sights, I'll remember the feelings I had during that time. Now that I'm homesick, I keep recalling the auras of my past home, a Coloradan sunset, my high school, and sweet memories with my friends. And of course my wonderful mother, who I miss most of all!

Overall, this is a difficult stage of my exchange. I'm ready to have fun and get over these complicated feelings! I would say that when I'm laughing and messing around with my friends, that's when the homesickness goes away. It's moments when I'm alone or have time to think that it hits hardest, just like any sad thing ahah.

Hopefully by my next post these feelings will have gone away a bit!

Halfway Through My Exchange

August 28, 2017 is exactly halfway through my exchange.

Wowowow. It just feels so surreal. It feels as if I've come so far and changed so much, yet I'm still only halfway there. How much more will I change?

If someone asked me to say the ways I've changed, I would say the tenseness I had from America is almost gone. I just want to have fun with people I love! I want to learn, and challenge myself, and create. I want to do everything! I wanna live forever!

Anything that could be considered shyness is practically gone. I still have my moments, but considering all the embarrassing and awkward things that have happened, it's pretty hard for me to feel shy.

For example, there was a period of time here where I was getting diarrhea constantly, like every day ahaha (TMI) My body showed me no mercy even when hanging out with friends. So I was on a road trip with my friend's family. We had just stopped at a road stop, where I didn't feel a hint of anything that was to come. As soon as we pulled out I felt a little rumbling in my stomach, but I thought it would quiet down. Nope! Not even 15 minutes later I whisper to my friend, "Uhhh, I gotta go to the bathroom. Badly." I was the only one that got out to use the bathroom, and left them all waiting there for like 8 minutes. The finishing blow was when the concerned parents kept asking "Are you okay now?" throughout the trip. Ahah!



I don't want to go back home, but at the same time I'm excited for my future back in America. I want to see all my friends back in America, but I don't want to leave my Japanese ones. My Japanese friends are some of the kindest people I've ever met, I cannot stress enough how much I love Japanese girls! They are so sweet, interesting, expressive, and sometimes even a little sassy.

As for my Japanese, I feel pretty happy with how far it's gotten! Today I went to a cafe with a Japanese friend and it didn't end up feeling awkward at all, even though we were just talking for 2 1/2 hours. That's a pretty good indicator of my Japanese level! However, I still have plenty of room for improvement, especially when it comes to vocabulary. Hopefully I'll be able to easily read manga and easy novels when I come back.

I still definitely want to keep posting more stories on here and more YouTube videos, but now that school is starting up again I'm going to lose a lot of my free time. I'll try the best I can!

Thank you to everyone that is cheering me on from back home. I love you all!

Two Months in Japan

Wow. Two whole months in Japan! I can barely believe it, and every time I think about the fact that 1/5 of my exchange is done, I feel like crying. I love it here! Life in Japan as an exchange student feels so rewarding, and I am incredibly grateful I was able to come here. So, two months? A lot can happen in that time! First, I want to talk about Japanese food, and how my body has changed since coming here (not necessarily in a good way lol).

Japanese food is delicious. Any sushi/ramen lover would agree. But, how does real Japanese food compare to the cheap cup noodles that college students live off of? Real Japanese ramen is so delicious that even writing about it is making my mouth water. It is a perfect mix of ingredients, be it spicy or salty.

Tonkatsu ramen from Kagoshima

Karamen from Miyazaki, spicy level 15/25

There were also foods that I needed a little time to get used to. One is umeboshi, which is a pickled plum that is SUPER salty. I didn't like it when I tried it in America, but now I love it! Another food is "raw" chicken. Since my Japanese is not perfect, I could be a little bit wrong, but in Miyazaki prefecture it is okay to eat raw chicken. It's either raw or has very little roasting done to it. The texture is really chewy and feels like chewing slightly hard fat. The taste is surprisingly fine! The taste of squid is also going to take some getting used to; it's really strong.

One thing that has shocked me is how weak Japanese people are to spices. They cannot handle them! Eating spicy hot Cheetos would probably kill some of my friends ahah

As expected of exchange students, I've gained weight :( I don't understand it. because I bike 80 minutes every school day (way more exercise than I did in America), yet I am still gaining weight. It could be the fact that I ate way too many Japanese snacks in my first weeks here hehe! Also, because of those darn delicious snacks, my skin is the worst it has been in a while. Before I left for Japan, my skin was the best it had been in years. Now, my chin is a warzone :( but I won't let that make me insecure about my face!

When you live in Japan as a foreigner, especially if you're in a rural area, you will get stared at a lot. Sometimes, I have fun with the staring and stare back. But I will admit that it does get to me, and I'll find it creepy occasionally. Especially if it's someone older. Not going to lie, I also stare whenever I see foreigners ahah. They're rare here in Miyazaki! 

The nature and views here are beautiful. I'm surrounded by small mountains, and there are lots of rice fields. Biking to and from school, I basically go from the downtown area to rice fields to city again. 

My view of rice fields while biking home

Speaking English has become weird to me. When I hung out with another exchange student after not speaking English for a while, it felt so strange to have my mouth forming sentences. We both had weird pauses in our sentences initially. I will admit, I miss the versatility of English and how fun English slang is! But Japanese is awesome too. I especially love using Miyazaki-dialect, like なんしちょっとinstead of なにしてるの. I want to sound like a Miyazaki native by the end of my stay! 

As for homesickness, I got hit pretty hard in the beginning. But now, I'm completely fine :) Thinking about going home actually makes me sad! I <3 Japan

Since school is the biggest part of my life right now, I am going to make a separate post and a YouTube video for it. I'm also going to be making one for culture shock, so stay tuned~

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