Hello! Sydney here. It's been way, way too long since I've written anything. I've been really busy these past couple week s and haven't really had any time to just sit down and put all my thoughts into writing. So here I am now, 4 days before I end up going back to America. This post is going to be a bit long, so I hope you have a nice blanket, some popcorn, and maybe some nice piano music playing. Haha! Anyways I'll just begin.
To begin with, this has been the hottest summer I have ever experienced before in my life. People in Japan have actually died because of the intense heat. It's honestly really crazy. Everywhere I go, I just immediately start sweating. I've really taken a liking to this drink called Pocari Sweat. It's this water that replenishes lost electrolytes and water in the body. It's perfect to keep hydrated with, and it tastes like Gatorade! Anyways, the heat meant that for the last week of school I wouldn't be able to participate in the PE classes. Both Camille and I (we attended Higashi together) would go to the library during those classes. Teachers would worry about us since we aren't used to the heat. Even Japanese students struggled. One student in the swimming club at Higashi had to actually be taken to the hospital by paramedics because he passed out from the heat, while in the pool. It's really scary to think that the heat was really bad for a lot of people. I'll talk more about my last day of Higashi towards the end of the blog, but for now I'll carry on with what we've done!
One weekend, on a very hot Saturday, the 6 of us (Mana, Ryosuke, Megumi, Camille, Amaya, and I) all went to Universal Studios Japan!! It was a lot of fun! We only rode 3 rides though!!! The amusement park closes at 9 p.m. and we all arrived at different times, Megumi and Amaya first, and Ryosuke and Camille last. Mana and I arrived around 3:30 p.m., and we ended up first going to this one ride where Mana and I stood in line for about 2 1/2 hours, Ryosuke and Camille for 2 hours, and Meg and Amaya waited for over 3 hours! It was insane!! But it was well worth the wait! It was for this new ride where it's an inside roller coaster and you use VR (Virtual Reality)! So cool! After that ride, we went to the Harry Potter area and I am proud to say I died there and am now writing this as a ghost. I am such a huge fan of Harry Potter! We went on this really fun ride and it was so interactive, I felt like I was actually in the Harry Potter world! After that ride, we went to the Jurassic Park and rode our final roller coaster, which was pretty awesome. It was called the Flying Dinosaur and you really feel like you're flying. I really loved being at USJ, but I loved being with my friends even more.
Pictures from USJ:
I got to also see my host brother from last year, Shuhei!! It was so nice to see him after so long. I went to Korea Town with his family and also Valerie's family. Valerie was Jessica Harpel's host sister from last year. It was so nice to be with old friends. It broke my heart when I ended up having to say goodbye to Valerie, and even more when I said goodbye to Shuhei after his family had me over for a meal.
Pictures from Korea Town (went with Mana too, but on a different day):
Mana and I got to go to Osaka, we go a lot, and went to Hep5. It's a mall in Osaka and has this Ferris Wheel at the top of the building that when you go on it you can see all of Osaka. It was crazy awesome!! We also went to a few cute cafes!
Pictures from Hep5:
I got really sick again this past week. I have a bad cough and am all congested, but I also had a really high fever. My host family ended up taking me to the hospital to get treated. I am proud to say I am doing so much better now, taking a lot of medicine to get better, but doing a lot better. Japanese hospitals are insanely nice. We also didn't even have to wait very long! Around 10 minutes! The consultation wasn't with a nurse and then the doctor, but the doctor right away! And as soon as we finished we went across the street to the pharmacy and got my medicine, it was really awesome how fast it all was.
Okay. Now I will talk about my last day of school. It was really, really hard. We went in the morning and immediately went to the gym where the Principal spoke to everyone. We then went to our classrooms and the students all began to clean the entire school. It went by really fast, and was actually pretty fun. After that, we all went back to our homeroom class where our homeroom teachers spoke for a few minutes. My teacher then had me come up in front of everyone and give a goodbye speech. I was really put together until I made eye contact with all of my friends. I ended up crying really hard, which was really embarrassing, but I just couldn't hold it back anymore. I was, still am, heartbroken that I was leaving the amazing friends I've made here. After my speech, Mana came up to me and gave me a small book that had my class picture on the front and was filled with messages from all my classmates. I sobbed even harder when I received it. I wish I didn't have to leave. I know now that I do want my future to be in Japan. I know it 1,000,000% that it is what I want.
Pictures from the Book, Last Day, and Class Dinner:
I really want to thank everyone who helped me get to Japan. You have all helped make my dreams come true. I can never say thank you enough.
〜トラビス シドニー
To begin with, this has been the hottest summer I have ever experienced before in my life. People in Japan have actually died because of the intense heat. It's honestly really crazy. Everywhere I go, I just immediately start sweating. I've really taken a liking to this drink called Pocari Sweat. It's this water that replenishes lost electrolytes and water in the body. It's perfect to keep hydrated with, and it tastes like Gatorade! Anyways, the heat meant that for the last week of school I wouldn't be able to participate in the PE classes. Both Camille and I (we attended Higashi together) would go to the library during those classes. Teachers would worry about us since we aren't used to the heat. Even Japanese students struggled. One student in the swimming club at Higashi had to actually be taken to the hospital by paramedics because he passed out from the heat, while in the pool. It's really scary to think that the heat was really bad for a lot of people. I'll talk more about my last day of Higashi towards the end of the blog, but for now I'll carry on with what we've done!
One weekend, on a very hot Saturday, the 6 of us (Mana, Ryosuke, Megumi, Camille, Amaya, and I) all went to Universal Studios Japan!! It was a lot of fun! We only rode 3 rides though!!! The amusement park closes at 9 p.m. and we all arrived at different times, Megumi and Amaya first, and Ryosuke and Camille last. Mana and I arrived around 3:30 p.m., and we ended up first going to this one ride where Mana and I stood in line for about 2 1/2 hours, Ryosuke and Camille for 2 hours, and Meg and Amaya waited for over 3 hours! It was insane!! But it was well worth the wait! It was for this new ride where it's an inside roller coaster and you use VR (Virtual Reality)! So cool! After that ride, we went to the Harry Potter area and I am proud to say I died there and am now writing this as a ghost. I am such a huge fan of Harry Potter! We went on this really fun ride and it was so interactive, I felt like I was actually in the Harry Potter world! After that ride, we went to the Jurassic Park and rode our final roller coaster, which was pretty awesome. It was called the Flying Dinosaur and you really feel like you're flying. I really loved being at USJ, but I loved being with my friends even more.
Pictures from USJ:
I got to also see my host brother from last year, Shuhei!! It was so nice to see him after so long. I went to Korea Town with his family and also Valerie's family. Valerie was Jessica Harpel's host sister from last year. It was so nice to be with old friends. It broke my heart when I ended up having to say goodbye to Valerie, and even more when I said goodbye to Shuhei after his family had me over for a meal.
Pictures from Korea Town (went with Mana too, but on a different day):
Mana and I got to go to Osaka, we go a lot, and went to Hep5. It's a mall in Osaka and has this Ferris Wheel at the top of the building that when you go on it you can see all of Osaka. It was crazy awesome!! We also went to a few cute cafes!
Pictures from Hep5:
I got really sick again this past week. I have a bad cough and am all congested, but I also had a really high fever. My host family ended up taking me to the hospital to get treated. I am proud to say I am doing so much better now, taking a lot of medicine to get better, but doing a lot better. Japanese hospitals are insanely nice. We also didn't even have to wait very long! Around 10 minutes! The consultation wasn't with a nurse and then the doctor, but the doctor right away! And as soon as we finished we went across the street to the pharmacy and got my medicine, it was really awesome how fast it all was.
Okay. Now I will talk about my last day of school. It was really, really hard. We went in the morning and immediately went to the gym where the Principal spoke to everyone. We then went to our classrooms and the students all began to clean the entire school. It went by really fast, and was actually pretty fun. After that, we all went back to our homeroom class where our homeroom teachers spoke for a few minutes. My teacher then had me come up in front of everyone and give a goodbye speech. I was really put together until I made eye contact with all of my friends. I ended up crying really hard, which was really embarrassing, but I just couldn't hold it back anymore. I was, still am, heartbroken that I was leaving the amazing friends I've made here. After my speech, Mana came up to me and gave me a small book that had my class picture on the front and was filled with messages from all my classmates. I sobbed even harder when I received it. I wish I didn't have to leave. I know now that I do want my future to be in Japan. I know it 1,000,000% that it is what I want.
Pictures from the Book, Last Day, and Class Dinner:
I really want to thank everyone who helped me get to Japan. You have all helped make my dreams come true. I can never say thank you enough.
〜トラビス シドニー
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