Spokane-Nishinomiya High School Exchange

Wow Japan is amazing. Most people (including myself  for the last 5 weeks) focus on the differences between Japan and other countries but recently I have been focusing on the similarities. I am aware of all the strange difference but I’ve come to realize we are more similar than we think. I believe we can learn a great deal from this country and will continue to do my best at not only learning their culture but also sharing my own.  Over the last two weeks I have had the opportunity to travel to Kyoto twice. I was specifically interested in traveling to Kyoto because of its history as Japan’s ancient capital and this means a lot more “old Japanese” sights to see. The first time I went to Kyoto it was with my host parents. We drove their which was nice for a change because we have been using the trains to go everywhere and in a car you can see more of the scenery and get a better sense of the people and environment. We stopped at a famous ramen shop on the way there. I knew...

I have now been living in Nishinomiya for 3 weeks. This means I only have 3 more weeks left. Time really does fly. I have become acclimated to my new home but the generosity of my host family continues to shock me daily. The meals that they cook and the relationship between each family member is crazy. Everyone is always happy and friendly. I believe this stems from the high level of respect that everyone holds for each other. This level of order and structure is one of the many reasons I love Japan.  For the last 3 months my whole school has been preparing for our Bunkasai which means Culture Festival. Each class chooses to do something for the two day celebration. My class chose to do a dance but other classes choose to cook takoyaki, churros, french fries, or sell ice cream, juice, or candy. Some classes performed plays or they decorated their classrooms into pictures taking areas or game rooms. In preparation for this 20 minute dance we had been practicing everyday at lunc...

Even though it's already going on my third week of being here in Japan, I thought I should probably finish writing this blog post about my first week. So--here's how my first day of school went! First of all, I woke up at about 6:30am and made my bed. Then, I went out to the kitchen to eat breakfast with my host family. The breakfast consisted of French toast and juice; the day before, I tried showing my host mother how to make French toast, and then she managed to make it even better than I did! Now that my second week here has already passed, I usually eat cereal or bread for breakfast, which is delicious nonetheless! After breakfast, I got changed into my uniform and left to walk to school at about 7:30am. About half of the walk is uphill, and since the humidity is so high I got really sweaty. When we arrived at school it was about 8:10, and Hana and I were supposed to give our introduction speeches to the all of the teachers. Beforehand, we met three important faculty membe...

Hello! I have been super busy lately so I am sorry I have not posted another update. I want to share these 2 stories with you and hope you enjoy them as much as I did experiencing them. The Dental Check My host brother thinks I eat way too much but I just say I am a growing boy. I told my host mom that in America I normally eat snacks throughout the day to keep me full between breakfast and lunch. The next day she gave me a pack of chocolate bread to take to school in addition to my lunch. After the first 65 minutes of school, I was starting to get a little hungry. I opened the bread bag and offered a piece to my host brother, Nori. He thankfully accepted and we both started eating the delicious bread. Half way through, one of our classmates came up to us and said something to Nori in Japanese. I wasn’t sure what was said but Nori said “uh oooh” and stopped eating. He then proceeded to translate what had been said. Both he and I had completely forgotten the dental check next class ...

Hello everyone! Wow. It has been a crazy week and I can’t believe it has already been over a week since I first arrived. The routine that I am starting to build goes something like this: 6:00 am I wake up, talk to my friends in America, get dressed, and do my physical therapy exercises (I tore two ligaments in my ankle back in March so I am still trying to fully recover from that). I eat breakfast with Nanase at 6:50. This usually consists of rice with some variations. We leave at 7:15 and walk about 15 minutes down and extremely steep hill to catch the overly crowded bus. Usually there is standing room only. After riding the bus for about 30 minutes and another short walk, we arrive at school. School starts at 8:10 and ends at 4:00 but club activities do not finish until 6:30. This means we get home at about 7:15 at which point I take a quick shower and then eat dinner with the whole family. Recently Nanase and I have been practicing our class dance that we will perform at our sch...

Daily School Life Hello everyone! I have gotten settled into the daily life of a Japanese high school student. What follows is what a typical weekday looks like. I wake at 6:30AM and talk to my friends in Spokane. Due to the time difference this is usually the only time I get to talk to them. At 7:00 I walk down some extremely steep stairs down to the bathroom sink. I wash my face and try to fix my funny bed head. I put on a white t-shirt and my school uniform. This consists of black dress slacks, a black belt, and a white quarter button up collared shirt with the word Higashi written in blue lettering on the sleeve. I then go down to the kitchen where my amazing host Mom has prepared breakfast for me. In America I usually eat breakfast at school during my first period. It was a little weird making the switch just because I am not hungry that early in the morning. Breakfast consists of orange juice, an english muffin, either a egg and bacon or 2 sausages that taste like hot ...

おはようございます! Hello everyone! We have finally arrived! Every since I was little I have wanted to travel to Japan, and now I finally have! When we first got off the plane, I knew it was going to be humid, but I was still surprised by the humidity. Shiho and her family have been telling me that the weather well get much, much hotter and humid. Right after we got off the plane, we dropped off our luggage at our host family's houses, and then we went to dinner with everyone. I was surprised with how good everyone's English was! Shiho, Nori, and Nanase, all are very skilled at English, which makes me feel a bit insecure about my Japanese skill level. However, everyone is very kind and helpful when I need help with putting together a sentence in Japanese!  Shiho's mother is extremely kind and funny, and I've already been shopping with her a few times. The day before yesterday we went to a shopping center right by Shiho's home, and I got to look around a 100yen store a...

こんばんは！ Good evening everyone! I can’t believe I am actually here. I have finally shaken off my jet lag although I still feel a little tired from all the traveling. I’ve noticed that constantly using my brain by speaking Japanese is very tiring so I am making sure to get quality sleep every night. The flight from Seattle to Osaka took over 11 hours but it went by very quickly. On the plane ride I began to get nervous about meeting my host family. When the flight attendants on the plane spoke in Japanese I realized how little Japanese I can actually understand. However this fear quickly went away once I arrived and met Nanase for the first time. Her English is so good it's crazy. I told her she must study very hard. Her mother, Mayumi san, is very sweet and is similar to my own mother back in America. She is also a very good cook and all her food is delicious. My younger host brother Sho is a little shy but he is also  kind and when I gave him my Omiyage (souvenirs) he was very ...