Spokane-Nishinomiya High School Exchange

Hello! My name is Jonah Bloom and I am 17 years old. I am a Junior at Ferris High School. I am currently in year 3 of my Japanese studies. I am obviously interested in the Japanese culture and am really looking forward to getting a first hand experience.  When I am not at school, there is a good chance I am running. I compete for Ferris' Cross Country and track team. I hope to either join the Track team or Basketball team while I am in Japan. Along with running, I enjoy taking pictures. I am very passionate about the outdoors and love to go fly fishing when I have the chance. If the opportunity arises, I would love to catch a fish in Japan. I have been fortunate enough to have had some experience with this wonderful exchange program through my older brother, Todd, who visited Japan in 2016. I was able to befriend his host brother and made many great memories with him. I am excited to go to Japan! I have not gotten nervous yet about going but I am sure that will change. I am ea...

こんにちは! そしてはじめまして! 私の名前はサラ・ホルマンです。十七さいです。三年生です。 I am a student at Lewis and Clark High School. I have been studying Japanese for two years. I chose to study Japanese because my sister and I have been keenly interested in the culture since we were little. We had an exchange student when we were younger that introduced us to her culture, and my sister and I were involved in learning about Japanese culture since then!  This exchange program is granting me an opportunity I've wished for ever since I was a child--and I'm so excited to have this experience! Recently, I have been trying to study kanji since it is my weakest aspect in Japanese. There are many things I need study up on, and it's making me a little nervous! There is a Japanese tutor in my school, so I will probably ask her and my sister to help me study. I need to prepare many things! I learned that we have to arrange a three minute speech for introducing ourselves in Japanese. It shouldn't be too much of a ...

こんにちは 私の名前はヒルはなです。 今十六才です。 私は楽しみにしっています。 Hello everyone! My name is Hana Hill and I am currently a sophomore at Mt. Spokane High School. Ever since I was a little girl I have been surrounded and influenced by the Japanese culture. This is because my mother is Japanese and we used to live in Tokyo. However, after moving to America at the age of five I quickly forgot the language as well as what life was like there. Since then I have attempted to continue speaking the language with both my mother and siblings but it has proven more difficult and my ability to speak Japanese has slowly deteriorated. When I first heard about this program I was a middle schooler. I started studying Japanese more intensely in hopes of improving my skills and one day getting to go on this amazing trip. Since then I have completed year 4 of high school Japanese and still continue to independently study everything I can. I know I can keep studying the language but nothing will compare to being full...

はじめまして ! 私の名前はアマヤ•マーアチンです。 十六才です。二年かん日本語をべんきょしています。 I am a student at North Central High School. I love world languages and I chose Japanese because I wanted to learn something different.Japanese characters particularly caught my attention because of their artistic appeal. Japanese culture, their rituals, and their ways of living are all very fascinating. This exchange opportunity is absolutely amazing, and I am super excited to get to take part and share this experience with everyone! There is less than two months until we leave for Japan, and yet, it is still difficult to imagine that in so little time I will be in another country so different from my own. It is a bit nerve wracking to think that for the first time, I will be venturing off without my parents, and be an entire world away. I believe this will be a valuable experience full of learning and discovering independence, and it will show me just how different cultures can be. Thinking about it makes one realize just how ...

Hello, My name is Jessica Harpel. I am 17 years old and a Junior at Ferris High School. I love to do sports, I do gymnastics and Pole Vault. On my free time I like to listen to music and study the Japanese and Korean cultures and languages. I also raise guide dog puppies for guide dogs for the blind. When I entered sophomore year of high school I found a passion for the Japanese language. Japanese class became the reason I wanted to go to school everyday. Now in a week I will be stepping foot in Japan for the first time. This exchange means a lot to me. I am extremely excited to experience everything on this trip. I am honored to be a part of this exchange. Thank you so much for allowing me to have this experience. I am excited to share my experience with all of you! -Jessica

Hello! This is my first ever blog post, and I know it will not be the last. If you do not already know me, my name is Yulien Shapla-Priddy. I do not usually go by that though, my friends and family(occasionally teachers!) call me either Yuli or Yui. I am 16 (17 in a few days!!) and go to Lewis and Clark High school, I love it there, the school is an amazing old building with large windows and big stairs. I have made so many friends there that love and support me through anything, especially this trip. Especially Lyn, she is my best friend and she helps me through everything, gives me good advice, and can always make me laugh! My free time is generally consumed by my friends, studying Japanese, drawing, listening to music, and my cats! My cats names are Stormageddon Magma Beast and Mika, they are my only pets, and I treasure them. That is a little about me , now on to stuff more on the topic of the exchange! Firstly, some important advice; when getting your passport, DO NOT WAIT. ...

今日は！ みなさん、はじめまして。 ぼく　の　なまえ　は、Oswald Joshua Olazabal です。 North Central High School　の　 高校二年生　で、　 十七才 です。 ワシントン州 の Spokane/スポケーンし から きました。 しゅみ は、日本語 の べんきょう です。僕 は、日本 の こと を たくさん まなびたい です。 どうぞよろしくおねがいします。 Hello! It's nice to meet all of you. My name is Oswald Joshua Olazabal. I am an 11th grader at North Central High School. I am 17 years old. I am from the city of Spokane which is in Washington State. My hobby is studying Japanese. My goal is to become fluent! I look forward to sharing my experience with you.