Back Home

Well, I've been back for a while now, so it's about time I do this... my last post, I think. ^-^ Leaving Japan was one of the saddest days EVER.... my family could only come with me to the train station (there's the picture of all of us... Momo-chan's head got cut out a little....), where we took an hour-long-ish train to the airport and waited for FOREVER for the plane... we managed to actually delay the darn thing because one of the arriving groups was late (long story....). Everyone was really happy to see each other again, though.... we were all telling stories and showing pictures. ^-^ Then once we got back to LA, everyone went their separate ways. Most people went directly to a connecting flight, but I met up with my cousin and we hung out and then I flew back home the next day.

Adjusting back wasn't as hard as I thought it would be, though that was probably because I was only gone for six weeks. Granted, I was a mess for a little while because of the time change, but once I managed to get that righted everything's been almost like an average summer- although immediately after coming back I had a tendency to talk in Japanese by accident.... not so much anymore, but sometimes I still doing it! And a week after I got back, Mieko, my host sister, came to our house, so we've been prepping her (or trying to, anyway) for the wonders of American high school. And my brother starts this year, too, so that'll be fun for both of them. ^-^

So, this is probably my last post, but to anyone reading this who isn't a relative or already an AFSer, you should DEFINITELY apply to the AFS program. You will meet so many new and amazingly nice people and learn so much. I had the time of my life while I was in Japan and I made some great friends and now have another family who is super-cool. ^-^

Bye!

~Kay

Last Day

Making yummy gyoza! They're technically Chinese, but they're so yummy and delicious and now I know how to make them! YAYY!!!! But now it's my last day.... TT_TT This is just going to be a short post with no pics... the rest are a SURPRISE! Hooray! My host family is SOOOO amazing. Today, since it was my last day, we went to Tokyo Dome City and rode the HUGE roller coaster (seriously, it's BIG and I learned that it is possible to ride some roller coasters in a skirt) and went around looking at the

the different places and went on the ferris wheel... and then we

went to dinner at the Tokyo Dome Hotel and had lots of yummy food. And they gave me a really nice going-away present. I really wanted to start crying....

So I guess I'll be seeing you guys soon. Don't worry, though. Animefest won't be any fun without everyone. ^-^ And would it be weird for me to be jealous that you guys went to Conneticon? We should all go next year. Ace, have fun in Gettysburg! I don't think I'm going to be able to get the game, though.... it's nearing midnight now on the last day.... XD.... my sister says she doesn't know if they still make it, too... and she's never seen a manual, either. I did get everyone presents, though, of what I hope is the very best thing I could find. XD And the yukata I was wearing wasn't actually mine, it was my okaa-san's. My yukata is the one I bought in Epcot last year and used for my Shintoism project. It's still pretty, though.

Oh, and Ace, tell your mom that, most unfortunately, I have not seen "Shoe-shoe." Apparently because IY and YYH are so old, there's not a lot of stuff out there any more. Trust me, I looked. Even in Akihabara. There was some CG stuff, but a lot of it was fanservicey models of Kallen/C.C.... -_-' Anywho...

See you guys soon!

~Kay

Fun!

So this week, we went to the Ueno Zoo, where Otou-san used to work a long time ago. There were lions, tigers, and bears (oh my! But really, there were these huge bears from Hokkaido...HUUUUUGGGGEEE). And animals with weird names- I mean, why is the dormouse edible? And of course, there were cute animals like this seal who came right up to the glass.... XD And then we had RAMEN! Real ramen, not the instant type. It was insanely delicious. I think I'm going to have to learn how to make it for when I get back.

Then the NEXT day, me, Momo-chan, and Okaa-san walked around Asakusa in yukatas. It was actually kind of hard, since it's like wearing a dress. And the people at the hair place decided to be all, "Haha, we're going to put makeup on your face and not tell you until you're putting it on, so you can't do anything about it." Yeah. But it all turned out okay. I looked cool. And three different people came up to me and asked if they could take a picture with me. I'm not kidding. And then a bazillion other people took pictures secretly (which, by the way, I think is illegal in Japan) or kind of just said, "Hey, we're taking your picture now, so smile!" Everyone who did that was a foreigner. All the people who asked were Japanese. Does that tell you anything?

And of course, I need one picture with a fan. One of the people who took a picture with me, a little kid (I think it was for homework), gave it to me with an origami crane and a name card. It was really funny.....
Then the next day Momo-chan and I went back to Harajuku and had lunch (日本　の　マクドナルド or just Maku -- better than in the US but still not fantastic. The teriyaki burger wasn't bad, though. We met Momo-chan's friend Stella (yes, Mom and Dad... and I told them the story) who is an AFSer from Canada. Oh, and yesterday I went to see the new Harry Potter movie (yes, it was in English). Can't say I'm terribly impressed... if I hadn't read the book I think I would have been really confused...

Some of the interesting food/drinks I've had recently- CC Lemon (like lemonade plus soda... everyone but me calls it Cee-cee Lemon... darn you Code Geass and darn you C.C.) Also yummy was all that stuff in the middle, rice and miso soup (though Okaa-san's food is always the best), pickled veggies, sukiyaki beef and tofu and greens, more veggies, and that thing in the middle is an onsen tamago (haha, yes, I did laugh), which is basically a barely-cooked egg that you dip the sukiyaki beef in. It was REALLY good. Then the last thing is メロン　ソーダ　(melon soda), which has to be one of the best types of soda EVER. Also good is apple tea soda.
Lunch today at a monjayaki and okonomiyaki place. It's pretty much meat or fish and cabbage and other veggies cooked in sauce kind of like an omelette, though only one type has egg. It's REALLY yummy and fun to make. And then we were off to.....
TOKYO TOWER!! Whooo! It was really... big... haha... we went up to the observation deck at 150 meters and got a nice view of Tokyo, though we couldn't see Fuji-san... oh well... haha... the building inside it is full of souvenir shops and resturaunts and stuff... it's a pretty cool place....
This is the view looking straight down from 150 meters. They had little windows in the floor that you could look through (and stand on...both of which I did). We didn't go all the way up (333 meters) because it costs extra, but it's pretty cool, isn't it? Everything looks so tiny... Anywho, hope everyone is having a fun summer. I don't really have any plans for when I get back, except that Bicen homework and get ready for Mieko-chan (that's her name! It's so exciting! She's coming sometime between August 12th and 15th so that's right after I get home). Oh, and cleaning out my suitcase. I hope everything fits! Haha. Jess, I have to talk with my cousin before we make any concrete plans. She is giving up a day of work to look out for me! But we can try to meet if I'm not too burned out (I'll try to sleep on the plane, but no garuntees....) Everyone back in CT, I'll have to find out when we can all get together, neh? Maybe it's time for another Animefest?

Wah... only a few more days left... I'm sad... though I'll be happy to see you guys again!

~Kay

The Last Week of School: Camp and Other Fun

Okay, guys, here's (one) of your joke pictures for today: giant tuna. ^-^ And the pic below is from when we went out to dinner with Kosuge-san and his family. He's a semifamous professor in Japan. ^-^ And the other pic is Ice Bagels, aka flavored bagels (chocolate, blueberry, etc) filled with frozen yogurt. Very yummy!!

For all my fellow Harvest Moon lovers out there (*coughAcecough*).... haha... ^-^ And the other pic is from the party/presentation on the last day of school, of all the Tokyo-AFSers (and one other guy who I have no idea who he is).　We all had to make speeches in Japanese, and needless to say, it was rather difficult. My　host family recorded mine, though, so I'll show it when I　get back．

It was a real fun thing to do..． we all impressed the teachers... except Taylor, I think... haha, we had Alex with her "Goran no suponsa-no teikyou de ookurishimashita" and Jess with her "Masaki-sensei, kekkon-shitte kudasai."
And to celebrate... we all went out to karaoke again. ^-^ I think we're going next Sunday, too, to say our last goodbyes.... TT_TT But host siblings came, too, so Yuu-chan and Dominic (that blond guy standing up)'s host brother and Chrys-san's sister all came. Yuu-chan and Alex sang Arashii. ^-^ Then for the next two days (Sat. and Sun.) we had camp with a bunch of Japanese high school students.
It was a lot of fun. Here's a pic of me and my group.

Me and Daichi-san and Ai Hirota-san, two of the kids in my group. And all the daigakusee (university students) who were councilers. They're doing the "nyoki" (sp?) pose, which is the sound bamboo shoots make when they grow. It's also part of a game I don't fully understand.

All the AFSers posed for a pic. It was the last time for a pic. It was the last time some of us ｗｉｌｌ see each other again (I won't see any non-American each other again (I won't see any non-American kids who aren't going to karaoke because they leave on the 4th for Nagoya, while we leave straight from Narita). It's actually really sad to think about....I only have a little more than a week left in Japan. I would cry, but that would waste precious time having fun with my host family here....

The HUGELY HUGE imense torii at Meiji Jinguu. We saw a traditional wedding! We were actually really lucky- most weddings happen on weekends, and we went today (Monday), so...haha... there were also a bunch of Canadians...like... hundreds of them...XD

This is kind of a dumb picture of me, but it shows how big the model was... yup, a life-sized (maybe?) of that scary girl from Evangelion. I don't know her name, but we took the picture anyways.... did you know that InuYasha and YuYu Hakusho are so old here that you can't find any merchandise in toystores? At least near where I live/in Harajuku. Yep, today I hung out in Harajuku with Okaa-san, Yuu-chan, and Momo-chan. We at crepes, which where REALLY yummy but it was really big and I couldn't finish it...

Now, storytime! In Harajuku we saw this really cool shop that had all these clothes that you would only be able to buy in Japan (don't worry, Mom, this DOESN'T end in me spending a lot of money). We went in and looked around. A lot of the outfits were gothicish or maid costumes (some with kitty ears, some without) or school uniforms. Some of them were kind of expensive (up to about ￥5000, which is about $50) and most of them were too small for me or too short (it was mostly skirts or pants with big heavy chains, all of which I would never wear). However, I did buy one thing, because it was about $15.... for the whole outfit... so I've got a potential Halloween/Rent-a-Senior Day\maybe first day of school (I REALLY want to wear it the first day of school, but I have to make sure my host sibling and John won't care too much) outfit. In conclusion...... Who am I (see picture below)?

Feel free to start laughing any time. But seriously. Momo-chan was REALLY super nice and gave me the socks (to keep), so I'd just have to find some shorts to wear under it...haha... do I look the part, for people who know the anime? If not, go watch The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. That's who I am, by the way. Today's kanji, in relation, is 優鬱

... Does this mean I have to learn the dance now?

So, if I have Mom's permission and once I finish buying presents for people, I'm going back. Even just to look. I think it'd be kinda fun to get one super-different think that I'd never normally wear... and then wear it to school.... haha.....but one thing that I love about Japan (among others) is that the clothing, even for teens, isn't super-tight or super-low-cut or anything.... it's a nice change....

Anywho.... -_-' I'm done with my mini-rant....haha... I'll update later!

~Kay

PS- Yuu-chan's turn! Kay-chan looks like HARUHI!! Very cute~! And Kay-chan's speech was very nice!

Shout-out to Everyone!

Um.... hi guys. ^-^ How're you all doing? I didn't really do MUCH this week.... really... just visited one or two shrines/temples (this one is Kanda Myoujin), found an ATM that accepts foreign cards so I can buy presents for people.... you know... oh.. and...
KARAOKE!!! WHOO! XD It was superspecialawesome. We mostly sang American songs, some of which I had never heard of, but about half of which I knew.... or put up there... we all sang "This is Halloween" near the end... haha... but no one knew "You Give Love a Bad Name"..... haha.... I realized that half the music I listen to (not that song, but a bunch of others) are all kind of old... altough they're really good... Yeah... and I got everyone to sing "A Whole New World" in honor of my friends back home, although they didn't know that's why they were singing it.... there's me at the

mike...... I think I was singing "Hotel California"... thanks to Gabe for taking pictures!... You know what? I learned a lot of good songs to download... and I did try to sing alone... in nihongo... but it was all in kanji... tottemo muzukashikatta desu.... (it was really hard).

Oh, and the other epic trip of the week... GHIBLI MUSEUM! As in Studio Ghibli. As in Miyazaki. As in Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle, etc, etc, etc.... it was super cool. But it was a kind of small museum, and you couldn't take any pictures. There was also a lot of suff about the new Miyazaki movie, whose American name will be Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea. Tina Fey and Matt Dameon are going to be in it, I think. We're going to watch it tonight (in Japanese, obviously), so I hope it's good.... for those who don't know, that's a giant Totoro (which some Americans like to pronounce like Mrs. Turtoro the math teacher's name) which was in the window at the entrance, and a model of one of the robots from Nausica.... cool, eh? I got more pins. And presents for my host family, since they love Ghibli, too.

The view from the house in Onjuku. We spend Saturday and Sunday there. It was an older house, really cool. We went to the water park nearby and down to the ocean, set off fireworks, had a BBQ, and I saved some sand in a bottle to bring home.
Yummy mochi with cheese. I'm taking lots of pics of food since your mom asked, Nikki. Just show her this. I'm also making a list.... but it's all been yummy so far... I'm even eating tomatoes and a little mayo, which I don't normally do. Umeboshi (plums) were a little sour, though, and I still don't like hardboiled eggs. I think I'm scarred for life after I had to eat those radioactive ones last year... XD Oh, remind me to tell you about the radioactive pigs of Sweden when I get back.

That's me doing my imitation of Howl.... when he flops in the chair.. haha... I asked my family, "Watashi wa dare desu ka?" and they didn't get it at first and said "Kay-chan" because that question literally means "Who am I?"... not like the joking way... anywho...there's my family (Otou-san, Yuu-chan, Okaa-san, Momo-chan) all wearing the Trumbull shirts I got them as a present.

Yakisoba and unagi (eel). All I can say is, yakisoba is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO amazingly yummy, and I learned how to make it (kind of) so maybe when I get back I can make that and tempura. Unagi is pretty good, too. Who knew?

More pictures of a pretty temple... I could look up the name... but I'm feeling lazy.... so you'll find out when I get back... haha... it's really pretty, though, isn't it?

Hmm.... what else do I have to say to you people? Nikki, who's the new book club member? Anyone I know? And has the library gotten any good new books in? Jess, I'm coming in August 5th, so I'll call you when I get in and I have my phone and we three (you, me, and my cousin) can talk about what to do. Emma, congrats on getting your permit, and it's good to hear from you! How's band camp going? Marinna, of course I'm in the Sengoku Jidai. It's not like anyone might, I don't know, tell someone in the US if I was missing. Plus there aren't any dry wells by my house anyway. Or maybe I would have tried. If it wasn't too deep and if there wasn't the risk of me being injured and sent home. Yeah, Waldenbooks needs to upgrade.... when will you be in LA? Maybe you can meet up with me and Jess when I'm coming back. Oh, and I finally got you your bday present, and it's good, so you better accept it. Ace, good to know you got this stupid thing working... I can't do it half the time, XD How's tennis going? I'm glad it's not to rainy there.... haha...and the veggie juice turns out to be veggie AND fruit juice... doubly dangerous.... haha.... Okay... let's see..... hi to all of my grandparents, Grandma, Grandpa, and Nana. Grandpa, I haven't found your watch yet, though I was almost positive it would be in the Edo Tokyo Museum... XD Mom, I got the T-shirt, thanks to my MAGNIFICENT host family....

And guess what everyone? From what my mom says, we're just confirming our host student with THS, and then it's all good! And our potential host student is... A GIRL FROM JAPAN!!! Awesome, eh? So who's going to help me show her (and John) around on their first day at THS? So long as she comes, that is. I don't know how long she'd stay for (hopefully a year), but she'd come at the end of August... YAYYYYYY AFS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Okay.... I'm done.... haha... kanji of the day is 銀. No hints this time. Good luck!!!! Miss you guys (though there are some AMAZINGLY cool people here- as well as some not so amazing ones, but that's life- no one is quite like my friends at home. XD)

~Kay

PS Does anyone know how the THS renovations are going?

PPS Yuu-chan's turn to write.... I think I just scared her when I went to ask her.....:I want to go to Ghibli!!! I like "SEN TO CHIHIRO NO KAMIKAKUSI" (Kay's note: Eego wa "Spirited Away" desu)

PPPS Okay, so I just found out that the AFS people are taking the pictures from my blog and putting them on the AFS Flickr account (http://www.flickr.com/photos/afsusa/sets/72157606689568572/) and they also put one on the AFS blog (http://afsblog.org/). Guess which one it was? I mean, of all things... a picture of VEGGIE JUICE? What the heck? I took so many cooler pictures than that... of course... some of them I haven't posted... haha....maybe I should start posting some of those pictures. After all, I think I'm the only one in AFS Japan doing a blog that other AFSers can see... haha....