Last Update Before I Leave
Leaving on a jet plane, don't know when I'll be back again...
So my plane is tomorrow afternoon. I am starting to get majorly depressed. Its hard to think I have been here a month. I feel like I landed such a long time ago when I think about the type of relationships I have built and what my life was like without having known such wonderful people. I am definitely coming to Hokkaido for the Yuki Matsuri next year though and when my family comes to visit we are definitely coming up to visit. I really hope my abilities continue to improve so I can accurately convey how grateful I am to my family. Yesterday was our graduation/good bye party. There were about a bajillion speeches. My host mother and sister came in really gorgeous yukata. We all mingled and my Sato and Chii and I sat under the stairs and were really loud during the speeches. It was really sad. I just wanted to hug everyone and it made it hard knowing that I wasn't going to see anyone for maybe two years. Sean gave me the straightest man hug, all pointy elbows, and then realized I was going to be in Japan for next year and was like OH NOES and then gave me a much better one. Its easy to hug all my female friends because they are better about it, but its always weird for me to hug my male friends. I don't want to cross that weird barrier of same sex natural space, etc. A lot of the pictures I took were on the wrong setting and came out blurry ;;tear;; oh well.
At least I won't ever have to see Chris for like, two years. Towards the end of the party Professor Forrest came over and wished me the best of luck next year. He told me he thought I was more than prepared and was more than suited to be in Japan at this current time in my life. To get a compliment from Professor Forrest is pretty much the best thing experience ever, so I had to blush and walk away. After the party I was talking to my host mother and she told me she thought Scott's speech was good (he gave a really complex speech in Japanese), but that his accent wasn't as good as mine and she actually said I was better, to which I hid behind my pillow and almost died a little. I have made SUCH an ass of myself so many times when speaking in Japanese here so that is unbelievable to me. People keep asking me if I think I have improved. I can't honestly give an answer to that question, but I CAN say I cannot remember how my Japanese was BEFORE I came, which I think is a good indication that I have really improved when it comes to speaking and listening. But regardless, I still suck all the time, hah.
I really wish my host family would up and move to Tokyo and then we could live together next year too! I told my mother and she just laughed. They compiled a photo book while I was here and presented it to me this morning. Everywhere we have gone my father has brought a camera and been taking pictures, so it is a very photojournalistic account of my time here. In every picture I look MASSIVE, its really amusing. On top of that, I was given two cds from Ms. Iwasa, the program coordinator, which has a couple hundred pictures on it....then there is the 200/300 some odd pictures I have taken on my own......it really is going to be nuts trying to sort them all out.....
WAAHHH I AM SO EMO RIGHT NOW
I AM IN A GLASS HOUSE OF EMOOOOTION.
So my plane is tomorrow afternoon. I am starting to get majorly depressed. Its hard to think I have been here a month. I feel like I landed such a long time ago when I think about the type of relationships I have built and what my life was like without having known such wonderful people. I am definitely coming to Hokkaido for the Yuki Matsuri next year though and when my family comes to visit we are definitely coming up to visit. I really hope my abilities continue to improve so I can accurately convey how grateful I am to my family. Yesterday was our graduation/good bye party. There were about a bajillion speeches. My host mother and sister came in really gorgeous yukata. We all mingled and my Sato and Chii and I sat under the stairs and were really loud during the speeches. It was really sad. I just wanted to hug everyone and it made it hard knowing that I wasn't going to see anyone for maybe two years. Sean gave me the straightest man hug, all pointy elbows, and then realized I was going to be in Japan for next year and was like OH NOES and then gave me a much better one. Its easy to hug all my female friends because they are better about it, but its always weird for me to hug my male friends. I don't want to cross that weird barrier of same sex natural space, etc. A lot of the pictures I took were on the wrong setting and came out blurry ;;tear;; oh well.
At least I won't ever have to see Chris for like, two years. Towards the end of the party Professor Forrest came over and wished me the best of luck next year. He told me he thought I was more than prepared and was more than suited to be in Japan at this current time in my life. To get a compliment from Professor Forrest is pretty much the best thing experience ever, so I had to blush and walk away. After the party I was talking to my host mother and she told me she thought Scott's speech was good (he gave a really complex speech in Japanese), but that his accent wasn't as good as mine and she actually said I was better, to which I hid behind my pillow and almost died a little. I have made SUCH an ass of myself so many times when speaking in Japanese here so that is unbelievable to me. People keep asking me if I think I have improved. I can't honestly give an answer to that question, but I CAN say I cannot remember how my Japanese was BEFORE I came, which I think is a good indication that I have really improved when it comes to speaking and listening. But regardless, I still suck all the time, hah.
I really wish my host family would up and move to Tokyo and then we could live together next year too! I told my mother and she just laughed. They compiled a photo book while I was here and presented it to me this morning. Everywhere we have gone my father has brought a camera and been taking pictures, so it is a very photojournalistic account of my time here. In every picture I look MASSIVE, its really amusing. On top of that, I was given two cds from Ms. Iwasa, the program coordinator, which has a couple hundred pictures on it....then there is the 200/300 some odd pictures I have taken on my own......it really is going to be nuts trying to sort them all out.....
WAAHHH I AM SO EMO RIGHT NOW
I AM IN A GLASS HOUSE OF EMOOOOTION.