two months in the making

So I realize that I haven’t updated in a while… in a long while, almost two months. So here are the highlights (mostly in photo form) so I can get on with the present.

End of SCJ:
SCJ to Imperial Palace (August 2)
C-3 took a field trip to the Imperial Palace and endured Tokyo summer heat and humidity. I really loved my class and Senseis.We always had a great time while learning 新しい文法!


Ms. Higashi-Kogane Yukata Contest (August 7)
When George came to Japan went to an Obon-Matsuri in Higashi-Kogane and watched Laura compete in an amazing Ms. Yukata Contest. She went on stage in front of couple hundred people, introduced herself, explained her “point” or best feature, told a joke, and suggestively called one of the older male judges’ names—all in Japanese. She was amazing and looked beautiful!


Fuji-san (August 10-11)
Climbing Mt. Fuji was quite the experience—exhausting, aggregating, painful but one of the best things I have ever done. Sitting at the ninth station at four in the morning and watching the sun come up made the entire experience worth every drop of blood, sweat, and tear.



H-O-S-P-I-T-A-L (August 16)
Well, whether or not I really wanted to, I got my wish. I experienced a Japanese hospital. My body couldn't keep up with the constant pace of the end of the summer program so it told my mind to slow down. I learned so much in those six weeks and made many wonderful friendships and memories. Looking back, I have no regrets.



Summer Vacation
Row, row, row your boat
Sailed overnight to Hokkaido for summer vacation. Being sick on a boat, not the most fun thing in the world, but luckily I have amazing friends.


Hokkaido was the most wonderful experience. I had a fantastic host family that welcomed me as their daughter into their home. They were both really young, and amazing. The mom started her own company, which is still extremely rare for women in Japan, and continues to supervise it despite having a one year old. Instead, the dad took a year paternity leave to help raise his son, another huge rarity in Japan.


They were extremely generous and introduced me to another side of Japan I hadn’t realized existed. Everyday we went hiking in a different area—mountains, ocean shores, and countryside. We stayed one night in a cabin at the foot of a volcano and bathed in an individual onsen. The sky was always beautiful too.


We had a lot of fun exploring the city of Hakodate too. Rode in a rickshaw (人力車) all around the pier and tried on Victorian dresses in the old British consulate.



I also fell in love with Taiki-kun. When prompted, he would make a「僕大ちゃん」face and was the most well behaved 1½ year old I have ever met. He cried once during the entire two weeks and really likes tomatoes—so we were good friends.


Needlesss to say, I was really sad to have to leave Hokkaido…





Shoutout:
Cory!! Here is a special shot out because you think I don’t care about you since you’ve gone. And well, you got it all wrong. I had so much fun hanging out and getting to know you this summer. Honestly, SCJ would not have been the same without you. Every time we pass Shibuya Lauren and I look at each other and try to imitate you imitating the announcements. Crepes will never be the same. I miss you. I love you. Come back.