Thursday, August 30, 2007
The Last Post
Well, here concludes the Will in Japan chronicles. It has been and still remains to be the most amazing thing I have ever done and maybe will ever do. I have been back in New Zealand for nearly a week now and I am continually confronted with people asking "How was Japan??". As wearing as this has become, I always reply with the same thing. "It was amazing." That is about the only way I can sum up this experience. I can’t quite equate it to anything else. It has been the most challenging, the most rewarding, and the most exciting time I’ve ever had. Not only have I walked away with another language but I have gained an amazing understanding of what a diverse world we live in.
I have developed an insatiable love for Japan. I love everything from the huge statues of Buddha to the tiny Hello Kitty cellphone straps. On first glimpse, Japan seemed like the kind of society that I would never be able to live in; strict and conformist. But inspite of this, and often because of it, I have developed a deep affection for this amazing country. I love the people, I love the food, I love EVERYTHING!
It's been a amazing journey and I would like to thank anyone who is actually still reading this. I hope this blog has lived up to your expectations.
I need to thank my amazing AFS friends, without whom I would not have survived my time away. To Lesley, Ooi, Jay, Monica, Melody, Gan, Oil and Emma - you guys are awesome and I will miss you.
Finally, to my best friends in the world, Robert, Alana and Matthew.....I honestly don't know what I would've done without you. You guys were my rock and I miss you like crazy!
Will
Saturday, August 25, 2007
The End
Leaving home for good today. Going home tomorrow.
Friday, August 10, 2007
Me again....
Konnichi wa everyone!
My time in Japan is nearly up (two weeks to go, I can hardly believe it!) so I thought that a post was well overdue (sorry, I`ve been very slack on the blogging front!).
Anyway, it`s currently summer holidays in Japan and it is HOT! Here, in Niigata, we haven`t had a day under 30°c in the last two weeks! Right now, it`s 10pm and 32°c! Thank goodness for air conditioning!
As I probably mentioned in my previous email, I joined my school`s Concert Band playing tenor saxophone. This was the highlight of time at school in Japan and I have made the most amazing friends! As part of the band, I was able to perform as a soloist at my school`s Taiikusai (sports festival) and I was also able to attend the rehearsal camp (affectionately known as Band Camp) which was fun. Last week was the National Japanese Band Championship and my school band competed at this. Unfortunately, the rules of the competition state that exchange students are now allowed to participate so I was unable to attend.
Another highlight of my time at school here would have to be the school Taiikusai or sports festival which was held in June. For the festival, each class selects a song and then choreographs a dance to this song. They also select a theme and make costumes which everyone dances in. The theme my class selected was Alice in Wonderland and we had three kinds of costume: Playing Cards, Cheshire Cats and Rabbits. I was a rabbit. Preparations for taiikusai began about a month before and culminated in a group of us sitting at school the night before, hand sewing costumes! The effort was all worth it in the end though, as my class won the prize for best costumes.
I had my last day of school last week. It was very sad because most my class and some of my teachers were crying! My class made me this amazing leaving present called a Senbazuru, which literally means `A thousands origami cranes on a string` and is traditionally made as a symbol of good luck.
Over the past few months, I have been involved in many AFS events which have all been really fun. The first of which was back at the end of June where all the AFS students from Niigata Chapter were able to go and watch a soccer game between the Niigata Albirex and the Hiroshima San Frecce. This was a very important game because it decided who went on to play Tokyo in the National Final. The atmosphere was absolutely amazing and Niigata won which was very good.
After that, our chapter had a welcome home party for all the returning students. At this party, all of the students donned traditional dress and performed the traditional Niigata Dance. This was incredibly funny as we had never actually practised the dance, only seen it performed.
I have visited and spoken at several schools around Niigata city. It has been amazing meeting so many people, all of whom seem to want to visit New Zealand! One of the schools we visited was Seishin High School which is an Private Girls Catholic School, staffed entirely by nuns. This was very interesting because everything was so different from regular Japanese schools with daily mass and pre-lesson prayers.
The most recent AFS event was a short homestay with the neighbouring chapter, Nagaoka, during which we were able to attend the Nagaoka Festival which has the largest fireworks display in Japan. This was absolutely amazing as the fireworks run for two hours non-stop!
Something very Japanese that I have been doing a lot of is karaoke (much to everyone`s horror!). Now that it is holidays, my friends and I pretty much live at the karaoke bar. Believe it or not, it is actually improving my Japanese because I have to be able to read the lyrics very quickly! Another very Japanese thing I have been doing is purikura, the photo booths which produce little stickers. This is incredibly fun with friends! Between karaoke, purikura and the incredible shopping, I have practically bankrupted myself (and most probably my parents) so, as much as I don`t want to leave, it is probably a good thing I am coming home in two weeks. LOL!
Anyway, I think that`s about all I`ve got to report right now. I have a very full two weeks left with another AFS summer camp and a trip to Tokyo where I am representing AFS Japan at a UN Youth Summit.
My time in Japan is nearly up (two weeks to go, I can hardly believe it!) so I thought that a post was well overdue (sorry, I`ve been very slack on the blogging front!).
Anyway, it`s currently summer holidays in Japan and it is HOT! Here, in Niigata, we haven`t had a day under 30°c in the last two weeks! Right now, it`s 10pm and 32°c! Thank goodness for air conditioning!
As I probably mentioned in my previous email, I joined my school`s Concert Band playing tenor saxophone. This was the highlight of time at school in Japan and I have made the most amazing friends! As part of the band, I was able to perform as a soloist at my school`s Taiikusai (sports festival) and I was also able to attend the rehearsal camp (affectionately known as Band Camp) which was fun. Last week was the National Japanese Band Championship and my school band competed at this. Unfortunately, the rules of the competition state that exchange students are now allowed to participate so I was unable to attend.
Another highlight of my time at school here would have to be the school Taiikusai or sports festival which was held in June. For the festival, each class selects a song and then choreographs a dance to this song. They also select a theme and make costumes which everyone dances in. The theme my class selected was Alice in Wonderland and we had three kinds of costume: Playing Cards, Cheshire Cats and Rabbits. I was a rabbit. Preparations for taiikusai began about a month before and culminated in a group of us sitting at school the night before, hand sewing costumes! The effort was all worth it in the end though, as my class won the prize for best costumes.
I had my last day of school last week. It was very sad because most my class and some of my teachers were crying! My class made me this amazing leaving present called a Senbazuru, which literally means `A thousands origami cranes on a string` and is traditionally made as a symbol of good luck.
Over the past few months, I have been involved in many AFS events which have all been really fun. The first of which was back at the end of June where all the AFS students from Niigata Chapter were able to go and watch a soccer game between the Niigata Albirex and the Hiroshima San Frecce. This was a very important game because it decided who went on to play Tokyo in the National Final. The atmosphere was absolutely amazing and Niigata won which was very good.
After that, our chapter had a welcome home party for all the returning students. At this party, all of the students donned traditional dress and performed the traditional Niigata Dance. This was incredibly funny as we had never actually practised the dance, only seen it performed.
I have visited and spoken at several schools around Niigata city. It has been amazing meeting so many people, all of whom seem to want to visit New Zealand! One of the schools we visited was Seishin High School which is an Private Girls Catholic School, staffed entirely by nuns. This was very interesting because everything was so different from regular Japanese schools with daily mass and pre-lesson prayers.
The most recent AFS event was a short homestay with the neighbouring chapter, Nagaoka, during which we were able to attend the Nagaoka Festival which has the largest fireworks display in Japan. This was absolutely amazing as the fireworks run for two hours non-stop!
Something very Japanese that I have been doing a lot of is karaoke (much to everyone`s horror!). Now that it is holidays, my friends and I pretty much live at the karaoke bar. Believe it or not, it is actually improving my Japanese because I have to be able to read the lyrics very quickly! Another very Japanese thing I have been doing is purikura, the photo booths which produce little stickers. This is incredibly fun with friends! Between karaoke, purikura and the incredible shopping, I have practically bankrupted myself (and most probably my parents) so, as much as I don`t want to leave, it is probably a good thing I am coming home in two weeks. LOL!
Anyway, I think that`s about all I`ve got to report right now. I have a very full two weeks left with another AFS summer camp and a trip to Tokyo where I am representing AFS Japan at a UN Youth Summit.
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