Alright, time to fill those who remain in with the details of whats happened since before my birthday. Well, maybe an outline! It'll probably take a whole textbook to fill in EVERYTHING! Well, not really, but hyperbole is fun, no? Was that supposed to be a joke? I feel like there was a whole lot of lead-up that never actually happened, and in that scenario, a generic statement makes for a really shoddy punchline. Whatever.
Right, so, I'm 18 now. I mean, it doesn't matter, but it is indeed a thing, and not just a thing, but a thing that has come to pass. To celebrate (and, to be honest, this was nice. I wasn't expecting anything), my host family took me out for some awesome Chinese food (my only regret is eating 40 gyoza, because now one of the local rotarians introduces me as "Carter, who ate 40 gyoza." I don't want to be the kid who eats 40 dumplings in one sitting, even if said dumplings are tiny, and delicious! I must seem like a gluttonous monster. I guess, comparatively, I am, but, you know, little things. Anyway, I digress...) and a surprise gift from one of the rotarians! What do they give you when you turn 18 in Japan? Six toothbrushes, I guess (disclaimer: don't take that seriously. I'm oversimplifying things. I'm sure giving toothbrushes isn't a "thing" amongst all people here). What does one do with 6 toothbrushes? I don't know. I guess I'll try to find a way to incorporate them into my blazer (If you answered brush your teeth, please, turn off your computer, and go to your room).
Immediately following my birthday, BOOM, class trip to Nagasaki! WHATTTTTT? YEAUUUHHHH! First day, I went with my group to Arita, and checked out some porcelain, which was far more rad than that sentence would indicate. That night, we enjoyed a meal at the hotel, consisting of stuff. There was definitely fish, and rice (rice is most assuredly a super-staple here), and some kind of veggie soup, maybe? It involved an open flame, which was cool. Such meals were common throughout the stay. The second day, we (as a class) visited the Peace Park, and the associated museum, which was very interesting, I thought. After that, we broke off into different groups and were free to roam around until a certain time. In that time, I enjoyed a delicious lunch, followed by a delicious crepe, followed by a slightly disappointing ride in a ferris wheel. Bought some cake, wandered around, all of that fun stuff. Fun fact: parts of the city go up steep hills/small mountains, and as you get higher, it gets steeper and denser (gives off a real Kaineng vibe, to the 3 of you who get that), which is cool. Shortly before rejoining the rest of the class, I did try on an outfit in a western style house in some kind of park, and posed for a picture. What the outfit was, I don't know, but it had suspenders and those decorative pauldron-like things, so I must've been the flyest guy around for the five or ten minutes that I wore it. That night, lots of kids chilled out on an open roof area, and we chatted an watched the nighttime Nagasaki skyline. Not quite Iowa's starry skies, but it was beautiful in its own way. That was probably my favorite part of the trip. On the third and final day, we visited a shrine and a history museum (I want to say the museum dealt a lot with Buddhism and early Korean and Japanese cultures... Those are the areas I visited anyway), before heading home.
Well, after that, I was thrust back into the routine of school-club-food-sleep, for a while, with the occasional rotary meeting/orientation on the side (though, as far as that routine goes, I like to think I've improved at kendo, as the callouses on my hands and feet will attest to. The rotary here was kind enough to provide me with the gear, which is awesome). EH-YEY! Story time! So, during the initial interviews, I was asked two questions that kind of stuck with me. The first ("if you were called out to participate in some kind of cultural dance, would you?") happened a while ago, involving me in a parade across main street. Perhaps you've seen the videos on Facebook? No? Just as well. Before you ask, if you were going to ask, yes, I did mess up in front of some classmates who were there (drum-club kids. If there is a festival, they'll be there. They're actually really good!), but we were all just kind of like "HEYYYYYYY, its you!" and we all totally had a moment (that wasn't guffawing at me mucking a simple dance up). The second (it involved things I wanted to do in Japan, and I responded with something about giving a speech in Japanese) came to pas today, actually, with me trying to give a speech to a bunch of kids today over differences in school systems. I found it to be painful, but enjoyable (as opposed to painful AND enjoyable, but we won't talk about that now), though I was heavily reliant on a script. Ahh well, more opportunities later, probably!
That should bring you guys up to date with everything on my end (oh, except for me losing 14kg, which makes me, just, soo happy). If you have any questions, again, feel free to shoot me an email (to my gmail, if you want a quick response, as I check that more frequently) or comment, or something. Anyway, bedtime for me, so I'm out!
Right, so, I'm 18 now. I mean, it doesn't matter, but it is indeed a thing, and not just a thing, but a thing that has come to pass. To celebrate (and, to be honest, this was nice. I wasn't expecting anything), my host family took me out for some awesome Chinese food (my only regret is eating 40 gyoza, because now one of the local rotarians introduces me as "Carter, who ate 40 gyoza." I don't want to be the kid who eats 40 dumplings in one sitting, even if said dumplings are tiny, and delicious! I must seem like a gluttonous monster. I guess, comparatively, I am, but, you know, little things. Anyway, I digress...) and a surprise gift from one of the rotarians! What do they give you when you turn 18 in Japan? Six toothbrushes, I guess (disclaimer: don't take that seriously. I'm oversimplifying things. I'm sure giving toothbrushes isn't a "thing" amongst all people here). What does one do with 6 toothbrushes? I don't know. I guess I'll try to find a way to incorporate them into my blazer (If you answered brush your teeth, please, turn off your computer, and go to your room).
Immediately following my birthday, BOOM, class trip to Nagasaki! WHATTTTTT? YEAUUUHHHH! First day, I went with my group to Arita, and checked out some porcelain, which was far more rad than that sentence would indicate. That night, we enjoyed a meal at the hotel, consisting of stuff. There was definitely fish, and rice (rice is most assuredly a super-staple here), and some kind of veggie soup, maybe? It involved an open flame, which was cool. Such meals were common throughout the stay. The second day, we (as a class) visited the Peace Park, and the associated museum, which was very interesting, I thought. After that, we broke off into different groups and were free to roam around until a certain time. In that time, I enjoyed a delicious lunch, followed by a delicious crepe, followed by a slightly disappointing ride in a ferris wheel. Bought some cake, wandered around, all of that fun stuff. Fun fact: parts of the city go up steep hills/small mountains, and as you get higher, it gets steeper and denser (gives off a real Kaineng vibe, to the 3 of you who get that), which is cool. Shortly before rejoining the rest of the class, I did try on an outfit in a western style house in some kind of park, and posed for a picture. What the outfit was, I don't know, but it had suspenders and those decorative pauldron-like things, so I must've been the flyest guy around for the five or ten minutes that I wore it. That night, lots of kids chilled out on an open roof area, and we chatted an watched the nighttime Nagasaki skyline. Not quite Iowa's starry skies, but it was beautiful in its own way. That was probably my favorite part of the trip. On the third and final day, we visited a shrine and a history museum (I want to say the museum dealt a lot with Buddhism and early Korean and Japanese cultures... Those are the areas I visited anyway), before heading home.
Well, after that, I was thrust back into the routine of school-club-food-sleep, for a while, with the occasional rotary meeting/orientation on the side (though, as far as that routine goes, I like to think I've improved at kendo, as the callouses on my hands and feet will attest to. The rotary here was kind enough to provide me with the gear, which is awesome). EH-YEY! Story time! So, during the initial interviews, I was asked two questions that kind of stuck with me. The first ("if you were called out to participate in some kind of cultural dance, would you?") happened a while ago, involving me in a parade across main street. Perhaps you've seen the videos on Facebook? No? Just as well. Before you ask, if you were going to ask, yes, I did mess up in front of some classmates who were there (drum-club kids. If there is a festival, they'll be there. They're actually really good!), but we were all just kind of like "HEYYYYYYY, its you!" and we all totally had a moment (that wasn't guffawing at me mucking a simple dance up). The second (it involved things I wanted to do in Japan, and I responded with something about giving a speech in Japanese) came to pas today, actually, with me trying to give a speech to a bunch of kids today over differences in school systems. I found it to be painful, but enjoyable (as opposed to painful AND enjoyable, but we won't talk about that now), though I was heavily reliant on a script. Ahh well, more opportunities later, probably!
That should bring you guys up to date with everything on my end (oh, except for me losing 14kg, which makes me, just, soo happy). If you have any questions, again, feel free to shoot me an email (to my gmail, if you want a quick response, as I check that more frequently) or comment, or something. Anyway, bedtime for me, so I'm out!