7/13
2 camps in a row…Elementary camp = done. Boy were those kids a handful, but fun. (No worries, I'm not hinting at changing my major or something crazy, but those kids were a little bit crazy and overwhelming, more so for other AC’s on the trip). It was a 70 student private school camp. The kids were running around like crazy. Trying to talk to 11 year olds who have no clue what you are talking about can be a little bit frustrating, but they were adorable. Super cute! Dance party consisted of kids running in circles, doing limbo, macarana, YMCA, etc. Introducing the concept and a bonfire and s’more to Japanese children is fun too. The kids love it! We also taught them different camp songs like Baby Shark, Hokey Pokey, Bananas, Singing in the Rain, etc. I’m not sure how much they really understand from it, but they like doing the gestures along with us. We are now in Lake Yamanka and are doing a 210 student camp with team 5 and 6. That means combining Dance Party, Carnival, Bonfire, and everything else. Sounds like a blast to me!
I’ve opened up the Cliff bars, I’ve decided I’m not a fan of tofu, and many of the things we are served, I’d expect to be hot, but they’re cold. I’d really like a Diet Coke ha, absolutely cannot be found here. We walked to the gas station last night and stocked up on snacks. Some of the camps serve buffet style, but others serve at your table. It’s all an experience. I’ll write more soon! Onto the middle school camp, then a facility stay.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Better late than never... right!? I've now been in Japan for about 10 days, about time I update my blog! I have been so crazy busy, so here's updates from my first few days. We haven't had much wireless internet service or free time, so it's been kind of tricky updating, but here goes...
I want to start by saying that Japan is awesome! The people are so kind, understanding, and amazing, to sum it up. The kids (unlike many American children seem) want to learn and work hard. They have such an internal drive and determination to be successful, which is awesome! We could take a few pointers from them.
Day 1
June 29 (30)
I got through the airport in no time, after getting patted down and wanded for having my peanut butter confiscated because it was a “jelly-like substance.” Bummer, but oh well I guess. If that’s the worst thing that happens during my trip, then I’m doing pretty well I guess. I got through security in about an hour or so, so I waited for awhile for the plane to board. 12 hour plane ride was very long. It got long when the flight attendants turned off the lights for people to nap. They served us 3 times during the flight, trying to fatten us up or what?! Ha. Four movies were played, I watched part of “Just Go With It” and “Going the Distance.” Originally, the seat between me and Jenny was open, but Rachel moved there because her microphone wasn’t working. We arrived at the airport, stressfully went through customs, and got a few minutes to grab a bite to eat and explore. Quickly discovered the complicated, button-filled bathrooms. Talk about confusing?! I exchanged money at the airport, I didn’t really understand the whole exchange system (supposedly 71 yen is equivalent to 100 American cents, today, anyways). This concept will probably confuse me all the way until the end of my trip here, but it is the way it is. We were going to get Subway, but decided that we weren’t that hungry, so rather just walked to the Subway in the end of the airport, looked around a bit, and walked back. Took a city bus to the hotel, where we were given our room keys and yen (about $8) for dinner. There were funky toilets, slippers/robes, and hot water heaters in our room. The bed stands also had tons (and I mean TONS) of crazy high-tech buttons for lights, room service, and such. We had a large group meeting where we met our AC’s and Guy Healy himself. Walked around the hotel a bit with Rachel, Janelle, and Jenny, and checked out the breakfast area on the 13th floor. Then hung out in their room for a bit. Then went to bed at about 9 o clock, my roommate, Amanda was already crawled into bed and about to fall asleep. Didn’t sleep the best, was wide awake and apparently talking to my roommate at 1 in the morning. Hopefully the jet lag gets better and I get accustomed to the time change tomorrow. Was going to try to skype my parents at 9pm, 7am their time, but we didn’t have wireless internet service at the hotel. I bought a 105 minute calling card for 1000 yen from a vending machine at the hotel.
Day 2
June 31st
Day 1 of orientation
Woke up at about 6am to shower, pack up, and get ready to go to the first camp. Breakfast consisted of French fries, bread, meatballs, juice, honeydew, oranges, and other random things. Was good, but very random. Had a fabulous view from the top of the hotel, you could see the beautiful view from the top of it. Left the hotel at 8:30 for a 3.5 hour bus ride to our first camp and orientation, Shizuoka. Ate lunch then had a “Welcome” from Guy Healy. Was literally dripping sweat it was so extremely hot! People were busting out their laptops because we had wireless service in the room for the orientation.
Will write more soon!
I want to start by saying that Japan is awesome! The people are so kind, understanding, and amazing, to sum it up. The kids (unlike many American children seem) want to learn and work hard. They have such an internal drive and determination to be successful, which is awesome! We could take a few pointers from them.
Day 1
June 29 (30)
I got through the airport in no time, after getting patted down and wanded for having my peanut butter confiscated because it was a “jelly-like substance.” Bummer, but oh well I guess. If that’s the worst thing that happens during my trip, then I’m doing pretty well I guess. I got through security in about an hour or so, so I waited for awhile for the plane to board. 12 hour plane ride was very long. It got long when the flight attendants turned off the lights for people to nap. They served us 3 times during the flight, trying to fatten us up or what?! Ha. Four movies were played, I watched part of “Just Go With It” and “Going the Distance.” Originally, the seat between me and Jenny was open, but Rachel moved there because her microphone wasn’t working. We arrived at the airport, stressfully went through customs, and got a few minutes to grab a bite to eat and explore. Quickly discovered the complicated, button-filled bathrooms. Talk about confusing?! I exchanged money at the airport, I didn’t really understand the whole exchange system (supposedly 71 yen is equivalent to 100 American cents, today, anyways). This concept will probably confuse me all the way until the end of my trip here, but it is the way it is. We were going to get Subway, but decided that we weren’t that hungry, so rather just walked to the Subway in the end of the airport, looked around a bit, and walked back. Took a city bus to the hotel, where we were given our room keys and yen (about $8) for dinner. There were funky toilets, slippers/robes, and hot water heaters in our room. The bed stands also had tons (and I mean TONS) of crazy high-tech buttons for lights, room service, and such. We had a large group meeting where we met our AC’s and Guy Healy himself. Walked around the hotel a bit with Rachel, Janelle, and Jenny, and checked out the breakfast area on the 13th floor. Then hung out in their room for a bit. Then went to bed at about 9 o clock, my roommate, Amanda was already crawled into bed and about to fall asleep. Didn’t sleep the best, was wide awake and apparently talking to my roommate at 1 in the morning. Hopefully the jet lag gets better and I get accustomed to the time change tomorrow. Was going to try to skype my parents at 9pm, 7am their time, but we didn’t have wireless internet service at the hotel. I bought a 105 minute calling card for 1000 yen from a vending machine at the hotel.
Day 2
June 31st
Day 1 of orientation
Woke up at about 6am to shower, pack up, and get ready to go to the first camp. Breakfast consisted of French fries, bread, meatballs, juice, honeydew, oranges, and other random things. Was good, but very random. Had a fabulous view from the top of the hotel, you could see the beautiful view from the top of it. Left the hotel at 8:30 for a 3.5 hour bus ride to our first camp and orientation, Shizuoka. Ate lunch then had a “Welcome” from Guy Healy. Was literally dripping sweat it was so extremely hot! People were busting out their laptops because we had wireless service in the room for the orientation.
Will write more soon!
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Packing...
T-16 hours until I leave MSP for Tokyo, Japan!
Ok, so packing is stressful. Delta allows 2 pieces of luggage when traveling internationally, but pretty much everyone I have talked to has told me to just bring one, then plan to bring two back home with me for extra souvenirs and such. Let's just say, easier said than done. I loaded up my one suitcase today, and weighed it... 52.6 pounds! Oh boy! (My mom suggested I check the Delta website to check and see how much they charge per pound. Turns out bags 51 pounds over are charged $90! Take a guess as to how much a bag over 70 pounds costs...$175! yep!... No way was I going to get charged something like that...) It was definitely time to re-evaluate and decide which luggage items were needed. (I could have decided to use two bags for this, but it seemed like it would make things complicated and more stressful to keep track of...) So I took out my pair of khaki pants (I already packed black pants, I figure one pair is enough) a tanktop, one of my two hair products I had planned to bring, and a box of Mac & Cheese. I guess whatever I'll need, I'll have to live without for a bit or buy once in Japan. So I'm proud to say my suitcase is now down to 48 pounds even. I'll probably think about a few more things to take out before tomorrow, just for assurance and good measure...
It really is tricky trying to pack mostly everything you'll need into a piece of luggage, I can't imagine doing so for a semester-long trip!
My fabulous friends loaded me up with fun gum and several magazines yesterday, so I should be able to keep myself entertained for at least part of the plane ride. Magazines along with a book, and some sleep, and I'll be good to go!
Until later!...
Ok, so packing is stressful. Delta allows 2 pieces of luggage when traveling internationally, but pretty much everyone I have talked to has told me to just bring one, then plan to bring two back home with me for extra souvenirs and such. Let's just say, easier said than done. I loaded up my one suitcase today, and weighed it... 52.6 pounds! Oh boy! (My mom suggested I check the Delta website to check and see how much they charge per pound. Turns out bags 51 pounds over are charged $90! Take a guess as to how much a bag over 70 pounds costs...$175! yep!... No way was I going to get charged something like that...) It was definitely time to re-evaluate and decide which luggage items were needed. (I could have decided to use two bags for this, but it seemed like it would make things complicated and more stressful to keep track of...) So I took out my pair of khaki pants (I already packed black pants, I figure one pair is enough) a tanktop, one of my two hair products I had planned to bring, and a box of Mac & Cheese. I guess whatever I'll need, I'll have to live without for a bit or buy once in Japan. So I'm proud to say my suitcase is now down to 48 pounds even. I'll probably think about a few more things to take out before tomorrow, just for assurance and good measure...
It really is tricky trying to pack mostly everything you'll need into a piece of luggage, I can't imagine doing so for a semester-long trip!
My fabulous friends loaded me up with fun gum and several magazines yesterday, so I should be able to keep myself entertained for at least part of the plane ride. Magazines along with a book, and some sleep, and I'll be good to go!
Until later!...
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
One more week!
I leave for Japan one week from tomorrow! I remember saying "I leave for Japan in 4 months" way back in February. It seemed like it would never get here, and it finally has (almost)! This will be my first time out of the continent, away from home life for more than a month, and "on my own-ish."
A few people have asked me to start a blog about my trip, so I figured, why not? I filled out my family stay application and checked my flight itinerary last week. It turns out it is a direct flight from MSP to Tokyo. Oofta! What a flight!? The flight itself is about 12 hours long or so I believe. Tokyo is 14 hours ahead of Minneapolis. We leave here at 3:10pm on the 29th, and arrive to Japan at 5:20pm on the 30th. Can you talk about jet lag...? I'm hoping to be able to sleep quite a bit on the way, but we'll see how that works out.
A few people on my team (team 4) have gone on the trip before, or even multiple times, so it is nice to be able to ask them questions and to hear a little bit about their perspectives and recommendations. We have a "Guy Healy Japan Team 4" facebook group going, which is awesome. Our team has people from all over the country, which is also really cool!
Here is the link to the camp website.
http://www.guyhealyjapan.com/sub/
It feels kind of weird to be "leaving" for basically the summer. I've had a fantastic 5 weeks of "summer" so far. (Valleyfair, dog-sitting, summer class, Wisconsin Dells, Beach, etc.) I've jam packed my summer to make it great, and I am so much looking forward to the second part of it to begin!
Most people who know me know that I am big into quotes, so...
“We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures that we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open.”
~
A few people have asked me to start a blog about my trip, so I figured, why not? I filled out my family stay application and checked my flight itinerary last week. It turns out it is a direct flight from MSP to Tokyo. Oofta! What a flight!? The flight itself is about 12 hours long or so I believe. Tokyo is 14 hours ahead of Minneapolis. We leave here at 3:10pm on the 29th, and arrive to Japan at 5:20pm on the 30th. Can you talk about jet lag...? I'm hoping to be able to sleep quite a bit on the way, but we'll see how that works out.
A few people on my team (team 4) have gone on the trip before, or even multiple times, so it is nice to be able to ask them questions and to hear a little bit about their perspectives and recommendations. We have a "Guy Healy Japan Team 4" facebook group going, which is awesome. Our team has people from all over the country, which is also really cool!
Here is the link to the camp website.
http://www.guyhealyjapan.com/sub/
It feels kind of weird to be "leaving" for basically the summer. I've had a fantastic 5 weeks of "summer" so far. (Valleyfair, dog-sitting, summer class, Wisconsin Dells, Beach, etc.) I've jam packed my summer to make it great, and I am so much looking forward to the second part of it to begin!
Most people who know me know that I am big into quotes, so...
“We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures that we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open.”
~
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