*continued from previous post*
i'm finally at home. home sweet home.
*this post will be extraordinary long. read it only if you are super bored.*
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friday (1/12)
after going to edo shrine, went to aoshima and had lunch there. the lunch was not nice. there always isn't any spoon, so we either had to use fork or chopsticks to eat the rice, which is so stupid. due to time constrains, we did not went to look at what we are supposed to go there for - look at a blue island.
headed straight to our different schools. i went to hisamine junior high school as my host is studying there. once out of the bus, we are all shivering. our legs are cold as we are only wearing skirts and not pants. went to a room and had speeches. they are always long cause after every sentence, someone has to translate it into english. so it feels like listening to the same speech twice, except for those already in english. had a school tour. walked pass lots of classroom. the students inside are nice. went back to the room and learnt how to make origami. my host was there and she and 2 other people taught our group. did 4. nice. after school was let out, we went to look at some of the after school activities - basketball, volleyball, kanta. and off we go to collect our luggage and wait at a cultural centre nearby for our host family.
my host, natsumi and her dad came to 'collect' me. her dad a sentence of japanese and i stared at him and natsumi translated the sentence asking if i can understand japanese. obviously i said no. her house is very near the cultural centre which is very good. spend less time on travelling. went to her house, thought i have to take out my shoes before i go in, but i can go in and take out my shoes at an area before i wear a slipper provided. the house only has her and her parents, which is kinda good. shared a room with natsumi. wanted to bathe but they ask me to change instead so i followed. gave the gifts i have prepared and they love them. went to the living room, the mum just nice is preparing dinner, so i told her that i don't eat beef, since i heard her mentioning beef and she started asking me if i could eat this and that. she now knows that i don't eat beef and carrots. that is good.
diiner was nice plus a lot of food.
-plain rice
-fish w/cucumber slices
-boiled potato w/vermicelli + onion
-miso soup
-siew mai w/mayonnaise
-japanese green tea
-fruits
went out after dinner. first to fetch a friend of theirs. one of them happened to have been to singapore before. went to the main street of miyazaki, which is near the hotel where we stayed. they bought me a bag of snacks. next, went to starbucks coffee. i ordered hot white chocolate. it tasted like milk and i'm the last to finish cause it's burning hot. went back home and was asked to bathe. the toilet and the bathroom are separated so it's kind of troublesome. it was freaking cold in the bathroom. i was practically shivering in there, so i bathe as fast as possible. i think about 5mins and went to sit in front of a heater which is used to boil water. watch tv, which i can't understand a single thing but just watch and went to sleep on a futon with my jacket on. had to wake up at 8am[japan time], 7am[singapore time]. her mum ask me if the breakfast she's going to prepare was ok for me. understanding people.
saturday (2/12)
woke up at 8.30am[japan time] shivering even though they close the doors and windows and i'm wearing a jacket and the blanket is thick. wash up, with my hand freezing cause of the freezing cold water. can't use the hot water cause they are burning hot.
breakfast was nice plus a lot of food too.
-hot milk
-hot soup, which tasted like corn soup.
-2 small crossaint bun
-egg w/ham + vegetable
-fruits
changed and went back to the cultural centre to meet the rest of the school. i wore 2shirts plus 2pants plus jacket plus gloves plus muffler and i'm still a little cold. thought natsumi was coming along with me but didn't. went to a museum which is quite boring and then to miyazaki shrine, where we saw a couple getting married. they happily let us take pictures of them and with them. interesting. headed for lunch nearby and it's a buffet. went down to the shop and bought stuff. next, went to another museum, which is as boring as the first one. then back to the cultural centre where we paint a clay horse. pretty. got a piece of paper with photos on it. it was only given to people with their faces in it and i'm one of them. cool.
my host family came to bring my home. ate dinner before i bathe cause i was hungry. i think it was only 4-5pm[japan time], 3-4pm[singapore time]. weird.
dinner wasn't as nice as yesterday's but still edible plus there's a lot too.
-rice with things on it
-miso soup
-fried chicken
-meat w/mayonnaise
-cold noodles w/mayonnaise + cucumber + vegetable + ham
-japanese green tea
-fruits
bathe and i wash my hair with water. i was shivering again. wanted to soak in the hot bath but the water was too hot for my to stay in there for even 1min. used the computer while natsumi was bathing, with her permission of cause, thus able to blog my previous post. played old maid using poker cards with the family at night. wondering how they communicate with me? speak english to me or use a dictionary and ask me to read the english meaning or speak japanese in such a way that i know what they want to say. i nod or shake my head or smile or talk english with japanese accent or use hand signals to communicate with them. i don't really talk a lot so it doesn't really matter.old maid was way fun than i thought it was going to be. the females there won all the 4-5 rounds we played. her dad didn't win any. it was fun, very fun. slept after that.
sunday (3/12)
woke up at 8.20am[japan time] shivering again.
breakfast was the leftovers of yesterday's dinner plus new ones plus there's a lot too.
-hot milk
-hot soup
-2 small crossaint bun w/hot dog
-leftover of fried chicken
-leftover of meat w/mayonnaise
-leftover of cold noodles w/mayonnaise + cucumber + vegetable + ham
-fruits
changed and went off to aya town. first stop, the aya bridge. it's 250m long and 142m above ground. it was super cold there as the wind was blowing. walked back and forth which is 500m and then took some pictures. wanted to take a combine picture but they didn't know how to set the timer on the camera. next stop, went to shops. they bought souvenirs for me. nice. went out and saw ducks in a pond. so cool. got to feed the ducks and fishes for 10yen, which is not paid by me. simply saying, during my stay with natsumi, i didn't spend a single cent. there's a place where they make glass next door. after making the glass, they sell it at a glass shop next to it. beautiful but very expensive. just went in to look.
next, went to another of their friend's house at aya for lunch. the house is very house and there's even place to grow vegetables outside.
lunch was eaten at home, finally. there's super a lot too.
-japanese nabe
-rice w/nuts
-cold beancurd
-miso soup
-potato w/mayonnaise
-japanese green tea
-fruits
was asked to wear a kimono after lunch. one of their friends helped me wear it. had to remove one of my shirt and so they know i wore 2shirts. it took super long to wear a kimono and the whole procedure was capture on camera. nice. i had to rely on the photos to see how i look. i look nice. next was natsumi's turn. spent a long time at their house.
went to aya castle next. made something. kinda fun. it is expensive. cost few thousand yen but it's nice. head for home after that. natsumi slept on my shoulder. she's tired. i changed straight away, after i change, than natsumi tell me that they are going out to eat. so i went to change again. they started printing the pictures that they have taken. so nice of them and even put them in a photo album for me. before going out, i wear my jeans over my trackpants. they saw and said it was a good idea. lolx. ate with their friend again at a japanese restaurant.
dinner was a lot too.
-udon w/soup
-rice w/egg + chicken
i didn't finish cause it's just too much. natsumi asked if i was still hungry. i thought they ask if the food i eat was enough, if they need to order somemore. so i said no, then they tell me to stop eating and i replied them 'huh?' LOL. i still continued to eat though. went home. packed my luggage. bathed - the best bath i ever taken in 3days. i shampoo-ed my hair and wash myself clean. i didn't really shiver ask the hot bath next to it was steaming hot, making the whole place warm. they are still printing the pictures when they get home. so much ink is wasted just like this. used the computer while natsumi is bathing. her mum used a hair dryer to dry my hair. nice. got the band camp packlist thanks to lz. took a photo before i'm allowed to sleep. this time using timer. nice.
last night i'm sleeping at their house. will miss the place so very much.
*to be continued*
