New School and My Exchange Sister

Original Date: August.1.2011

While I’m in Japan, I will be going to “Hokusei Gakuen Girls’ High School”. (http://www.hokusei-ghs-jh.ed.jp/)  It is an all girls school. It is also a Christian school, which I thought was interesting since only about 1% percent of the Japanese population is Christian. I hear it is a very good school though. One of the previous in-bounds that I had become friends with here, goes there. It will be nice to have a friend in an unfamiliar place. 

This is the uniform:

http://homepage3.nifty.com/mtera/seifuku/sap_hse/sap_hse.jpg

I’ve looked at the web site about a thousand times. haha

Especially at the club pages. While I’m on exchange, I want to do things that are different and that I might not have the opportunity to do here. They have so many interesting clubs. One that has really caught my interest is the “Baton Dancing”

There are so many other clubs that I’m not really even sure what they are. For instance, one club page says that the group climbs a mountain, while it is snowing, and then climbs back down; I don’t think that club is for me. 

This month, my family is hosting a short-term Japanese exchange student. Her name is Riyu and she is from Gunma, which is where I went for my short-term exchange last summer. It’s so nice to have her here; she has been a lot of fun. It’s really helpful to practice Japanese with her too. My family doesn’t speak any Japanese and her English is very limited, so they have become pros at charades. She has already experienced quite a bit of American culture in the short amount of time she’s been here: She has gone to the drag strip to watch drag racing, was introduced to skunks and Ice cream men, (which they do not have in Japan) played “Just Dance” with me about a hundred times, and eaten so many different foods that she has never heard of before. I hope that she is enjoying her time here. She is such a sweet person and I’m glad that we are sisters, even if it’s only for the month. If you ever get the chance to host, do it; It is such a wonderful experience. 

I am so anxious to go now. I was a little nervous before, but having Riyu here and talking with her has really gotten rid of all of that. I’m ready to go! ^^v