This week, I started a new set of classes meant to prepare me for my internship at a Japanese company. In class, we are learning how to use honorifics in Japanese to superiors and various business customs, from tea service to speaking on the phone. During the weekend, I went to Nagoya castle with my host grandparents, who taught me some of the history of the castle. The walls of the castle were painted with gold and were extremely beautiful in the sunlight. It was also extremely hot, reaching 103 degrees in the afternoon, and there was no air conditioning. However, eating pineapple kakigori (Japanese-style shaved ice) was refreshing. That night, I tried the rich Hida beef from the neighboring Gifu prefecture, which was baked over a giant magnolia leaf and miso paste. I also went to the town Arimatsu, which is famous for tie-dyeing, and took a class there with my host mother to make my own tie-dyed scarf. The sewing and dyeing process was much more complicated than I expected, but it was a lot of fun.