Hello everyone! I am now halfway through the 8 week program, which is kind of hard to believe. My Japanese has definitely gotten a level above where I was before. I’ve been using Anki for space repetition and it is pretty much like a real download to brain software.
This week I did pottery which was very cool, and I think my bowl turned out well. Then on Wednesday, we did an exchange with the Hokuriku University Students which was very fun and we made s’mores (without fire) with them. I think the exchanges are some of the best parts of this program. We had our end-of-semester final on Friday, and my host dad got covid and there was a bunch of stuff that happened, but I ended up not getting covid and I think I did well on the final. We had a super good class discussion and partner talks on Thursday, pushing my Japanese skills to the next level by talking about what we want to do.
Then, right after the Friday final I hopped on the Shinkansen (bullet train) to Tokyo, and met up with my Dad’s cousin. Then, we went to Fujikawaguchiko and explored the lava tube caves (dragon, wind, ice, bat) and hiked up a mountain around that area for two days which was super cool. I could see Mt. Fuji on the first day sometimes, but the second day was more cloudy.
Then today (Monday), I explored Akihabara and got an original Pokemon blue gameboy cartridge. I was going to try to get a Venasaur plushy for my friend but I kind of got lost in Tokyo Station but then found my way. I’ll be in Tokyo at the end of PII, so I’ll have another chance.
By the way, I’m writing this on the Shinkansen train going super fast from Tokyo to Kanazawa.
See you next weekend!