Derek's Diary

FEB 12TH, SUN

Today was my last day in Japan. In the morning my host family, Tomoki, Yoriko, Maako, and Naruko, started driving me to the airport. It was a long drive. Near the airport we stopped at an outdoor museum. I don't know what the theme was. At the airport I met up with Garrett and his host families. I was happy to see that my first host-dad and host-mom, Masahiro and Aya, had come to say goodbye. I was very surprised that my friend Yuki was there too. My family hosted him in the United States last spring. I was very happy to see him, and surprised that his mother, father and brother were there also. So there was this huge crowd of people that came to see the two of us leave Japan. It was sad. 
The plane ride went fine. Garrett and I sat together and told each other stories about our experiences. We found Katie and Anthony quickly around the meeting point at the Tokyo airport, but we couldn't find Ashlyn. We waited until she was 45 minuets late, and then we learned she had already gone through security. So we went through security and found her waiting for us. It turned out, she never was told that we were supposed to meet up at a curtain time and place. We got on the plane fine and the flight seemed shorter than the flight over. I even slept a little. We landed in LA and walked around for a little while. Once we had all our boarding passes, we stopped to eat chili fries! We were really hungry and the food was good. Then Ashlyn and I said goodbye to Garrett, Katie and Anthony and flew back to Seattle. Our parents were there to meet us and I was glad to see them. The drive home felt really long and I was glad to sleep. 

FEB 11TH, SAT

Today was my last full day in japan. We didnt do any thing in the morning. Then we went outside and picked Souer Outside omero, or Mikan. It is a citrus fruit. It was so good! Then we went to watch maakos archery. After that, we went to watch narukos dancing. Then we went to a japanese air museum. It was a unique expereance learning what the japanese thought about WWII. Then we came home and ate homemade sushi for dinner. After dinner we had hot cocoa and marshmellows. Tomarrow i leave for America.

FEB 10TH, FRI

Today in the morning i went to elementary school. Before school started, i went outside and played jump rope with naruko's clsss.  After that, I went to middle school. Today I answered many questions about my high school in english class. At the end of school, i went to watch the table tennis team. Then they let me play with them. I was terrible! Then we walked home and ate Gyouzanabe. It was great!

FEB 9TH, THU

I think today was my last day at the high school. Tomorow i will go to elementary school for one day. Today for breakfast, we ate rice and sweet bread that was really good. At school i practiced my hiragana. The rest of the day was normal. I played soccer with some boys after lunch. For dinner we went  to a place where we sat on the floor. I had some fried meat thing. One of the things that i like about japan is the fancy soy sause. It is so mutch thicker and tastyer than  Amercian soy sause.

FEB 8TH, WED

The kids at school are getting used to me. In japanese class, the teacher gave me a worksheet to help me practice hiragata. Instead of going outside after lunch today, we stayed inside and read. Then we spent the last two piriods of the day watching a movie. After school me and Maako went to see the band practice. Then we went to watch the kendo club. It looked fun. Maako goes to cram school at night.

FEB 7TH, TUE

Today was my second day at the middle school. We walked to school. It was cold! School was pretty much the same as yesterday except in social studies we played a trivia game. I wasn't much help, but i think our team won. For lunch we ate soup and rice with some spices on it. It was good. After lunch I played soccer with some boys. It was really cold though, so nobody had that much fun. At the end of school there was an assembly. Everybody sat on the floor in neat rows. After school, i stayed for a little while to watch the baseball team practice. Then we walked home. For dinner that night we ate rice, meat, and tempura.

FEB 6TH, MON

Today was my first day with the Sakaguchi family. I went to middle school with Maako.we left school early so we could walk home in time to meet her mom at mall. Then me, Maako, and her friend Miyu went to this girly photo booth thing and had our pictures taken. Then we bought ice cream and walked to a ramen resturant and ate dinner. It was good.

FEB 5TH, SUN

Today was my last day with my first family. Today for breakfast we ate french toast. Tsubasa and the dad left for some baseball thing so i said goodby. Then we picked up one of Arisa's friends, and went shoping. I bought candy for my friends and family. Then we went to this thing by a beach where you can buy these special rocks and you throw them off this cliff and try to land them in a dent in a rock like 100 feet away. If yu can get a rock in the dent, it is good luck. I missed! Then, a long drive later, we met with the Sakaguchis in a parking lot. I said goodby and it was sad. Then i went to the house and ate curry rice.

FEB 4TH, SAT

Today is saterday. In the morning we built a ring of bricks to hold a tree. we planted a tree and then made a concrete handprint of mine to put next to the tree. It was verry nice of them. Later, we went to a band concert. They were really good. They played Pirates of the Caribbean. :) Then we shopped on the way home. That night we ate a homemade dinner of Gyoza. During dinner I gave them gifts. A little crying, It was sad.

FEB 3RD, FRI

Today we ate the samething for breakfast as we did all the other days. Then we went to school again. In the morning our class got　 to go outside and fly kites they had made. There was no wind, so they didnt fly well. As it turns out, 　today is the first day of Spring witch is a holiday when the Japanese celebrate throwing peanuts at the devil. Today, this ment peanut fight! It was really fun. Their rest of the day was the same as yesterday. Later at night, we ate Tempura for dinner. 

FEB 2ND, THUI

Today I went to the Middle school. It was just like High School. After school, The Music teacher showed us traditional Japanese instruments. Like the Okoto, Biwa. Then we went strait home and ate dinner. We had Potato salid and Shougayalki. It was good. Nothing to eventful today.

FEB 1ST, WED

This morning we had the same breakfast as yesterday. Today instead of going to school, My host-parents took me to see the volcano that had been erupting recently. On the way there, we stopped at what I think was a hot spring. There was a small concrete trough filled with hot water that we dipped our feet in. There was a little ash on piles on the ground. Then we got to a viewpoint on the mountain. we could see Kagoshima city. Next we drove back. We stopped for lunch at an udon restaurant. Then I went to the last 2 periods of school. The first was P.E. I played soccer with the boys. After that was home economics. We learned about old people. I think homeroom was next.. After school, I took pictures of the library and the science teacher took us to his room and showed us cool chemical reactions. He even showed us the cotton candy maker he made. Then we rushed to a family party at the grandparents house. There was home made sushi. We ate and talked and they asked me questions. It was nice to meet their family.

JAN 31ST, TUE

I was glad for a good night sleep. In the morning we ate a breakfast of toast and eggs. I never thought to put soy sauce on eggs, it was really good. Then we went to High school.
The first class was Science. I think everyone liked the science teacher. We went to a lab room and we rubbed the stuff out of a leaf so only the veins were left. then we made the leaf into a bookmark. Next was P.E., but I didn't have gym cloths, so I went to the teachers lounge and talked with the English teachers. Then was Math. They were learning probability. Next was health (I think) and the teacher was fine. After that was lunch I had rice wrapped in seaweed. Next was English. At the beginning was a small pronunciation quiz. I passed! :) Next we played English games. I tried not to help my team that much. Then we went home and sat around for a while. Then we went to dinner at a sushi resturant. The suchi only costs 105￥per plate! 

JAN 30TH, MON

The plane ride from Sea-Tac to LAX was uneven ful.Once we got to LAX, we met up with Anthony, Garret, and Katie.We hung around for a while and then we finally got on the plane to Tokyo. I was surprised to find that there were little TVs on the backs of the chairs in front of us.One of the things you could do with them is you could see where the plane was on the Earth. For that plane ride I found this Depressing.After a little while I watched I am Legend which was probably why I hardly slept. Around 2:00 I gave up on sleeping and watched the majority of Tintin.I never finished it because they served us breakfast at 3:00. It was the best meal I ever had on an airplane. 

We finally got off the plane and we found Yoko really easily. We sat around and talked with her for a while, and then everybody boarded their planes. Garret and I were the last people left. My last plane ride wash't bad compared to the one before. Then we arrived in Kagoshima and our host families picked us up. They to me out to lunch and we all had okonomiyaki. Then we went home. After a while we went for a walk it was cold. when we got back I took a bath/shower, and then we ate a dinner of hannbagu.