On College Applications while Abroad

Student of and for Life

For those of you who need a recap, I am on this exchange during my senior year as an American high schooler.  Most high school students are preoccupied with college admissions, testing, prom, and other things.

Before I left America, I applied for only one college.  I figured my mom and I could work out how to do the others between email and fax.  So with one college applied to, I worried about the others.  I worry a lot in general even if I don’t show it well.

I hadn’t even left America and I was worrying about what would happen when I came back.  I wasn’t too worried about Japan, I still am not too worried about Japan even with the language barrier.  I was worried about college, where I would go and how I would get what I wanted done.  This exchange ends during the summer, most likely late to early August.  That’s typically when Colleges start opening their campuses and such.

I didn’t want to come back to America and have nothing to do, no college to get ready for, no plan set in stone.  I wanted a stable ground to there when I land in the airport when I return.  I don’t like the insecurities of not knowing what will happen.  I like plans, lists, and a figure for the future.  I can usually deal with the unknown pretty well, but I just prefer structure.

Away from my personal matters of thought, I was sleeping quite well until the sun decided to join in and make it a party as it always does at around five in the morning.  The local alarm also plays at seemingly random intervals, I’m half used to it now.  It only jolts me awake on occasion, it used to get my attention right away.

I lay in bed, dozing in and out of sleep from five until seven, maybe seven thirty most mornings.  That’s when I get up and eat breakfast with my family.  My host mom cooks breakfast, my host dad gets ready for work on the main floor, and my host sister leaves for school.

I did my usual routine.  Wake up.  Groan and complain.  Roll over.  Maybe doze.  Check Ipod for important messages.  Roll over again.  I checked my Ipod one last time, and saw a message from my mom in America.  usually when I see that we talk about what I have planned for the day, how I'm doing, how the kids are doing, and what my cats are up to.  (I miss those little demons pretty badly these days, I have nothing to warm my lap and heart like a good pet can).

Our conversation went, “Are you awake yet?  I have good news for you!”

I was quite bleary, just having woke up and the message had been sent maybe an hour earlier.  I was scared she may have fallen asleep, stupid time difference.

“Kinda awake, sup?”  Gotta love my sleep tired texting skills.

“How much do you want to go to Carthage?”

Rhetorical question to me, “Pretty badly, it’s a good school!”  It was my first application and first choice.

“Congratulations!  You have been admitted to Carthage for the term beginning September 2014!”

I did a twitch dance on my bed, knocking my knee against the wall and nearly falling off it when I rolled over.  My insides were all squirmy, excitement does that you know.  Makes the butterflies set off!  But boy was I happy!  I really wanted this school, really wanted it bad.  So bad I was afraid I wouldn’t get accepted with only the 69% acceptance rate of admission.  It was scary, thinking I may have to go to another school when I was so set on this one.

Messages that followed were about scholarships, my plans for the day, and what I was currently up to.  How my house was doing with me gone, and what my kitties were up to.  The usual mixture of questions and answers.

First thing I did was tell my host family, brokenly in Japanese and English, that I was now an American college student.  Their reactions, every single one of them, was to ask my age again.

For those of you who don’t know, I turned a fresh seventeen as of July seventeenth this year.  I basically graduated high school at sixteen.  I may not have my diploma (makes the whole high school exchange student thing easier when you are still a high school student) in hand, but I filled out all the requirements for classes, testing, and grades.

I’m a school nut, okay?  I actually like school, but I wanted to get it over with so I could go on this exchange without having to worry about returning and having another year of high school to go through.

My host family members were thoroughly impressed that I was going to a college, being so young in their eyes.  They also asked what I wanted to do.  I surprised them with a clear answer, knowing exactly what I wanted. 

Carthage was perfect for my plan.

This college has an excellent program for Japanese and International Business.  That’s the field I want to enter.  I want to be a liaison, a translator, a teacher, or anything else that deals with the relationship between America and Japan.  I can’t quite explain it right, but I feel like that is where I belong in the world of work.

I can’t really express myself properly through any language when I say how glad I am to being going to Carthage.  It’s impossible to wrap such a big emotion around such little words like happy, excited, glad, proud, etc.

The closest I can get is that I am happily relieved and excited.  That is shallow compared to the real emotions underneath those words.

I have a place to be when I get back to America.  I was worried I would go stagnant, not having a purpose towards my schooling career.  I was afraid of that, nearly terrified over it.  It’s all okay now, I have the college I really wanted to go to.  I won’t have to worry about not knowing what I am going to be doing.

I also hope this exchange changes that about me.  I get anxious when there is no structure, no straight foreword answers.  The Japanese are very aloof in how they speak, almost never making a direct comment about anything.  The few times they do, it is about unimportant articles that don’t really matter when something direct is said about them.

I hope that my anxiety over the unknown gets cleaned out of my system by the time I return stateside.

I have the support of my family towards not only this exchange, but also my new college.  I have their guidance in me from all the lessons I have been taught.  I don’t think I could have done all of this, this trip, getting accepted in the college of my dreams, without their help.

So here’s to all of those who have helped me on my way, towards Japan and college.  Here’s to the people who helped knowingly and those who didn’t.  Here’s to their guidance, love, support, and other unnameable contributions.  My supporters are the best in the world in my opinion, everything I have done is possible because of them.

Thank you.  Thank you family.  Thank you friends.  Thank you acquaintances.  Thank you to even those who I don’t care all that much for, you still helped get me here.  Thank you Japan for taking me for a year and pushing me towards my dreams.  Thank you Carthage for taking me towards the next step in my life goal.  Thank you Rotary for making all of this possible.  Cheers to you all!

Here I go.  One adventure after another.  Life, Japan, the college.  I wonder what else the future holds, only time can tell us!

See You Soon

Mata chikaiuchini
また近いうちに

On Taking Pride in the Little Things

Tiny

I feel very small these days, but that's probably a good thing.  My world here in Kashima is also very small.  It consists of my room, the living room, the streets, a few turns offs on the street, and the main road that I travel on everyday with my host sister.  We get food, borrow DVD's, and go on dates with her friends on this road.  Her house is the center of my world.

So my world is very small, but I'm taking pride in this small world.

I know how to get to the Konbini (convenience store), I know where to get good ice cream for cheap, I know where I need to go in an emergency, I know how to get home, I know how to go shopping for pain medicine, I know where the best café in town is, I know how to buy just about anything from the stores, and I can do all of this on my own.

There may be charades involved when I order food, but I can still do it.

So I take pride in these little steps of mine in my small world.

I don't think I could have handled a bigger world, so for now this is perfect.  Just enough space to spread out and try my hand at new things, but still small enough that I feel safe doing it.  Tokyo would have made me into a NEET (Japanese hermit that smells funny according to the stereotypes)

It also takes a weight off my shoulders.  I know where I can buy things, how to buy things, and that I don't always need to rely on my host family for every freakin' thing I need.  Yes, I need their help with a lot of things, but I no longer need to rely on them to buy me food, products, or anything else because I know how to do it myself.

Now that I have a phone, a Japanese one my host sister helped me translate into English, and contacts I can call in case of trouble, I feel better venturing out into the world.  I'm not scared that I'll get lost, in a place that I can barely understand the language of because of the dialect, and that I won't be able to make my way home.

A quick call to one of my good Rotarian friends and counselors, and I will be safe.  That is more than a relief.

So I am now able to go out on my own without fear, without true worry.  Japan is an amazing safe country.  I mean... seriously safe.  My host sister and I walk the streets and I see four year olds walking together down the street.  They don't have to be afraid, no one is going to take them even in a back alley.  It's almost scary how safe it is here.

Thee biggest crimes; stealing a bike, stealing an umbrella, and being impolite.

Compared to America... petty offenses that really don't matter in most cases.

So to say I feel safe here is an understatement.  I'm at ease here is a better way to put it.

I have also noticed that parts of my language in English are slipping, slowly but surely.  My skills in Japanese grow as I lose touch with English.

On another note, I love that I understand more than half of what the kids and teenagers say, but adults... nope.  My Pet-Chan's as my host sister and I call them affectionately, speak and play word games with me freely.  They don't seem to care that it's broken, in the wrong dialect, or that it' past when it should be present.  They just don't care and make a game out of it.

They make a game out of teaching me everything, from cooking to bathing.

So to all of you out there, think about this.  You see that toaster on your counter?  It's pretty easy to use right?  Not to someone who has never seen one before or even heard of one before.  You see your stove, with all the English written on it.  Simple English.

I'm basically illiterate here in Japan.  I can't read the simple Japanese, like off or on.  I can't read the directions on the microwave.

When any of you host someone, first thing you should do is explain how to use the stove and microwave.  Explain to them how it works, even if it is in charades.

I can't tell you how grateful I am for my host sisters showing me how the stove top works.  (I made pancakes for breakfast!)  I learned how to use the toaster... oven,.. thing... by watching my host sisters older sister making breakfast for her kids the other day.

It's been a lot less panic in the morning for me now that I know I can feed myself without having to worry about someone else making my food for me.

Lesson of the day; please teach your exchange students how to make their own food.  They may enjoy your cooking, but I don't think you always want to drop what you are doing and cook for them at a moments notice.  It's easier for both parties if they know how to operate the simple stove, toaster, and microwave.

See You Soon
Mata chikaiuchini
また近いうちに

On Fireworks in Japan

Fireworks!

I was invited to a Rotary barbecue, Japanese style.  I have to say, it was pretty awesome even though it was hosted outside... Stupid mosquitoes and freakin heat that just doesn't quit!  (took two baths today mind you)

The food was good if a little spicy, for those of you who do not know me personally... I'm a weenie when it comes to hot foods.  Even mildly spicy, just a tingle on the back of the tongue, is almost too much for me to handle.

The grill was a barrel like.. thing.. not sure what it really was, but it held the coals and charcoal and that's all that really mattered!  There was a metal screen and then a metal tray put on each end.  Food was then placed on either side depending on what it was.  Meat goes on the screen and fried noodles go on the tray.  Oh lord was it good!

The people of my host Rotary here in Kashima have kind of made it a game out of what I will and won't eat.  I don't usually turn down much, but a fish that stares at me while it is being cooked is a bit much for me to stomach.  I enjoyed the pumpkin though, something I don't normally eat in America.  I also enjoyed the rather rare meat.  Tongue, gut, and beef.  What a delightful trio!

But seriously, tongue is nearly impossible to chew!

This little get together had around four families there, and a bunch of kids.

I have found that I connect well with children here in Japan.  Maybe it's the fact that laughter is universal, and everyone wants to hear the foreigner stumbled over words that are commonplace.  My little friends here at my Host House parrot me, and I them.  It's a fun way to learn the language.  I gain a few more words each day, understand a sentence a little more each day, and get that kids are little monsters each day.

These kids, they were fun.

We lit little sparklers together and waved them around.  I love how the little sparks fly high before twinkling out close to the ground.  There is a Japanese firework that we don't have in America that I absolutely love.  It's a long piece of paper with a slight bulge on one end.  You light the end that had a hump and crouch close to the ground.  The little firework  sparks and sputters before seemingly going out before a small orange ball of what looks like lava forms on one end.  You wait and see how long this fiery little orb will last while each one of your pulses make it jump a little.  Mine didn't last long, but that was okay.

I had gotten a snowball fight in the middle of a Japanese August.  I couldn't have asked for anything more!

How it happened, we were all eating shaved ice.  Delicious.  God I'm going to gain so much weight with all the food being given to me at every turn of my chopsticks.   Besides the point.  I was enjoying my melon flavored ice when one of the little boys tears past me with a fist full of shavings.  Like any boy, he formed it into a ball, threw it into the air, and cheered when it exploded on contact with the ground.

Never have I moved faster.

I leapt over crates and pallets.

The party was at a Rotarians loading dock, I got to go into the big freezer and see the huge tuna and other fish as they sat in basic cyro sleep.  I loved the cold of the freezer, running around and chasing kids while the adults shivered and watched in amazement as I was completely at home in the cold in a tank top and loose pants.  In America I lived in an ice cooler of a basement.  I love the cold.

I leapt over the crates scattered around, rounded the grill, and tore towards the machine.  I hunkered down and gathered a fist sized amount and packed it down to a slightly smaller size, adding more shaved ice leftovers as I went.

The Japanese watched me as I laughed, giggled, and smiled like a mad woman.  Never have I been happier to see snow.  Fake snow.  But still snow.  It made me happy, really happy, ecstatic. 

So after explaining what a snowball was, what ice fishing was, and what a blizzard is, I took my precious ball of snow and threw it as hard as I could as far as I could.  This started a mini snowball fight between myself and the Rotarian who hosted the barbecue.

I ended up being soaked, ice down my back, ice in my hair, and my glasses fogged from the freezer.  He ended up sweaty, super cold, and amazed that I have a strong arm that launched snowballs like a machine.  (I love me a good snowball fight).

I appreciate that this Rotary here is doing everything in their power to make me happy and welcome.  Throwing parties, hosting parties, inviting me out to sports, facebooking, and just joking around with me.  It makes me feel like I belong a little more every time I make them laugh.  It's hard, jokes all come down to physical actions.  Sometimes I do it without meaning to, but it's totally worth it in the end.  Sometimes it's the fact that I don't know what is entirely being said or what is going on that causes the funny bone in me to leap out and cause a laugh or two.

Between being soaked in ice water (totally at home with it too), being overly full of amazing food, laughing so hard it hurt, and enjoying the rising moon; I felt a bit more accepted and at peace with Japan.

It's a crazy place.  The culture isn't much of a shock, but protocol is.  Fireworks have rules.  You light over a water bin, run around, and bring the stick back to the water bin before the cherry falls off and burns something or someone.  In America, we really couldn't care what happens with the cherry as long as it doesn't land on someone or something valuable.  Meeting people, I'm always confused when I meet someone.

The rules aren't straightforward like the firework rules.

Do I bow, what do I saw, who are they in relation to Rotary, what is their position in work, do they know English, do they expect a speech, do they know I don't understand most things said because it is said too fast, and do they understand that I don't really know what I'm doing when I meet a new face that doesn't know that I'm fresh in the country and not used to the strange space between shaking hands and jerky head bows on both sides.

At least with fireworks the rules make sense.

It's a challenge, but I'm starting to get that just about everyone is below me on the chart of importance.  I'm somewhere just below a boss and above a manager.  Assistants and servers bow to me and I should not to them.  Rotarians are both above and below me at the same time, making meeting them the hardest of all.

There is no black and white like a firework being doused in a bucket.

I bow, they bow, I bow again.  I say my name, stumble over the strange words and how they fit in my mouth.  They stumble over the 'l's and r' in my name because they have no true sounds for these letters.  I shake their hand, bow again, and explain that my Japanese sucks, and they have to speak slower.  They nod and smile, before turning to my translator and rapid firing Japanese with words I didn't know I didn't know.  Add a dash of tiredness, a cup of confusion, and a gallon of "Nani? (what?)", and let bake in the meeting over for two to four hours.

There you have it, the strangeness of meeting a Japanese Rotarian.

The party tonight, it was fun.  Very fun.  Worth every inch of being tired, sore, sweaty, and stinky afterward.  The Japanese sure know how to throw a get together!

The venue for our little get together!

Fireworks, note the little blue bucket if water!

See You Soon
Mata chikaiuchini
また近いうちに

On Dying of Heat Stoke

ATSUI

Atsui, is my new favorite word here in Japan.  I chant it when I walk down the streets of Kashima.  It means hot. 

Oh lord.  Never have I ever been in an environment as physically demanding as Kashima.  It's hot.  I'm not talking that whimpy warm we have in Minnesota where it generally reaches between late 80's to low 90's with a nice breeze and limited humidity.  I'm talking full blow, sweating, dying, dehydrating, and demanding heat.  It's a warm wet heat too.  So you swim through the air.  Makes for pretty fog in the morning though! (I have a view to kill for from my window, the one alongside my bed).

And I thought Florida was hot!  Doesn't have an inch on the midday sun I walked under with my host sister and her friends to go to lunch and karaoke with today.

By the way, I'm personally not comfortable with singing in front of near strangers, but this was awesome. 

We had lunch together at a restaurant where they separate you into stalls for your group.  There's a single table with seating for four, and the table is low to the ground but there is a space to put your legs into while you sit.  There's a grill in the center of the table, the heat and intensity can be controlled on the side.

We were given a plate of raw meat and vegetables, cold tea water (delicious), salad, soup, some kind of cucumber dish a lot like potatoes salad, and a plate to hold your spices and sauces.  It was awesome.

It turns out I'm pretty good at this Japanese cooking thing.  I may not know what I am doing at first, but I usually watch the others and catch the drift of what I should be doing.  THANK YOU OBSERVATION LEARNING SKILLS!

I made takiyoki last night with Anri and her friends while we watched Japanese scary movies with her friends and cousins.  I have to say, American horror movies are much scarier than their Japanese counter parts, but I was still scared right out of my socks.  (Her little cousins, who I have become a playmate of pretty easily.  I think gifts, candy, and humoring them helped.  They hid behind me, on me, and in my lap.  It was pretty funny!)  But besides the point, I was able to make those little octopus filled balls pretty easily.  It was a lot of fun!

I helped grill the meat and vegetables, god was it good food..... awesome.... just awesome.  I forgot how much I have missed the taste of Japan.  There really is no words for how delicious it is.  I can't put it into the human language, but it just tastes right.  It's a good clean taste that I appreciate and have craved for the past three year.  ( I love my family's cooking, don't get me wrong, but ohhhhh what I would have done for a green tea ice cream filled pastry....).

After an awesome lunch, many translated and fumbled talks in broken English and choppy Japanese, we got up, entered the hellish heat outside, and made our way down the street to the Karaoke House.

It was so much fun.  I was dying by the time we got there, but I made up for it by buying me some Lemon C.C (Japanese sprite mixed with orange juice) and a green tea ice cream filled pastry (holiness swathed in a cheap wrapper that I would do just about anything for, I freakin love the stuff!).  I thought I may have been suffering from a heart stroke, but I didn't show any of the major signs.  Eh, oh well.  I'm alive aren't I?

I sang a few English songs, thank god for the translate button on the console!  I was nervous, but Anri's friend encouraged (forced), cheered (really did), and clapped (on beat mind you) as I stumbled out on the first few lines of the first song I chose.  Doesn't help they made me go first, but I have to say it was so much fun!

After that, we went back to Anri's house.  Died a little on the walk home.  Had a snack (usual snack... some sort of dried cracker that tasted like sea and fish).  Talked a bit (I didn't do much talking, mainly listend).  I took a bath (I fricken love Japanese Ofuro) because I was a nasty mess of stink and sweat.  Anri, Okasan, and myself all went to the Rotary meeting.

The heat had gone by then, thank god.

The meeting will be explained in another post, too much to place in this one, and too off topic!

But after the meeting, we went onto the street.  The heat.... was BACK.  Oh lord, you think that since the sun is down, it would be nice and chilly outside.  No. NO. NOOOO.  It's around 90 degrees out.  I died.  I'm not used to this wet heat that makes it feel like an ungodly 107 degrees out!  My room... became an oven.

I think my chocolates may have melted... I have yet to check because I'm saving my American snacks for a bad day, not a day when I just have the muchies.

But seriously.  It.  Is.  Hot.

I hide out in rooms where the AC runs.  That is the upstairs living room, the downstairs living room, the flower shop on the ground floor (my house has three levels above ground), and my room.  Everything else is just space between the mad dash to the next chilled room.

I walked into my bedroom tonight, and started cooking.... sweat instantly beaded even with me just having got out of a chilled bath.

It's hot. ATSUI!

So, until I acclimated to this strange climate,  I will be taking two baths a day, washing my face every few hours, and splaying myself on chilled floors.

See You Soon
Mata chikaiuchini
また近いうちに

On Connections

Connections

There is a thing in Rotary, called connections.  I have to say, it is one of the best parts of being a Youth Rotarian. 

I have been in a whirl of connections over the past few days.  The moment I found out my leave date and time (Thursday August 15th, 7:30 am), I of course posted on facebook.  It's what anyone else would do.

The next morning I had more than a few messages, more than a few friend requests, and more than a few reassuring posts plastered over my facebook wall and messages.  My host sister, the one who is going on her own exchange through Rotary, told her friends who I am and where to find me.  My other host sister, a twin to the first one, also found me and invited her friends to find me.  Members of my hosting Rotary found me.

It was crazy.

I'm making friends without having to be there, and I'm learning so much about the town I will call home for a year.

Not only that, but I learned that my Host Club will be picking me up, with a rather big bus-  "Gabi-san! If you have so many baggage. it OK! Because we plan to go to Fukuoka Airport by big bus! Ha-haha! (b^ー°)／"  This is a message given to me directly from one of my main contacts that I have had with my Host District.

I had a good giggle, but it was reassuring.  I know that I won't have to worry if my luggage will fit into a smaller Japanese car, or if it will fit on a train.  Just a few pounds off my shoulders I guess~!

I also have classmates of both my host sisters find me, friend me, and talk to me.  Usually about anything; soccer, swimming, foreign affairs, how excited we all are, how none of us can wait to hang out, and what Kashima will be like.

These are connections, people who are willingly looking for me, talking to me.  I'm grateful for this, these connections.  These friends I am already making.  It's reassuring that there are people who are in town, a part of the schools, who are looking foreword to meeting me.

It helps with the stress about being a new kid.  I'm already finding people to sit with at lunch, who I may be in classes with.  As a new student, it helps cut down on the anxiety of it all.

My stress is down a lot more since I have my visa and itinerary in hand (it was fedex-ed, and my ticket had basically been purchased).

Everything helps at this point.

I'm grateful that these people are going out of their way to talk to me, to message me, to send me pictures of the festivals they are going to, to let me ask them questions about schooling and life and general.  These people don't know what they have done for me, I don't think they will ever understand, but I can try an express it.

So all of you out there, if you know of someone who is going to be an exchange student to your city, please contact them.  Talk to them.  Tell them about your town and what life is like.  Tell them what the weather is like.  Tell them what the food is like.  Anything, just talk to them.  They may not be able to tell you exactly what they are thinking, or you may not be able to understand their English, but still try.  Everything counts.

A lot of my conversations are a jumbled mix of broken English and Japanese, but we are still talking.  It's confusing, it's frustrating, it's hard, but it's more than worth it.

My written Japanese is crap!  Their written English is really interesting to read!

But both parties appreciate the work it takes to get the basic idea that I like to play soccer for fun and I like green tea ice-cream, or that they would like to hang out with me and would like to know where I would like to go.

I'm making connections to students and my host family.

I can't tell you how much it means to me to have the host sister who isn't going on an exchange ask me what I would like to eat.  She's an amazing cook, or so I hear from just about everyone I have talked to from Kashima.  She's.... she's being so kind, and amazing, by asking me this simple question.  It means more to me than I can explain.

I told her I would like miso soup, that's basically bread and butter to Japanese people.  Almost every meal I had when I was there the first time had miso as the appetizer or side dish.  I miss it.  It's the food I crave the most from my first trip.  It's a salty, fishy, soup.  It is made of fish stock, water, soy bean paste, tofu, and seaweed.  Sounds awesome right!?

She responded with- "I can make it so shall i make mlso soop for you (^O^)".

She also asked if there was any other food I would like to eat, and if any of you out there know my tastes in Japanese food, you know my answers.  GREEN TEA ICE-CREAM.  It is.... just amazing.  It's one of my favorite things to look for in the various Asian restaurants.

Both of my host sisters have both said that we are going out for ice-cream.  I can't tell you how excited I am!  It's their way of welcoming me, and it just means the world to me.

These are the people who will be my friends and family for a year.

I have also touched base with the people who hosted me the first time I was in Japan.  I miss them, more than I probably should since it was only a ten day trip, but I'm homesick for their house and company.

Both of my host parents from the original trip were so kind and generous, they made the trip more than worth it with their help and guidance.  They are the ones who showed me the side of Japan people rarely take the time to see.  A walk around the block, a trip to the next small city over to see a small art gallery where artwork from one of their workers was hosted, a visit to Tokyo and showing me the smaller side shops and stores, and above all else, passing on their appreciation for past arts and being balanced with everything that goes on in their life.

They are very happy to hear I am coming back, they are beyond sad they cannot see me at the airport when I land.  It's a long trip from their home, I don't blame them one bit.

But this is the classic Japanese duty towards welcoming people coming into play.  I feel like they believe it is their duty to make sure everything will be okay, that I am happy, and that they will do anything in their power to make it happen.  I appreciate this, but it's also a culture shock for me.

Their willingness to put themselves out there for my own sake.

Asking what food THEY should make.  Where I WOULD like to go.  Things that would make ME feel at home.  Make sure that I am HAPPY.

I'm just grateful to be going, I'm almost overwhelmed with everything else on top of that.  I want to be the perfect guest, I know I will screw up every now and then, but my focus is on learning where I belong in the family and school, and getting a grip on everything that is going to be going on!

I don't need fancy welcomes (though I am grateful because I am a bit wary of landing by myself), I don't need fancy restaurants or high stake shopping trips, I don't need any of the pomp.  Don't get me wrong, I appreciate it, I feel special because of it, and I feel truly welcomed because of it.  I'm just used to small town living, basic life, nothing truly special as I see it.

I guess I'm just repeating myself by saying that I am grateful, but there's no other way to word it.  There are no synonyms for how I feel about how their welcoming me fully makes me feel.

So here's to Rotary, helping me make connections to the family I will become a part of and the students I will study with and hopefully become friends with!  AND here's to the people who go out of their way to help students like me come to terms with the worlds we will be entering.

Help your local exchange students too!

See You Soon
Mata chikaiuchini
また近いうちに