Furano

I had another delicious breakfast and afterwards my host mom and I went to her friends children's elementary sports festival, it was very fun. After that we went to the downtown area of Asahikawa. We shopped around and got some food for dinner because we were visiting my host mom's mom and dad. They live in Furano. In the grocery store it was different to hear ghostbusters music while looking at what fish you want for dinner, but it was funny XD. It felt like I had to walk with a beat and do a couple dance moves. So after we went to the parking garage to leave, I saw how their parking worked. It was very cool because the cars came one by one by a type of ferris wheel. So we waited for our car to spin to the bottom and we left. Furano is known for its lavender flowers blooming all over in July. Well, I did not get to see the bloomed lavender flowers, but I will see them next month when we go back. I saw pictures though of when the flowers were in bloom and it was gorgeous because rows of differenct colored flowers spread throughout the fields, hills of rich green grass, neatly aligned farming fields, and most of all the gigantic beautiful mountains in the background. My host mom was laughing at me because I was taking so many picutres. It was soooooooooooooo beautifull! My host mom surprised me by stopping at a soft serve ice cream place on the side of the road. But it was not an oridinary one, because Furano is known for their lavender flowers - so I got to try a specialty there, lavender flavored ice cream!!! It was one of the best soft serves I have ever had. You may have never guessed, but the color of the ice cream was... lavender. Aahahahhahaha. It was a hot day so it was double refreshing and there was nothing better than eating ice cream on a tall hill and looking at mountains everywhere in the background. We stopped at a sausage factory and my mom picked some sausage up. We drove to her parents' house and I saw her old school and the house she used to live in. Even if the drive was 5 hours or more I would have enjoyed it just as much because driving through the nature there is unbelievable. In actuality, the drive was was only around 1.5 hours though. We stopped at a little shop on the road and got some asparagus from a field. Arriving at the house, I met my host grandpa and grandma and also a uncle. The house was very traditional and small. If I was one inch taller I would hit my head on the top of a doorway. They were very nice and welcoming. While my host mom and grandma prepared dinner, she told me to ride a bike around Furano for 15 minutes. I got on my grandma's bike, which was small, and I attempted to ride around. I did not get very far, but I still got to see mountatins, vast fields, and hills. For dinner I had rice and sashimi, which is raw fish. It was very good. After dinner, my host mom, grandparents, and I went to my host mom's aunt's house. The house was the same style as my host grandparents'. We had milk tea, calpis, and tea to drink that we picked up from 7-11 just before. My grandparents and aunt asked me quetsions and I tried my best to answer back. It was hard because they would talk so fast and I could not comprehend so fast. It was late when we finally drove home. I noticed some differences like arrows above the road that told where the edge was sowhen it snowed, people would not hit the curb. There was also many shops to put chain around your tires for traction in the snow. I know there is that in the U.S. too, but I have never seen so many. Also, on the side of the road where there was steep hills, there were sideways fences present. I looked at them and wondered what they were for. It was pretty funny to see fences completely horizontal, steaked in the side of a hill. I was tired and went to bed after a very nice day. This weekend was the best!

To the zoo and strawberry farm!!!!!

Saturday was the best! I had sooooooo much fun. When I woke up, my host mom and I had breakfast. After both of us got ready for the day, we got on bikes (I used Hiroshi's). We went to the bike shop to get our tires filled with air. I dont know how long the bike ride was, but it was definitely a lot of miles. The view was beautiful. Everywhere I looked, there were mountains. I took so many pictures. We went to the Asahiyama Zoo which was located between mountains. The zoo was a lot of fun. We went and looked at all the animals and took pictures of them. We watched the monkeys climb over our heads to another part of their cage. The zoo was very nice, and well kept up. I liked how every sign in the park had pictures of cute animals. After leaving the zoo, my host mom asked if I wanted to eat and she said we would go look for a restaurant on the way back. But then she said turn left at a certain intersection instead of continuing straight. We were going to a strawberry farm. It was another several miles to get to there by bike. When we got there, we went strawberry picking. Happily I found out that while you're picking, you can eat as many strawberries as you want straight from the plant!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So my host mom and I ate strawberries non-stop for quite a long time. They were DELICIOUS!!!!! After my fingers were completely red and I was full, we picked more strawberries to take home. The strawberries there were red all the way to the middle and extremely juicy. It was probably the best strawberries I ever had. After paying, we departed for home. We rode our bikes for another long time : D. Right before the house we stopped at some little kids playing baseball. They just finished practice and my host mom called them over. I introduced myself and some were shy and ran away and some introduced themselves to me. It was funny because one of the kids took off his hat and wanted me to try it on. I put it on and they said "KAKOIII!" which means COOL! One of the kids pointed at my shoes and thought they were cool, while the others all tried to stand on there tip toes to see if they could be as tall as me. After they all left, my host mom and I went home. I asked her why one of the kids wanted me to put the baseball hat on and she said because they thought an American with their hat on was cool. I laughed. I had curry with meat and veggies for dinner. It was very good. It was a super exciting day for me.

Surprise Donkey

On Friday, I woke up and my host mom had made me breakfast. It was very delicious. She went to work so I had a ton of free time by myself. I spent time unpacking and trying to get my email and blog working on the laptop. The internet connection is slow, so it does not seem that I can post pictures. I am still going to see if I can find a way. It is very hard for me to work on the computer fast, so blog posts may come a lot slower than usual. I am sorry. When my host mom came home, we went with the vice principal of the elementary school to Bikkuri Donkey, which means surprise donkey. It was a hamburger place that served the meat like a steak. It was SOO good. After returning home, my host mom and I spent a lot of time talking. It was very nice.

Ariving in Japan

My flight to Narita Airport in Tokyo was around a 10-hour flight. The long wait was worth it though. I was so excited that I was not tired even after the time zone change. We went to a hotel for the night and in the morning everyone would go their separate ways to their host families. Some of my friends' host families picked them up right away from the hotel because they were so close by. We were forced by the YFU reps to stay in the hotel and to not leave. At first we were bummed because we thought we would be cooped in our rooms for hours, but the hotel was actually connected to a mall. Some of my new friends and I went around the mall. Even though we were not allowed to go outside, parts of the mall were connected by outside walkways, so I still got to see some of Tokyo. After a long day, I thought I would get a good night sleep, but because of the time zone change I woke up around 4:00.

The images are:

1) Michael (another exchange student) next to a Japanese many button-toilet














2) Micheal, Gram (fellow exchange students), and I















3) Mrs. Ueno next to me with Cliff and his host family on the other side


















4) My host mom's living room

I took the bus to the domestic airport. After saying bye to everyone left, I headed off to take the flight to Hokkaido. Only one other YFU exchange student was going there. Cliff and I boarded the plane and arrived in Sapporo an hour and a half later. After getting our baggage, Cliff's host family and my YFU rep were waiting for us. We had a great time and had some orange juice in a cafe in the airport. The YFU rep Yoko Ueno was very nice and was very helpful to me. Cliff and his host family left while Mrs. Ueno and I went to the train to head over to Asahikawa. We talked about my stay a lot on the train. She was very helpful. In Asahikawa, my host mom came by car to pick us up. Together we went to the high school I was to attend to see the principal and soccer coach. They said I would be able to play soccer starting next week Wednesday, but they dont think I would be able to actually go to school. I was really bummed by that. I do not know about track, but i definitely want to join that. I am going to still see if I can find a way for me to go to school. After that we went to my host mom's elementary school where she teaches. I met the vice principal and other people that worked there. They were very nice. We had ramen there which was very good. After that, we cleaned up and we dropped Mrs. Ueno back at the train station. My host mom and I then left for the supermarket to pick up some food. I had a great time and got to pick out some fruit that I liked. I also was very happy that she got me a Meiji milk chocolate bar. We went home and her apartment room is very nice. I have my own room with a futon to sleep on. After getting settled in I gave my host mom a welcoming gift. We had some ice cream and she showed me some photo albums of her and Hiroshi going to different places. It was very enjoyable. After that I went to bed because it was late. It was a very exciting day for me.

Orientation Day 3

The third day was much like the second, but there was more free time and celebration activities of the last day. I got to choose two Japanese culture sesions to learn from. I was in the Onigiri (rice ball) and Japanese entertainment. I managed to fit in a run later in the day during some down time. For dinner we had Obento. It was very delicious. The big part of the day was the Kumi Challenge where each kumi would have to come up with a dance from the songs in which we previously danced from the Coal Miner's dance. The first place kumi got to get dinner first. My kumi won! George helped us pull together a very creative dance that pulled our kumi to victory. I had a great time at the orientation and I made many friends there too. The orientation was a good experience to help me in my transition to a new culture. The next morning I would leave to San Fransisco airport headed for Japan.

Orientation Day 2

I woke up at 6:45 to go to breakfast. The food was good in the dining hall. We did radio exercises and spent all day in classes. With just a little free time, I got to throw a frisbee around with a new friend of mine named Max. I made many new friendships there. There was little other free time because the schedule was so packed.

Orientation

After arriving in San Jose, I immediately went on a bus to San Jose University for my orientation. I got to see my brother there because he was an Alumni Assistant. I brought my suticases up to my dorm room and then got to meet many other kids. Everyone was sorted into different colored groups which we called a kumi. I was in the orange kumi with Alex and George as my kumi leader and alumni assistant. They were both very helpful and enjoyable to be with. My schedule was filled with classes for being an exchange student. There was also several classes to learn and practice Japanese.

Time to fly

I left for the airport early in the morning with my mom, dad, Natasia, Louise, and Louise's mom. It was very hard to say goodbye. I left for the terminal while waving goodbye. Past security I waited a short time to board the plane. Arriving in Chicago, I waited an additional 30 minutes to board the next plane to San Jose. I met some other YFU kids in the airport. It was a moderately long trip to California and I did not sit close to any other kids from YFU.

Receiving the Information

My scholarship included a special 3-day orientation in California before I went to Japan. I would leave to San Jose, California on June 9th. I started to get nervous the week before I left because I did not have my newly-applied-for passport yet or my host family information. I ended up recieving my host family information on the 7th and my passport on the 8th. It was a very close call. The anticipation of finding out where and with whom in Japan I would be living was so high I could hardly stand it. I was very excited to have finally found out about my host family. The information sheet only listed the names of the family members, address, telephone, occupation, the age of my host sibling and the school that I will be attending. My host family's last name is Mikami and there is only a mom named Yoko and her son named Hiroshi. Hiroshi is 16, but I found out I would not be able to see him during my stay in Japan. I only found this out when I called my host mom. I held the beginning of the conversation in Japanese, but my host mother could speak English rather well. My host mom said that Hiroshi is studying in Canada and would not be back until August 3rd. I return home just before that. I was bummed, but I also found out that there would be a grandpa in my house who is 80 years old. I am still very excited to see my family.

Introduction

My name is Adam Crachiola and I am currently 15 years old. I live in Troy, Michigan and I attend Troy Athens High School. I have been interested in Japan for a very long time. When I was in the 3rd grade, the Matsumoto family, a family from Japan, moved to the subdivision where I live. I became very close friends with Kentaro Matsumoto. As our friendship grew, he and his family introduced me to some of the customs of Japan. This friendship opened my eyes to Japanese culture and sparked an interest in me about Japan. Sadly, Kentaro and his family moved back to Japan when I was in 7th grade. However, I still keep in touch with Kentaro, Ayane, Yuka, and Mr. & Mrs. Matsumoto through e-mail. (They even visited last summer for their vacation.) Knowing them made me want to learn more about Japan. My interest in Japan did not fade. When I found out that Japanese was offered as one of the foreign language classes at high school, I chose the class with great anticipation. I completed my first year of Japanese and knew I wanted to continue. A short time after the beginning of my sophomore school year, my Japanese II teacher, Mrs. Lowry informed my class of the availability of scholarships to Japan through sponsors of Youth For Understanding. I decided I would give it a try. Mrs. Lowry wrote a letter of recommendation for me, which I appreciated very much. I dont think I could have done it without her. I applied for several scholarships and I wrote several essays. Probably the most difficult for me was the one-on-one interview. All along, I knew the chances were slim of receiving one of the scholarships because there were applicants from all over the country. After several months of waiting, I finally found out in May that I won a Japan America Friendship Scholarship! I will only know 2 years of Japanese through my high school courses before leaving to Japan. Even so, I am very excited! I have wished for a very long time to visit Japan and this opportunity came to me.