Hello! Today is June 19th — exactly one week after I’ve arrived in Japan. Although I’m still adjusting to the time difference, my experience so far has been amazing. The first few days I stayed in a hotel with the rest of the students that are attending the same program. We went through a long and tedious, yet necessary orientation regarding Japanese culture, how to interact with out host families, and what to expect to get out of the program. It seemed a bit overwhelming at the time, but now that classes have started I’ve settled down a little bit. After staying at the hotel (and eating some pretty amazing food) we were all assigned to our host families.
My host family is a mother, father, and two big dogs — Tony and Mary. I’ve been living with them for a few days, but I’ve already grown more comfortable speaking Japanese with them. I’ve also determined that they can hardly speak any English, so while it will be a struggle at times, I know my Japanese will improve a lot.
Furthermore, class has also been pretty fun. Our teacher, 野間先生 (Ms. Noma), seems like a super cheer upbeat and cheerful teacher. I was initially nervous about having class for three hours a day, five days a week, but I’ve learned that the time is divided up smartly amongst three periods, with adequate breaks in-between. Furthermore class has also been quite entertaining, so the time passes by quickly. But although it’s been fun so far, I’ve realized how much more Japanese there is that I need to learn. It will be interesting to see how far I’ve come when I check in next.