the day i came home

So this is the last post that i am going to write about concerning my japan trip. I want to first of all say that you must excuse all the grammar errors. Whenever i decided to type up anything it was either really late or really early or i just wasn't feeling well. So yeaaah my bad. ;P

But at any rate Monday was my last day in Japan. it sure was a bitter sweet time. I knew i was going to go home and see my family and all my friends but i was really going to miss japan ( and believe me i still really do.) All we did on this last day was clean our rooms out,pack, and then get on the train to head for the airport. So all in all it was a really basic and bland day.

So as i said all we did was pack and clean and the majority of our day was spent in train stations and let me tell ya having to carry 2 suitcases, a purses, and a backpack that were all full through the train stations was not a fun or easy thing to do. It got really hot and my muscles got super sore from going up and down stairs. But at least this made me really tired so when i got on the airplane i feel asleep super fast. But anyways we went through all the train stations got to the airport and went through check in and then i got on the plane. Oh wait.. i forgot to tell y'all i got randomly selected to have a bag and body search done before i boarded the plane. it really wasn't that big of a deal but it was still kind of a shock especially since this would make it the second time i have ever been on a plane. So about 10 mins before it was time to board all they did was run the scanning wand thing over me and pat me down. Then they took everything out of my carry ons and then put it all back it. So, as i said, no biggie.

Well the plane ride also was no biggie. i didn't sit next to any one i knew but i liked it that way. Plus i got an aisle seat and the people in my aisle like never got up. It seemed like they waited for me to get up and that's when they would make there moves. So after being on an easy 12 hour plane ride i was finally back in Michigan. i went through a really fast and easy customs and then i got my bags said hi to my mom and dad and then said goodbye to my new friends and then i was on my way home.


For about a week i was totally jet lagged and did nothing. I still haven't done much yet since being back but i know next week ill be back to normal. I really miss Japan but i know i will be back one day!

So if any of you are interested and want to see my more "fancy photos" here is the website that i had to make for the class:

http://stu.wccnet.edu/~ssteffe/

Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan!

woo y'all

So on Sunday me and 3 friends went to Osaka! The main reason for going was to head to the aquarium! It was super awesome!

The day started with all of us waking up like at 6 because we wanted to get there early. Which actually wasn't that good of an idea because we got there to early. But because we got there early we all decided to go and get some breakfast at McDonald's! ( which is the 3rd time i had been there since i had been in japan). It was funny because it seemed like all the "hip" teenagers hung out there because there was a whole lot of them there.

Once we were done there we headed over to where to the aquarium was. It was a good thing we headed over when we did because there was already a whole lotta people in line to get in already. Well at any rate we went through the aquarium and it was awesome! We saw many sea creatures plus some that weren't. I wish i had taken better photos but it was really dark in there and super crowded. However the photos i took are what i saw and what i really liked. It was really cool to see an actual whale shark. We all concluded that the whale shark were young because they were so small. The manta-ray, on the other hand, was huge! It effortlessly glided through the tank. We also some some other things but you can just look at the photos.

Once we were done with the aquarium we ran some other errands in Osaka and then we all went home and that ended our Sunday.

Friday and Saturday

... y'all

So lets see.. all i can really say for these two days is Working and last min Shopping. Oh yeah also cleaning! So yup not super eventful but also at the same time not super crazy.

Oh! on Friday we went to like the only mall in Hikone called viva city! got some more clothing! it was sweet. Other then that i didn't really do much. I finished my book, i uploaded to my blog, and i cleaned up my room and packed. All so that on Sunday i would feel calm about going to the Aquarium!

Hiroshima and Miyajima

Hi y'all

So Thursday. It was a very thoughtful day. As a group we all went to Hiroshima. The first thing we did was head over to peace park. It was very interesting. I walked around and looked at the monuments and just took it all in. Then me and my friends went into the museum and looked around that i took that all in.

After walking around peace park we all then went to a ferry and took that over to Miyajima island and went all the way to the top via cable car. I wish i had good pictures for it but it was really foggy up there so you couldn't really see much. The cable car was fun though.

anyways after that we took the ferry back and then got on the shinkansen and went back to jcmu

Oh also when we were in Hiroshima we got a small tour from our teacher and he took us to the hypocenter.

Tokyo A Go Go!

hey HEY hey y'all

So no pictures this time around because all i did was go back to Harajuku and shopped!!!

It was such an awesome time! I got more stuff plus i got to see my awesome friend! It was kinda rainy that day but still...AWESOME!!

After shopping we rode the shinkansen home and even that was awesome because the train conductor guy was so enthusiastic and just awesome!!

all in all....AWESOME!!!!!

Nara!!!

whats up y'all

So on tuesday we all went to Nara as a class field trip. It was nice and all. More exploring of japan. But as i said in the last post i have been really tiered plus my allergies have really been kicking me in the face. Sooo yyyeeeaaaahhh. It was good but i wasn't fully into it. The sites were awesome and really like "whoa" but still..It was kind of exciting at first because the deer are so tame there. If you have food they will just come right up to you and you can feed them from your hand and you can pet them and all that jazz. They can and will bite you if you let them.

Any who after walking around and feeding the deer we went to Todai-ji which is a big temple that has like a huge Buddha in it. It was crazy to think that something so big was made so long ago! Also the whole building that it was in had no metal nails in it. It was made with nothing but like wood!!!!

After we were done there we headed back for the train station and went home!!

More Hikone!

Hows it going y'all

So i know this isn't Monday but i am still gonna talk about Monday.

So on that day we Just went around Hikone on bike some more. It was nice but at this point i was ,in a sense, really tiered and just kind of done with it all. I was still having fun but still tiered...I had like sever allergies though so i had to wear a face mask (which is no big deal here btw).

We eventually went biking to this park (which was even worse for my allergies). Instead of looking around i just sat outside with my one friend and waited for everyone to come back..Then we all left and instead of going to the shrine with everyone else i just went back to the dorm because i dodnt feel that rad...

Good ol sunday

Hows it going y'all

So Sunday was in a sense my day off. No thinking about class or fine art photography. Instead i went to the meeting in Kyoto. It was a nice thing to go and do after a most stressful day. I went with sister Naomi and her son Issac and sister hiroe who i met through emails that where given to me by Yuri and Miyuki Kochi.

It started off with them picking me up at the dorm and then driving to a parking lot by i think notogawa station. Then from there we got on the train and rode to kyoto and then on the subway to our final destination.

when we got there we saw the kingdom hall and it was just this simple building. if you weren't to see the sign then you probably would not have known it was a kingdom hall. It apparently is about 3 stories high and has multiple rooms to conduct the meeting. i only went into one and it was very small but it got the job done! When i sat down a lot of people introduced themselves to me ( i cant really remember the names seeing as they where long jap names but i took photos and i would remember the face) . At any rate the meeting started and i enjoyed listening to a talk about keeping your promises. We then did the watchtower study and then the meeting ended. i met more people (including a finish people) and then it was time for us to leave. We went to a pizza place in the station and then they dropped me off at my dorm

overall i had a good day that day!!!!

Harajuku!!

howdy y'all

On saturady me and my 2 friends decided to go to Tokyo and more specifically the harajuku and shibuya area.

We started out by taking a 2 hour shinkansen ride over to Tokyo from miabara which wasn't that bad.. it was hard to stay awake but still not that bad. Then oncewe arrived in Tokyo we had to transfer trains and get onto a smaller JR line that would take us to the Harajuku station. From there we got off and just started to look around. It was really exciting! There were so many people! It was almost suffocating. And mind you the people are kind of rude. Like its not to super bad but still they will just bump right into without saying excuse me or anything! I guess that's how it goes in bigger cities.

But at any rate. It was a good time. Got some awesome photos and some awesome clothing and gifts for people. Also i saw so many awesome people. It gave me so many fashion ideas that im going to bring back to the US with me!

Overall it was a good day.

Castle Time

Ello Y'all

So the next day we started out the day with riding our bikes to the Hikone castle. It was the perfect day for it. The sun was shinning and all was good. The castle itself looked really good in the sun, perfect for shooting. Walking around the place was very peaceful to. Filled with beautiful sites of nature. We all just walked around and took photos. We also went into the castle but it was way to dark in there to take photos without a tripod. They had stairs in there, tho that were so straight up! My 2 friends that i went with were kinda a tad worried about it but i got used to it after a bit because it was like climbing down my loft bed. Once we were done we all met as a group and then had permission to leave.

We than went grocery shopping around al plaza. it was kinda super cool. I got some shirts that said really odd things in English. Like the sentences weren't formed right. After that we went home and just chilled

over all it was a super good day!!!

GO GO TIGERS

Sup Y'all

So i know i'm late on writing about thing but that's what ill do now!!!

Ok so the day i stopped writing was the day that we went to the baseball game in Osaka. The baseball game was super awesome!! Like when i first heard we were gonna go to the game i was like....ohh... but than i was like oh man that was awesome.

Like the day started out with the whole class riding the train and heading for Osaka. And then we got there and it was super packed! My excitement started rise. Looking around there was so many super fans ( i.e people dressed to the T in like all hanshin tigers gear). So when i got in there i had to buy a jersey so i would match so i did. I felt like i really fit in. We then went inside and got to our seats and started watching the game. the game itself wasn't that interesting but all the fans were. They would do whole group cheers and people would get so into the game, which got me really into the game. I started to get to clap along with everyone also. I felt like i was really connected. It was an awesome feeling.

Once the game let out we got on the train ( which was sooo super crowded like i was so pushed up against like so many people) It was so tiring but hey i had a good day.

Even tho we lost 4-8 we had a good!!!

The much better than yesterday day

At the first glimpse i got to look outside i knew it was going to be a better day.

After being stuck in the rain yesterday there was a total sense of worry and maybe slight fear, hoping that today wouldn't be as bad. But as i said It was much better than the day before.

The much better day started out with all of us hoping in to taxis and than heading down to the train station. The feeling in the air was so happy and exciting. We all had a good time watching the trains come in and whoosh by. All of us were snapping so many pictures.

Once the train came in we hoped on and heading to a lot more trains and than finally ended up in Kyoto. This in my opinion added to the already excited attitude. After arriving we then proceed to the shrine that we were gonna walk around ( which by the way was kind of like a park.) It was very peaceful and serene inside. So much nature. So very nice.In the end me and 2 of my friends ended up finding the cemetery. It was so huge and very tall. And of course we climbed all the way to the top. It was worth it because once we got to the top we could so so much( if not all) of Kyoto. After taking all the shots we could we just sat there at the top and let the wind run past us.

When we were done we left the cemetery area and just walked around eventually ending up in an area that was kind of in the middle and very people populated. All the people around us were so nice and once again there were so many photo opportunities. We even got our photos taken with some of the people. We than left the area and and started to go to our meet up point with the rest of the class, window shopping as we walked by.

When we all meet up we went to eat. But that is another post and story for later in the day.

I guess in simple words i would say the main part of the day was very en joyful and thought provoking

one word... WET!

So today im suppose to be writing a little differently from how i write. maybe more in depth...im not sure. this is supposed to be a post card for home. something that we can look at latter and be like oh i remember that. oh those nice memories and feelings..but hmm im not sure how to fully do that so im just going to write like a normally do. Also this is supposed to be maybe one paragraph...There is now way i can write only one paragraph.

Im not sure how i fully felt about today. In a way it totally sucked but then again there was this odd bonding that went on through the group.

The day started out with me and my roommate going for a walk at like around 7am. we went by the lake and just looked around. It was nice,however, there was a lot of trash by the lake front which kind of surprised us. After that we got our bikes and had an orientation of JCMU. Then when that was done with the whole group went and ate at a ramen shop but because it was kind of miserable i didn't feel like risking and taking chance at a shop that i wasn't sure that if i would like anything. So in the end me and another friend just went to CoCos, which is kind of like the jap version of a Denny. It was nice. i had french toast and my one friend had pizza. after that we were supposed to meet up with everyone so we went out..in the rain and of course we got lost..sigh. Im telling ya we would have been in a horrible state if this one guy from another program didn't decide to go with us!! so once we caught up with everyone we were all supposed to shoot at Hikone castle today but because of the continuous rain none of us really wanted to. i mean we could but who wants to get there stuff wet?! So instead of shooting we went to the grocery store. it was awesome! it had food on the bottom floor and various clothing stores on the other floors and then at the top there was a 100 yen store!!! this place kind of made the day better! The only problem was that when in the store and outside of it biking around we looked and laughed at by many young asian people (like high schoolers).

So after all of that we went back home. Got separated from a the group a million times and oh yeah got even more wet. We when got back in the place i swear like everyone put on there sleep wear and just kind of did nothing because nothing was all we felt like doing. I however did do my landry with my next door neighbor and that in itself was its own adventure. ( All in jap! and only a sheet that translated the words.. not the directions) While it was washing me and her hung out in the weight room and tryed to get all the broken machines work..fail.

In the end i had a very emotional, melancholy, up down crazy day that wasnt that bad! lets hope tomorrow is better .

The next day

Hey once again ya'll!

So as i said i am going to talk about the everything other than the plane ride!

So once we got off the plane we had to go through customs and let me tell ya! that was my first bit of culture shock! Like the airport wasnt that different but it was the attendants that where helping everyone! I swear they only knew the least amount of English if not any! It was good that some people in the class know more jap than i do became if they didn't.. oh boy!

But anyways we went through customs got our luggage and it was all dandy! Then we all ( 20 people ) got onto the charter bus and then took off for JCMU! It was a pretty awesome! It was dark but still..AWESOME!!!! I will say however that i did fall asleep half way through the 2.5 hour bus ride but still every one did!

So once the bus ride was over we arrived at JCMU, got a small intro, and then got the keys to our rooms! Now, our rooms are kinda awesome but they would be even MORE awesome if things actually worked and if we got all the stuff( kitchen ware) that they said we should be getting. Me and my rommie are gonna talk to Iga-san about that today so hopefully it will all go well!

thats all im gonna write....FOR NOW!

so ta ta till then ya'll!

OH btw its 6am right now, i woke up at 5am but didnt go to sleep last night until 1am!

Im in japan!

Hey Ya'll

So i am finally hear! and let me tell ya the plane ride was a crazy one! It was my first plane ride and of course had to take a 14hr one as my starter flight!

At least i got to sit by the window and with someone i know next to me and in front of me! They made the plane ride enjoyable! But its funny. when my teacher said that when on a plane most jap people will just kinda sit there and just be there and sleep with out getting in your space i was like ok sure.

But no he was serious! this one guy at the end of the row was exactly like that! and it was kinda sad because when i had to use the bathroom i didn't want to wake him up but i kind of had to! it was silly. But that was my trip!!! the food sucked and the seats were uncomfortable but still i had a good time!

Well i will post more tomorrow about the ride here so ta ta for now hommies!!!