Aug.27/10 Karly update

Posted by Carolynn de Jong

Konnichiwa Sunrise Rotary Club! I am in the beautiful country of Japan and have so much to tell. When I arrived in Japan I was surprised to find that there was not only the two ladies said to come pick me up, but around ten Rotarians and non Rotarians carrying a huge sign saying 'Welcome Karly J. Hilgers'! It was amazing. After they picked me up, we drove for four hours to my city Koriyama. We went out for dinner at a traditional Japanese retaurant, and they kept giving me more and more bowls of food, saying Eat! Though I have no idea what I ate, it was Oishii, delicious. They then dressed me up in a yukata, a cotton kimono which they bought for me.

The Japanese style of living is very traditional. The wife makes the food and cleans the house, while the husband works. My host family is very kind to me. They have two daughters and a son, but they all moved to Tokyo for university. My host dad is a lawyer, and my host mom sometimes teaches tea ceremony. She says I can watch her next lesson in the tea house they have beside their house. My host grandparents are all our neighbors. The other day my grandma brought me some blueberry ice cream, just because it was so hot out. On a cool day it's from 33 degrees all the way to 39 on a hot one. My school couldn't be any better. I just had my third day today. I've made some friends and we're going to the mall this Monday. My first day at school was insane. I had to make a speech on the first day to my school, to all 900 students. As soon as I got to the school, people stared. My blonde hair and blue eyes are so foreign to them. The girls all come up to me and tell me how cute I am, and try to speak English to me, which usually isn't very much. Then they jump and squeal and jump because they're so excited to meet me. The Japanese boys are very shy. So far only the foreign ones have come up to talk to me. At my school there are three other exchange students, all boys. They're from Australia, Costa Rica and Sweden. They have been here since March, so they have been helping me a lot with my Japanese and showing me around the school. On August 22 and 23, I had orientation. There are four other exchange students, including Stephanie from our district. The others are from France, Mexico and the USA. We all bonded that weekend. It was held at a beautiful ski resort. At this time of year it's more like a rainforest though. On the second day we climbed Mount Bandai! It was a two hour hike at 30 degrees. It was exhausting. Afterwards we got ice cream. I don't think ice cream has ever tasted so good as it did then. We were joined by rebounds, and they had many stories to share. I'll keep you updated, but feel free to email me at thekarly@hotmail.com or add me on Facebook to see my pictures. A big thank you to all of you :) Karly