Smile for zero yen!

So I just found out today that at McDonalds in Japan (which I have yet to have the pleasure of enjoying) (by choice....) you can actually order a smile from your cashier - and it's free! Really, I'm not kidding -

Anyway...I just wanted to say hello! We just finished our first camp of three - and I am worn out! We have one night without campers - and then tomorrow at 11 we start is all over again! Our camp is at a hotel in the mountains of Japan! It is truly an amazing sight! Right in front is a huge lake and we are surrounded by rolling green mountains! When there are no campers - we enjoy wine baths, gourmet meals and nice rooms - however when the campers are here meals are usually rice, a slice of fish (sometimes cooked) and other random items - usually we are guessing what we are eating!

I am actually struggling with what to say...my English feels broken! So with that I will leave a few links to my pictures for you to check if you are bored.

Love to all!

http://uwsp.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2056930&l=5b33d&id=185001381

http://uwsp.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2056932&l=71ce4&id=185001381

http://uwsp.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2056933&l=05cf3&id=185001381


http://uwsp.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2057352&l=893a9&id=185001381

http://uwsp.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2057344&l=95843&id=185001381

The Typhoon Followed by an Earthquake!

Well, after this morning I can now cross earthquake off my list of natural disasters I have yet to experience! Not to scare you, but minutes after I got off the phone with Sam this morning an earthquake hit Japan - it hit the worst on the west side of the nation - but in Tokyo we ranked a 3 out of 6. It lasted for over a minute and simply felt like someone was rocking the floor. It wasn't shaking the house or anything, just swaying the house back and forth. No damage, except maybe a few cracks on the highway. Honestly if my host mom wouldn't have told me what was going on and every channel wouldn't have switched to earthquake coverage, I probably wouldn't have realized what had just happened. I felt my chair moving but thought the dog had bumped me or something - so really, it was nothing.

Anyway, we went into Tokyo today expecting there to be less people because of the holiday - but in a city of 14 million people I don't think you could ever have a day with few people! We tried to go to the Edo Tokyo Museum but it was way to crowded so we just went to the center of Tokyo and shopped in a few of the different districts. I bought a couple things, but for the most part I just enjoyed looking around.

I also ate many traditional Japanese snacks and candies today - none of which I particularily enjoyed! The candy was made out of soy bean flour and the snacks all had some sort of sweet bean paste in them - and don't worry, I bought some candies to bring home so you can all enjoy the experience!

TYPHOONS AND $200 MEALS

OKAY - IT'S ALWAYS SOMETHING WITH JAPANESE KEYBOARDS - THIS TIME I HIT A BUTTON AND THE CAPS LOCK WILL NOT TURN OFF...I SUPPOSE IT WOULD HELP IF I COULD READ THE WORDS ON THE KEYBOARD!! AT ANY RATE, YOU WILL JUST HAVE TO DEAL WITH THIS BLOG IN ALL CAPITAL LETTERS! SORRY!

SO I SURIVED MY FIRST TYPHOON, ACTUALLY IT DIDN'T REALLY HIT TOKYO - WE JUST HAD A FEW DAYS OF RAIN. MOST OF THE DAMAGE WAS IN THE SOUTHERN PART OF JAPAN.

MY SECOND HOST FAMILY IS TEN TIMES BETTER THAN THE LAST ONE!! THERE ARE THREE KIDS, AGE 11, 13 AND 15. THE MOTHER IS FLUENT IN ENGLISH, WHICH HELPS A LOT! THE FATHER WORKS AS A CIVIL WORKER - I'M NOT SURE WHAT HE DOES EXACTLY, BUT I KNOW HE WORKS REALLY LONG DAYS. I TRULY ADMIRE HIS DEVOTION TO HIS FAMILY - AS HE IS THE ONLY ONE WHO WORKS (WHICH SEEMS TO BE THE CASE QUITE OFTEN IN JAPAN). TODAY WHEN THE RAIN STOPPED WE TOOK THEIR DOG FOR A WALK AROUND THE NIEGHBORHOOD - THEY LIVE IN A REALLY NICE AREA! MY HOST MOM TOLD ME TODAY THAT THEIR HOUSE COST $600,000!! IT'S ABOUT HALF THE SIZE OF MY PARENTS HOME! UNBELIEVABLE!

LATER THIS AFTERNOON WE WENT TO SEE HARRY POTTER (IN ENGLISH!!!) AND THEN WE HEADED FOR SHINJUKU - AN AREA CLOSE TO THE CENTER OF TOKYO. WE WENT UP IN THE TOKYO CITY HALL WHERE WE HAD A VIEW OF ALL OF TOKYO, AND THEN WENT TO AN ITALIAN RESTAURANT THAT WAS ON THE 30TH FLOOR. THE VIEW OF TOKYO WAS GREAT, BUT THE MOST AMAZING PART WAS THAT MY HOST FAMLIY DROPPED $200 ON DINNER! I INSISTED TO PAY FOR MY MEAL, BUT THEY WOULDN'T HAVE IT.

TOMMOROW WE ARE GOING INTO TOKYO TO DO SOME SIGHTSEEING AND SHOPPING. WE ARE ALSO PLANNING ON GOING TO THE EDO TOKYO MUSEUM - WHICH IS SUPPOSE TO BE GREAT!

OUR LAST CAMP BEFORE THIS HOME STAY WAS A NIGHTMARE...IT'S AMAZING HOW MUCH HIGH SCHOOL KIDS CAN DIFFER IN ENGLISH ABILITY. THE CAMPERS WERE COMPLETELY UNRESPONSIVE, MAKING IT HARD FOR US TO BE EXCITED...THEY DIDN'T LISTEN AND WE EVEN HAD A FEW GIRLS SNEAKING OUT AT NIGHT TO MEET UP WITH THEIR BOYFRIENDS. I GUESS HIGH SCHOOL KIDS WILL BE HIGH SCHOOL KIDS, BUT CHASING AFTER 15 YEAR OLDS IN THE DARK AT MIDNIGHT IS NOT MY CUP OF TEA!

WELL, I AM GOING TO WRAP IT UP FOR NOW AND HIT THE SACK! I AM EXCITED FOR TOMORROW!!

I MISS YOU ALL!

Back to Camp!

Tonight is my last night at my first home stay. I am pretty excited to see everyone from my team tomorrow!! The past four days have been filled with sightseeing, festivals, playing with my seven year old host sister, and the ocean!!

The mall was definetly huge...I didn't buy much, just a towel at the 100 yen shop (1 dollar) because the towel that I brought is too big and never really dries....it started to stink! Friday my host mom and I were joined by one of her friends who spoke fluent English - we ate a traditional Japanese lunch (sorry if I spell it wrong) - okonomiyaki, it's kind of like a pancake but with cabbage, meat (or baby squid in my case) and other unknown ingredients! We also had octopus balls....I made a deal with myself prior to coming to Japan that I would at least try anything once, I can tell you for sure that the baby squid meal won't be happening again!!

Saturday Anna (my host sister) didn't have school so I brought her to a festival close to her house. It was a festival put together by the neighborhood moms for kids. Anna played a few games, ate some watermelon and then we went to the park. Anna taught me some Japanese playground games that I might just use with my younger campers in the coming weeks! Saturday evening my host mom, Sumire brought me to another festival. I can't remember the name, but it was a celebration of the prince and princess meeting in the milky way . It is celebrated on July 7th every year and people write their wishes on slips of paper and tie them to trees everywhere. Tradition has it that if it is a clear night the prince and princess will meet and all the wishes will come true! Anna wore her kimono, and we walked up and down the street (a tiny street with thousands and thousands of people) playing carnival games. Anna and I won three goldfish and a couple bouncy balls!

Today we went to the ocean! We swam in a part of Tokyo bay - the beach wasn't very nice but nonetheless Anna and I had a great time!

Tomorrow morning I am to be at the train station at 11 and headed back to Tokyo. It's about a 40 minute ride from my host family's home. On Wednesday we will have another group of 120 high school students join us for USA Summer Camp - and then on Saturday I will go to my second host family who lives right in Tokyo.

I am learning a lot and stepping out of my comfort zone quite often! I miss the comforts of home and am already sick of living out of a bag, but I know this experience will affect me in wonderful ways - that will hopefully be reflected in my classroom and even my day to day life!

Until next time....

American Summer Camp

Hello to all!!! My apologies that it has been so long, however this is no vacation!
I am currently at my first homestay. I am living with a 45 year old woman who has a 7 year old daughter. Her husband lives in Seoul and she rarely sees him. Her English is very good - and Anna (my host sister) is so cute!!!

First and foremost I have to give credit where credit is due...my team - Team 6 - is amazing! I have never worked with a group of people that meshes so well and for that I am truly thankful!!! There are 11 girls and 10 guys on my team of counselors and we all get along great, preform well under pressure and function as a group and team like no other team I have ever been on. I am surrounded by great people - and for that I am extremely thankful!
We just finished our first camp session (out of nine.) We had a group of 120 high school students come for three days after five days of training. During training we experienced many firsts, squatty potties and public bathing making the top of the list!!

Many things are extremely unorganized and lacking detail which is frustrating...but it's part of the experience I suppose.

Our first camp went very well for it being our first time. We work with the students on several different English speaking activities and then give out awards for the best performances.　　Camp is very busy, we are with the kids 24 hours a day - waking up at 6 and going to bed at 11. This past camp　I slept in a room alone with 17 girls. ...ugh...　I am happy to have a break from camp and actually have the opportunity to see some of Japan. On a different note, when we ended the camp yesterday we put the camper through a graduation ceremony. About half way through the ceremony all the girls in the audience were crying. At first we thought there was no reason for tears as they had only been there for three days - but then after talking with the campers we realized that it was because of the impact we had had on them in those three days. Most of the counselors ended up in tears waving good bye to the buses...

I don't have access to a computer while at camp but hopefully I can use my home stays as an opportunity to catch up with all of you. My email wont let me send emails out but I can check it, , so if you want to say hello　I would love to hear from you!!

Tomorrow my host mom and one of her friends are taking me to the biggest shopping mall in Japan. I'm not sure I need anything, or have room to put anything, but I'm sure it will be a sight!