The Weekdays

Feb. 12 (Mon)

It was the first class to take in America. I actually felt a little loneliness over the weekend, so I felt relieved to see the homestay members again.

Laura taught us the importance of saying “No.” We were not only saying “No,” but also speaking passionately.

“Welcome Party” was held in the evening. Our host families came to the party, and we enjoyed playing some games and talking to each other. The host families brought many kinds of food for us, and they were all very delicious.

Feb. 13 (Tue)

Laura taught us how to count American money, and we went shopping to Tacoma Mall. I walked with Rika and Haruka, and then a Kenyan man came talking to us. He was very friendly, and he earnestly listened and talked to us. I was impressed because we were able to have conversation by speaking English. After that, we said, “This is truly America!”

I had dinner with Karen and George for the first time because we were busy with one thing or another for the past few days. I felt happy we had dinner while talking to each other. After that, we relaxed and watched 2018 Winter Olympics on TV. I also felt happy because we talked about many things while we were watching it.

Feb. 14 (Wed)

It was St. Valentine's Day, so Emily and Kyle gave me a candy named Fun Dip. I arrived at the study center, and Rina gave us Fun Dip, too. I was surprised how popular it was.

We went to the fire station, and asked some firefighters about American fire stations. We also experienced many things such as shooting water. I thought the firefighters ware very cool, kind, strong, and wonderful! I was happy that we experienced precious things, and learned about the differences between American firefighters and Japanese ones.

After that, Laura taught us the importance of “I can do it.” Laura's talk was valuable, so we were impressed and it made us cry. The talk also encouraged us, and I decided to keep those words in mind from that time on.

Feb. 15 (Thu)

We went to Leavenworth. It took a long time to go there, but thanks to Mr. Kim's driving, we enjoyed talking in the van. After arriving there, Laura and Mr. Nonaka introduced many kinds of stores to us, and then we had lunch and shared some German food with each other. After that, we freely went around the town and enjoyed seeing the sights. I felt happy because we ate delicious ice-cream and chocolates.

I was planning to take part in a volunteer activity to give some sandwiches to homeless people with Karen and George after coming home, but we were late to come back, so I wasn't able to do it. I was a little sad, but I hoped to try the activity with them in the future.

Feb. 16 (Fri)

We went to the police office. A beautiful woman answered our questions and showed us around in there. We thought she was a police officer, but she was actually 18 years old and was trying to become a police officer. We were very surprised by that! I was also impressed that she had belief and passion about the police work. After that, we made a tour in the police office, and we saw some jail too.

We went to the law court after leaving the police station, and we met a judge, who is Laura's friend. We listened to some valuable talk from him, and experienced sitting at the judge's chair.

Karen took Emily, Kyle, and me to some shops after class. We chose some topping on frozen yogurt, and then we had the delicious yogurt. I hadn't seen the shop like that, so I was happy.

Feb. 19 (Mon)

We experienced American holidays in a day. We searched hidden candies like “Easter Egg Hunt,” and we dressed in some costumes like “Holloween.” We enjoyed dressing up, and I looked good in a Sister's costume, so everyone called me “Sister Mami!” After that, we painted Easter eggs. Our host families brought many kinds of dishes from home, and we had delicious lunch like “Thanksgiving.” I was happy that I had a big turkey.

Karen took Kyle and me went to the TV studio where George worked. George showed us around in the studio. I hadn't even seen any Japanese TV studio, so it was a rare opportunity to see the studio, so I was very excited.

Feb. 20 (Tue)

We went to Green River College. We met a girl, who used to host some students from Seiryo. She went to Japan to study too, and she showed us around in the college. We also saw Stephanie, who came to Seiryo College to talk about studying abroad at Green River College. She explained that again, and I wished I could come back to the college to study.

We went to a local senior home after leaving Green River College. The place looked like a luxury hotel, and it was different from Japanese one. We sang some songs such as “Frog Song” and “Hometown” in front of many elderly people. We sang well. I was glad that one elderly woman said to me, “Your English is good!” when we were talking to them. I determined to keep studying English hard.

Mai's host mother Mary took Mai and me to the shop called “Almond Roca” after class. I had been to the shop once with Karen and George, and I was glad I went there again because the shop was my favorite.

Feb. 21 (Wed)

We went to an elementary school and taught the students how to count from 1 to 10 in Japanese. Every student was very cheerful, powerful, and was actively taking part in our presentation, so we were happy. We also wrote their names in Japanese, and sang some songs in Japanese. When we went to one class to present their Japanese name, the students suddenly sang us a song “Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes” in Japanese. It was really amazing, and we felt very happy.

After class, I went home and had dinner. When I felt relaxed, Karen gave me a picture book written by her. I was so glad, so I asked her for her autograph on the book and took a picture. It was a really wonderful present for me, so I want to treasure it for long.

Feb. 22 (Thu)

We were planning to go sightseeing in Seattle, but it snowed that day and the class was canceled. Emily and Kyle's schools were canceled, too. We went out for shopping instead. First, we went bowling. I bowled for the first time in a long time, but I got higher scores than I had expected. After bowling, we went out for lunch to a restaurant. The restaurant was known to serve good “peanuts,” and we ate a lot of peanuts. I was surprised because we were supposed to throw empty peanuts shells away on the floor whenever we ate peanuts.

After that, we went to a shopping mall called “Macy,” and we played many kinds of games. Japanese game arcades have many crane games, but American ones have different kinds of games. We especially enjoyed the game based on an American TV program. Thanks to my host family, I spent a good time that day.

Feb. 23 (Fri)

We started making a memory journal for our host family. I planned how I make mine while choosing some materials.

Then we went to a bowling alley, and we had lunch there. I had a delicious hamburger. After that, we started bowling. I was laughing a little because Laura was very serious to teach us how to bowl and I got higher scores than I had expected.

I had dinner soon after class, and I followed Karen and George's volunteer work. The volunteer work was at a musical hall, and Mai and her host family were there too. When the musical started, I watched it with Mai and her host father Glenn. It was a really great musical, so we were very impressed. After the musical, we talked to the female musical singer and took a picture with her. It was a precious experience.

Feb. 26 (Mon)

We went to Seattle sightseeing at last. Everywhere was fun for me, and it was sunny, so every scenery was beautiful! We bought “Seattle” T-shirts. First of all, we went to University of Washington. It was very spacious and beautiful like the world of “Harry Potter.” After that, we went sightseeing around and enjoyed everywhere we went.

I went out for dinner with Rika and her host family. We went to a lobster restaurant near the study center, and then Rika and I watched many lobsters in the water tank. The food of the restaurant was delicious, and I was happy that I talked to Rika's host family while we were eating.

My host father, George, had been in the hospital for two days, so I moved to Laura's house that evening, and I went home with Laura after dinner. Laura showed me many of her precious photos before we went to bed. I thought Laura's daughters were very beautiful. I really appreciated Laura to give me a good time because I was worried about George and Karen.

Feb. 27 (Tue)

We were busy in the morning. Laura made our breakfast, but two slices of bread were burned. Laura said, “It's crow's feed,” and she set new two slices of them. We were watching crows eating the burned bread, and then the new ones were burned again! I was laughing at the accident, and then even fire alarm started to go off! I couldn't stop laughing. We didn't have toast after all.

We made our memory journal all day at the study center.

I went to Karen's house to cook Niku-jaga for Karen, George and Emily. When we had it, and George said, “It looks like American food.” I was so glad they said they liked it.

Feb. 28 (Wed)

I finally finished making my journal. I was a little late to finish it, but I made it neat. After that, we went for the last shopping, and had four kinds of pizza for late lunch.

We practiced our presentation for the last time, and showed it in front of our host families. We made a few mistakes, but we were glad our host families were so excited.

After the party, Yukina and I went home with Laura. We packed our luggages together, and we went to bed.

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