Weekdays

Feb. 14 (Fri)

Laura taught us about manners in America at the study center in the morning. After that, we went to Target with Kara, who used to host Japanese students from Seiryo before. Kara taught us clearly about some shops and goods. I had a great time with Kara.

After going home, I gave my host family some souvenirs from Japan. Jane liked rice crackers and masking tapes. Daryl liked the ballpoint pen. Also, Jane gave me a cute balloon, a teddy bear, and some chocolates because it was Valentine's Day. I was so happy.

We had the welcome party in the evening. Before we started the party, we played Jenga with Mika's host sisters and a sister's boyfriend. I was afraid when Jenga lost balance. Then, we ate some dishes that each host family brought such as pizza, macaroni and cheese, chicken, and salad. They were so delicious.

Lastly, we played a game, and Haruna and I won. I really enjoyed the game.

Feb. 17 (Mon)

We visited the fire department. We asked firefighters some questions, wore the firefighter suits, and sprayed water with a fire hose. A firefighter told us about his work and showed us a fire engine. Then, we met a female firefighter for the first time. She was so cool.

My host family took me to an ice hockey game in the evening. I watched it for the first time and I got a fresh impression. I asked Daryl how to play ice hockey, and then he told me about it until I could understand. It was so hard for me to follow the puck because it moved so fast. Sometimes, players fought with each other, the audience sang the songs, and played the game. I had a great time with my host family. Since then, I was interested in ice hockey.

Feb. 18 (Tue)

I told Jane that I really liked the ocean, and then Jane took me to the ocean before going to the study center. The ocean was so beautiful. Jane told me that people living in the oceanfront houses were rich.

We went to the police station and the city courthouse. At the police station, we saw the police cars and motorcycles. I thought they were cooler than Japanese ones. When I saw the detention cell for the first time, I was surprised that it was so small. In the city courthouse, we wore the black gown, used the gabelle, and pretended to be a judge. I really had a valuable time because we learned a lot of things from some people.

Feb. 19 (Wed)

We prepared for going to a senior home in the morning. After that, we went to Krispy Kreme Doughnuts and Tacoma Mall. At Krispy Kreme, we saw how to make doughnuts, but I worked at a doughbuts shop and had seen it again and again in Japan. I explained it for Laura. I thought American doughnuts were sweeter than Japanese ones.

I shared Thai food with Urara in Tacoma Mall. It was a hearty dish. We went to the shop that Laura recommended. People can choose a stuffed animal by themselves, put cotton in it, and name it in the shop. I have never seen the shop in Japan. Haruna bought a stuffed bear and named it “Laura Bear.” It was so cute!

Feb. 20 (Thu)

I was looking forward to going to Leavenworth! It took about 2 hours from the study center to Leavenworth by car, so we had some quiz, took a few pictures with app that we could exchange our faces with each other's. We roared with laughter with the pictures because they were so funny.

First, we went to the Christmas shop. There were a lot of ornaments and goods of Santa. I wanted to take all the products back home. Then I found an ornament which looked like Urara.

Second, We ate traditional German dishes for lunch.There were a variety of sausages and pasta. All of them were delicious. Also, there were a lot of shops in Leavenworth. For example, a store specializing in chocolate, a store with nutcrackeres and masks.

When I enjoyed shopping without buying anything, Laura said to me, “You're a cheap!” as a joke, but I bought a nutcracker for 9 dollars. She said to me, “You're not a cheap!!” We saw a cute horse on the street, and we took its pictures.

On our way to the study center, we went to a souvenir shop. There were a lot of candies that looked delicious, but I couldn't decide what to buy, so I bought a snack that Laura recommended.

Feb. 21 (Fri)

We went through Easter and Halloween in class. Laura hid some eggs in the room, and we made every effort to look for them. I found the most eggs. I was so glad. I got a Halloween costume of a referee and I said to Laura, “Trick or treat!!” We got a lot of candies.

We ate some dishes that Jane, Gwen, and Alissa made for us. Jane cooked a turkey. She put some ingredients in the turkey the day before. I ate it for the first time, and it was so delicious that I ate a lot.

We played a game with Laura. It was a game to build up a tower with small pieces of chocolate. It was too hard to stack up chocolate. Mika and Laura advanced to the final match. Finally, Mika won. She was strong.

After class, I went to Gwen's house with Haruna. Gwen was from Texas, so she told us about Texas and made us Texas dishes. We watched a movie and enjoyed coloring pictures after dinner. We watched the movie “San Andreas,” but it was a common story.

I fell in love with a ferret at first sight in Gwen's house. He was called Fresca. I patted him on the head.

Feb. 24 (Mon)

We had a class at the study center in the morning. After that, we went to Green River College and a senior home. The college was so large. We had lunch at college. There was a difference in lunch between America and Japan. They had many kinds of dishes in America. I was so glad that I met Mako, Nozomi, and Hibiki, who are friends of ours. I wanted to speak English better because they spoke English very well.

We sang some Japanese songs after making a tour at the senior home. We sang “Hometown,” “Tulip Song,” “Frogs Song,” and “Snow” in Japanese. I thought people understood our songs because we sang them with gestures.

Mika played a Japanese song on the piano. It was the song called “Tapestry” by Miyuki Nakajima. I was moved. We also talked with elder people about their hometown and favorite movies.

Feb. 25 (Tue)

It was the day for Seattle sightseeing!! At first, we went to University of Washington. The university was old with its long history. The library was so large and silent like the world of Harry Potter. While we looked around the campus, an accident happened. Urara said to us, “I lost my phone!!” We ran to the shop where Urara was supposed to leave her phone behind. She found her phone miraculously.

Next, we went to Space Needle. When I got a view of it from underneath, I thought it was not high, but it really was. I'm afraid of heights. When Mr. Nonaka pushed my back up there, I thought I was going to die! It was sunny and we saw the beautiful view from its top.

Also, we went to Pike Place Market, which is a famous place in Seattle with many people. It has the first Starbucks and Gum Wall. I bought some goods and coffee beans in the shop. The Gum Wall is famous as the dirtiest place in the world. It was so dirty.

We went to T-Mobile Park last. Ichiro was a member of Seattle Mariners. We couldn't enter the stadium, but we bought Ichiro T-shirts instead. We sang a movie theme song of “Coco” in the car, and I really enjoyed it.

Feb. 26 (Wed)

We practiced our presentation for our elementary school visit in the morning. Jane and Gwen came to the study center and taught us how to enjoy craft-making in the afternoon. We made an envelope and a card. I practiced craft with Jane many times and made a card smoothly. Also, Jane and Gwen brought some pretty paper and stickers, and I made a cute card.

A police officer came to the study center with a police dog. The dog was so smart. I threw a ball away and she always brought it back to me. She was cool.

I said to Jane, “I want to eat American cuisine a lot,” and she took me to a buffet restaurant for dinner. There were a lot of American dishes in the restaurant, and I also ate a piece of pumpkin cake. I was surprised that I was able to taste ginger in the dish. Jane said to me, “When we make pumpkin cake, we always put some ginger in it.”

Feb. 27 (Thu)

We went to an elementary school, and taught children how to count from 1 to 10 in Japanese. The children were interested in Japan and asked us a lot of questions, so we had a great time there. We also asked for their names, and wrote them in Japanese.

We played on the playground during lunch break with children. The children asked me to play with them one after another. They had a lot of energy.

When we made a presentation for children in the lower grades, a girl asked us, “Can I share a hug with you?” We said, “Sure!” and then many children came for a hug with us one after another. It was very good.

After class, I met Carter and Kacin, who are my host family's grandchildren. Carter likes Pokemon, and we talked about Pokemon. Kacin was full of energy and ran around in his house. Sometimes he was scolded by his father, but he was still flolicking. I only met them once, but I had a great time with them.

Feb. 28 (Fri)

Laura and Gwen really likes bowling and they have their own bowling gloves. Laura is so good at bowling that she scored 300 before! I couldn't throw the ball well, so I took a lesson from Laura many times. When I borrowed Gwen's gloves, I was able to throw the ball smoothly. Jane also likes bowling, and she taught me the knack of bowling. I worked hard without much success, but everyone said to me, “You can do it!” I enjoyed bowling anyway.

Haruna took the first place and I took the last place. Laura said to me, “You got the 5 scores more in Game 2 than in Game 1. Good job!”

I made yakisoba for my host family that evening. Yakisoba is noodles stir-fried with vegetables and meat. My host family said to me, “We have eaten yakisoba before,” so I made the salty yakisoba. They said, “This yakisoba is better than the sauce one! I liked it!” I was so glad!

Mar. 2 (Mon)

It was the day for the sayonara party. We changed into yukata. One teacher from the elementary school we visited took part in the party too. I was so glad that Laura and Jane said to me, “Your yukata is so nice!” We gave a presentation about Ekiben. Ekiben are special boxed lunch sold at train stations. We had a great time!

We each presented a memory book and a photo frame to our host family. I cried a lot. Daryl and Jane shared a hug with me.

After that, we presented some gifts to Laura. She looked so happy, and I was happy too. I also gave Laura the book that Jane and I created for her as a surprise. I had an awesome time with the people I love!!

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