Dance Party

Halloween was the first biggest event since I came to America. We had a dance party at school and many students wore costumes. I ate very sweet dessert and I had an opportunity to make new friends at this event. You can take part in the costume contest. If you join it, this event will be better for you. Actually I wanted to wear a high quality costume in order to join the contest, but I didn't get enough time to prepare for the costume. Yet I had a good time with my friends and got many new friends.

Jack-o'-lantern

I made Jack-o'-lantern with my classmates as a part of the class. I cut out the stalk end of a pumpkin and emptied its inside. It was the first time for me to do it. Seeing Jack-o'-lanterns other people made was very interesting because everyone was making different faces like hero's or famous character's. I put my Jack-o'-lantern in front of my house. I hesitated to walk around my house after the sunset because of very scary decorations on neighboring houses.

I celebrated Thanksgiving at home. There were many Korean guests because my hostmother and roommates were from Korea. My hostmother Alex made dinner for us. Her cooking was so nice! We ate pumpkin pie and played card games after eating dinner and turkey. At the end of the day, we enjoyed KARAOKE at home and had a good time.

I took part in the party at Gretchen's house too. She is christian. She took GRC students to church and gave us free dinner. That's why the party was a very classical Thanksgiving party. There were many academic students at the party. Actually, I didn't have a chance to talk with academic students in my class. I was glad to talk with people who was good at speaking English. This party was different from the party at my house. For example, I did prayer and listened to live songs and the herp playing. I had a good experience.

Christmas

I decorated for Chrismas at home with my hostmother Alex and her friend's daughter Salan. We decorated not only our Christmas tree but also our living room, stairs and entrance. Alex and some friends gave me many Christmas presents too. In America, they celebrate the day with their families at home. It's very different from Christmas in Japan because we celebrate it out of home.

Traveling during Winter Vacation 1

I went to California with my friends for 5 nights and 6 days. We used Airbnb instead of hotels, so we stayed in one room in an apartment where local people lived. We went to Disneyland, Hollywood, Beverly Hills and Santamonica Beach with our English skills only. I thought that this trip was very good to improve my English skills because we needed to read a lot of English to make a travel plan. Actually it was not easy to send emails or call in order to connect Airbnb.

Traveling during Winter Vacation 2

I also went to Canada for 2 nights and 3 days with my friends. It took about 5 hours by bus from Seattle to Vancouver. Crossing the border by car was amazing for me because we cannot experience to cross a border in Japan. We saw the steam clock and crossed the Capilano suspension bridge. I also saw the Vault of the Vancouver Olympic Games. I used buses, trains and subways to look around. I felt that the atmosphere in Vancouver was slightly different from that in Seattle.

They had New Year countdown and the fireworks event at the Space Needle. It was different from Niigata fireworks because we were able to see it from very close to the Space Needle. There were a lot of people there, and the streets were busy, so I didn't think it was at midnight. I was surprised that they had no special food for New Year celebration. I ate cereal on New Year's Day.

Leavenworth

It's German village. I applied for the event and joined it. The village in December had beautiful snow and a lot of cute stores. The village was very busy that day because they had a big ceremony to light up the huge Christmas tree.

Seattle Fair

I went to the amusement park with my friend and her host family one week after arriving in America. There were many amazing attractions. That was why we spent a very good time. There were not only attractions but also horses and rabbits at the fair.

Dance Event

I went to see a dance event in Seattle with GRC Dance Club members who I met in an event at the church. Seeing my friend taking part in the event was very interesting for me. After going to see a dance event, we always ate dinner at a Chinese restaurant and bought something to drink that looked like tapioca juice.

Space Needle

The Space Needle is a symbol of Seattle. Although I had many opportunities to see that, I didn't have time to go up on it. Yet I found a tour going up on it as a school event. The Space Needle is 184M high, so it's not very high, but I got a nice view from the top.

Portland

There is a city called Portland in the State of Oregon, which is to the south of the State of Washington. It took 3 to 4 hours by bus from school to Portland. We can buy anything without paying tax because Oregon is tax free. I went to a doughnut shop called ''Voodoo Doughnuts,'' which is very famous in Portland. The shop was very busy.