A little time after my arriving in America, many pumpkins and Halloween goods were sold at supermarkets and various stores. They even had pumpkin patches which had only pumpkins. I was surprised when the event approched, the whole country got a Halloween mood. When I felt the atmosphere, I couldn't wait for the authentic American event. We made a jack-o-lantern in class. The pumpkin was so big that it was difficult to hollow out its seeds. It was still fun. The lantern looked beautiful when I put in a candle.

Also, we had a Halloween party at the main campus. We bought each costume by ourselves. Cute costumes are the mainstream in Japan, but American people usually wear really scary one. I couldn't easily make a scary costume, but eventually I put red liquid on my costume and I put special makeup on my face for the first time.

On Halloween day, teachers gave us some snacks. Michiko's friends and Stephanie came to our house, and we ate dinner together. I was surprised to see Halloween items outside our house. I saw scary dolls, my jack-o-lantern, and a big spiderweb there. Some children came to our house to get snacks. I was really happy to have the authentic Halloween.

Jack-o-lantern

Halloween Party

Thanksgiving is on the fourth Thursday in November. I ate gorgerous Thanksgiving cuisine with all the family members for grateful blessing of the whole year. I ate good food I had never eaten in Japan. For example, turkey, ham, mashed potates, corn bread, and pumpkin pie. I especially liked the turkey. At the end of the meal we talked about what we appreciated. At first, I was muddled up about this, but hearing everyone mention their family or lover, I thought their culture was very good. I also mentioned my Japanese family and my host mother. When I answered my family, Jonathan told me that he was also my family. I was really happy to hear that, and I won't forget his words forever.

Also, I went to church for the first time at Thanksgiving. Before I ate Thanksgiving meal at home, I ate some while we were talking and playing games at church. Church organizers prepared turkey and other dishes. I found it fun to talk with each other and play games together at church. From that time on, I went there every week.

They have Black Friday one day after Thanksgiving day. A huge sale is held at most stores. I went to a very big outlet mall from 6 am. The place wasn't too crowded that time, but at 12 noon there were so many people in the mall. All the merchandises were super cheap, so I bought boots, a wallet, and a pouch which I can't buy in Japan. I thought Japan also should have that sale.

I went to church with Michiko and her friend for the candle light service on Christmas Eve. The candle light service is celebration for Christ's birthday. Everyone lighted the fire, put bread into grape juice to eat, and sang.

Christmas is the biggest event in America. As soon as Thanksgiving is over, the atmosphere changes to Christmas in the whole city. The whole city is illuminated with Christmas colors and it becomes very beautiful. We didn't need to go anywhere special to see the illumination. Michiko also started to decorate our house with illumination, and it was done so nicely in December, and we bought a Christmas tree at a Christmas tree farm. The farm had so many big trees I had never seen before, and it was fun to see. I went to see the nearby illuminations by car with Michiko. I saw a huge Santa Claus and reindeer figures, and I thought they must cost so much money and electricity.

There were a lot of presents under the Christmas tree on Christmas day. Before lunch, everyone came to our house, and we opened the presents. When I stayed in Japan, I used to get only one present from my parents, but I got as many as 6 presents in America. I was really happy and surprised. Also, there were presents in my Christmas socks. I also ate the most luxurious dishes in America at Christmas, and Michiko made two very big cakes. Christmas is the most important day for American families. I had a great time with my host family.

Christmas Tree in Church

Santa Claus

Christmas Presents

I went to California with Chiharu and Honoka for 3 days. It took about 2 hours by airplane from Seattle to California. The temperature was 25 degrees Celcius even in December. I felt it was not the Christmas season, but they had comfortable weather to spend. We went to Santa Monica Beach, Hollywood, and Griffith Observotry on the first day. I had never seen such a big and beautiful beach as Santa Monica Beach. If you go to California, you should definitely go there. Hollywood was a fun place to look for famous names, handprints, or footprints on the street. We had no cloud at Griffith Observatory, so we enjoyed the magnificent scenery. It was cold at night, so you should take one extra clothes to keep you warm. It took us a long time move around the city. Still we were happy to go where we were planning, and made nice memory.

We went to California Disney resorts on the other two days. The purpose of our trip was to visit Disneyland, so we booked a hotel near Disney. We walked from the hotel to the resort for 2 days. We bought a Max ticket which had a fast pass for 10 dollars. We didn't have to wait and enjoyed various rides because we had that ticket. Before I visited California Disney, I wanted to buy souvenirs, but they didn't have good souvenirs there. I gave up buying them.

The trip was great, and I discovered our growth in those 3 days.

Hollywood

California Disney

Santa Monica Beach

We went to Canada for 2 days. My friends drove us there, which was really helpful. When we crossed the border, we needed our passport and i-20. It was excited to cross the border, and I took pictures of the border tower. California and Canada had totally different weather. The weather in Canada is the same as that in Seattle, and I saw snow for the first time in Canada. They had a famous bridge and a clock that are moved by water vapor, and a lot of Japanese restaurants. It was fun to compare Canada with America.

I went to Space Needle to watch fireworks on New Year's Eve. New Year's Eve is just a regular day, and I spent the day with Michiko. I wanted to watch fireworks at a good spot, so we went to save the spot at 7 pm. It was so cold and boring to wait for the fireworks. I was glad to watch the fireworks up close. The fireworks in America are different from those in Japan, and I was so excited.

After getting dark

The day time was getting shorter from November. They didn't have many streetlights in America, so I was very scared when I came home. For that reason, I was careful not to go out when it got dark. The class at level 2 was over at 4 pm, and the class at Level 3 was over at 5 pm, when it was dark outside, and I used the flashlight on my smartphone. While I was walking, I never used my earphones or smartphone. When you are out on the street, you should be careful that much.

Buses

When they take a bus, people who are 18 and over pay ＄2.75, and those who are under 18 pay ＄1.50. When I arrived in America, I bought a commuter pass at Kent Station. We can charge the pass easily at the station. When we get on a bus, we touch the card once. If you pay money, you can get a ticket. You don't have to pay extra money if you change buses within 2 hours.

Smartphones

I brought my smartphone to America. If they have the Wi-fi service, you can get in touch with people in Japan. You can use LINE. I picked up a new smartphone when I arrived in America. It cost me 100 dollars to use the phone for the first two months, and after that I had to go to the phoneshop to renew my service once a month.

Electrical Plugs

We can use Japanese electrical plugs in America.

Safeco Field

Gum Wall