Hello everyone! This is Tommy Henshaw, class of 2020, and I’m here to tell you about our day today. It started out with us getting packed up and leaving the Olympic Center. From there we rode a bunch of trains to get to Shinagawa where we would catch the bullet train to Kyoto. It being Monday morning rush our, the trains were extremely crowded, and we were all squished together like a bunch of sardines. However, the Shinkansen itself was amazing. It was like an airplane, but with comfortable seats, delicious snacks, and elbow room. During the two hour drive we saw Mt Fuji with clouds surrounding the mountain peak. It was just beautiful. There was another group of high school students from California on the same car, and their tour guide told us it was good luck to see Mt Fuji like that. I wonder why Balsomico-sensei didn’t know that :-)
After the Shinkansen, we took a normal train down to Uji, which was much less crowded compared to the trains in Tokyo. In Uji, we went to our host school, Ritsumeikan. The building was gorgeous and very modern, with spaces we couldn’t even imagine. We were greeted by some of the staff, and then got to sit down with the principal, who is actually from America! Mr. Fox was really nice and gave us tips on success in learning Japanese.
A group of junior high school students split us up and took us on a tour of the school. All of the guides spoke excellent English and my group had an English teacher with us, so things went very smooth. After we went through the tour, the JHS students handed us off to a group of high school students for a welcome party. We played a crazy large game of musical chairs, and Nate for some reason taught students to make a W with their hands to signify him winning. It caught on more than you can imagine, and fittingly Nate was victorious (I think the Japanese students were being kind and easy on us).
The majority of the party was then spent sitting down and talking with other students over Japanese snacks. All of the students there were very interested in speaking English, so they would talk to us in English, and we would speak in Japanese. It was my first time trying to interact with people my own age in the language I’ve been studying, and it was an amazing experience. We shared contact with so many people on Instagram, and I feel like there are many people to stay in contact with now!
With the party over, we all got to meet our host families. Jason and I are staying with Mr Morisawa and his wife, and the two are some of the kindest people I’ve ever met. For dinner they made us okonomiyaki and yakisoba, a type of savory pancake made from cabbage and Japanese style friend nood,es respectively. Talking in Japanese is very challenging, but The Morisawa’s are very kind, and I already feel like mine and Jason’s Japanese is improving. So far this trip has been fantastic and I can’t wait for the rest of the home Stay!
Us with the Risumeikan students
Mr. Fox, the principal of Ritsumeikan
Getting ready to ride the Shinkansen
Meeting with some of the students
Us with some of our host families
Last time Sensei was here, he gave the school a terrible towel and a Shaler hat. They’re prominently displayed in the lobby!
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