(December 1st, 2018)

Monday (Dec, 19th):

• I've never liked P.E. particularly and that didn't change in Japan. Real matches instead of practicing exercises are also more appealing to me, but it can't be helped. Furthermore another semester is ending so in two weeks (from Dec. 1st) we will change the sport. But the other students had it already decided at the beginning of the year so I'll probably decide soon, too. What's also bugging me, is that I don't have the feeling that I have someone to talk to in P.E., although there are some people I'm more familiar with. But the atmosphere for me is the same as in music class, where I don't have any particular friends.
• The ESS (English) club held an English lesson for elementary school kids. Fortunately, my group (all groups) did better than expected. We played a shopping game where the kids have to have a dialog as customer and clerk and buy things like banana, yoghurt, cream puff and mayonaisse. First we studied the vocabulary and then practiced the dialog, but the kids (4th graders I think) were as opposed to my expectation, not yet able to read English words (I think they've learned the alphabet, though). So they dialog was more difficult for them. But, they seemed happy and I was, too.
• Returning to school we bumped in the other 11th graders, who were cleaning the streets around the school by collecting trash with a pick-up tool and trashbags. We joined them, but like, I felt like not being much of a help because I neither had a bag nor a pick-up tool thingy. Whatever.
• Hostfam and I made some okonomiyaki for dinner (it's like omelette (but egg not as main ingredients) wiht vegetables and bacon and it tastes real good). It took some time, but it was delicious, so...

OOOOOKAY. So... I cannot recall things well between Tuesday and Thursday and I didn't make any notes, so here we go:

Tuesday (20th): Probably practiced with the choir.

Wednesday (21th): Filled in a survey about how we conducted and thought of our lesson for the elementary kids.

Thursday (22th): In German class we played quizgames for vocabulary and sentences on kahoot.it. Never had heard of it before, but it's quite fun because you play against your classmates in a limited frame of time and you can give yourself/your team a nickname and so on. So, yeah. We played in teams and I kind of got very competetive to the end so that I didn't hold back my German skills as a native-speaker. Kind of feel bad for my teammates, though because I always just typed in the answers when I felt like they weren't fast enough.

Friday (23th): HOLIDAY!! The hostfamily and I went for a walk with the dog to a near park and we took some nice pictures with the hostmums iPhone :D. But later that day I actually joined the practice for the exchange student music festival in Yokohama the whole afternoooooon. And finally.... after days of practice, I've become a master of creating the most inspiring of the Origami creatures: The white bird. The swan. (--- I'm just average, but like it's cool to know how to make it. ---) I got kind of used to practice, the people and the atmosphere now, so I'm gradually increasing the moments when I can be a actual version of myself, but in Japanese. As I've mentioned in pretty much all entries before, I'm becoming a boring, uncreative not funny person when I'm speaking in/to Japanese. So I kind of feel relieved now, that I've developed (just a little) so far, that I can grasp moments to show my true colors. And I'm a rainbow on drugs! (Exaggeration intended; I'm not the most interesting person in the world; almost all clothes I have brought to Japan are black and I don't know why).

After practice I went to the station with an Indonesian girl, my age (I think she's the only other higsh school, not university, student there) and we got along very well. It's kind of unsettling to see how much better communication works for me with non-Japanese than with Japanese. And the girl and I only talked in JAPANESE! What?! I don't get it. I just sometimes feel a certain barrier  between me and Japanese people. I wanna tear it down! But, I mean that's one of the reasons I've come to Japan, right?

The girl and I then actually went to Machida to hang out a little because she asked me if I would accompany her to buy new headphones, but we also browsed some shops and ate ice cream (can you guess, which taste I chose XD? You're welcome to write it in the comments btw). We also took Purikura pictures (enter a booth, take pictures making a pose, have filters, edit the pics and print the bit) and it was fun :D I also felt like the Japanese I talked to her was the best I've ever spoken.

Did you know that some Japanese go to the Philipines to study English instead of going to the U.S. or the U.K.? That's mostly due to the facts that the culture is closer and Filipinos look Asian and therefore more familiar, thus making it less intimidating for the Japanese to actually speak up, because speaking to Americans or Britons they feel like them being experts that spot every single flaw. I kind of can relate more to that sentiment now.

Saturday (24th):

Went out with another girl from 12th grade to(in?at?!) Shibuya! Yay! While waiting for her I entered a music shop and saw K-/J-Pop bands and movie trailers and things. She's such a lovely girl and greeted me with a hug and invited me to a starbucks drink (I know it's expensive and morally disputable, but like) to apologize for being late (I don't mind other people being late since most of the times it's me :D). I've mentioned in an entry before that Japanese starbucks (I actually don't know much about other starbucks' as well) offer special drinks for special seasons/holidays like some drink for halloween and now also for winter/christmas. It was very sweet and cold, which is probably not the best idea for one's teeth buuuut. We walked around, browsed a clothes shop, were amazed by how many people were there. As for me, I was also surprised by the number of foreigners XD. Almost only English speaking, btw. We then went to an Italian restaurant to get some lunch and we both tried cheese fondue for the first time. It was delicious but, as expected for a metropole, a little pricey. Also tried Ginger Ale for the first or second time (I actually had believed it was alcohol because of the ale and was shocked that it was offered all customers at the free drinking bar). It's delicious but sweet,

Later that day, we passed a shop with real cute stuffed animals and other stuff and it turned out to be a 300 Yen shop (although some things were more or less expensive), where I bought something for Italian girl's birthday. Walked along several streets and shops and so on and then went to a Karaoke bar, but Manekineko was crowded so we went to another place, but it was kind of out-dated and a little uncomfortable and therefore the singing was less fun than it could've been, but it was okay. The girl even sung in Korean! Yay! Then we took Purikura pictures (I've mentioned it, but you can also google) :D All in all a very cool day and it was pretty much my first time at such a big and crowded place.

Sunday (25th): Hostfam and I went to a kids' play park event with music and food in the nature. There was a van and a shack with paintings and a tree trunk as a table were you could (of course under supervision of adults) cut wood and stuff. First, I actually played with some kids that I didn't know and it kind of worked out, though I'm not good with kids and can't speak Japanese. But, yeah. Then a couple and their angel-like child arrived. Since we've known them from an event before we talked a little and I was quite delighted to see their son again because he's the most beautiful and cutest, steal-yo-girl child in the world. Just wanna mention that he's half-Asian-half-black and has the actual hair of an angel. Then another exchange student arrived. He was from Belgium and hadn't studied Japanese at all before coming here and we exchanged our thoughts about exchange and Japan and stuff. It was funny because it was mostly him, me and the father of the angel as three foreigners talking in English about crazy and/or funny things in Japan.  I had Turkey for the first time, cooked by my hostfather. As everyone else I liked it very much. Then the music started. My hostfather and another guy first played solo and then joined with others. Also the angel kid's father played the sax unbelievably well without any sheets, but just listening and spontaneously joining in with catchy tunes or solos. I mean, what? I'd also said to my hostmum that I'd play a German song, but for me the atmosphere at that moment wasn't right. I felt like under pressure because the audience was kids and they are more judgy and stuff, so I was too shy. Instead I tried to teach the Belgian guy some Ukulele chords (played it for the first time at my hostfam's place the day before). It got very cold and he looked like he was freezing to death (he didn't wear a jacket or anything, just jeans and a sweatshirt!) and I also started to feel cold. But my hostmum kindly gave me a warmth plaster thingy, which you put on the interior of your clothes and it gets warm automatically, and some sock thingies. I tried Japanese sweet potatoe, but the second one was kind of too much for me :(. Then we drove home. I love car rides [SHOUTOUT to my grandparents, who used to fetch us from my mum's place and drove about 3 hours to their place during the holidays! It's still a warm memory although it must have been exhausting to drive 6 hours a day! Thank you! And thank you for all your support up until now, too! I appreciate, though I feel like, I can't express my gratitude. Also Christmas for me will always be your home. Thanks for all the hours of reading fairy tales to us and playing the piano before bed. Thanks for folding paper planes with us and thanks for hiding easter eggs and presents on Easter. THANK YOU!].