Friday, August 8, 2008
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
I am coming home!
I am in Tokyo, sitting with my new Canadian friends at the New City Hotel in downtown Tokyo.
I had the best night of my life last night, exploring the coolest place ever, Harajuku!
I am going to be leaving for the airport and my 13 hour flight fairly soon, and I am packing up the last minute items I picked up in Harajuku.
I cannot wait to get home!
I am so excited and I cannot wait to share with everyone the many stories from my trip!
Thank you again for keeping up with my blog!
I had the best night of my life last night, exploring the coolest place ever, Harajuku!
I am going to be leaving for the airport and my 13 hour flight fairly soon, and I am packing up the last minute items I picked up in Harajuku.
I cannot wait to get home!
I am so excited and I cannot wait to share with everyone the many stories from my trip!
Thank you again for keeping up with my blog!
Monday, August 4, 2008
This will probably be my last blog update, so I wanted to share a few things about my time spent in Japan.
Favorite place: Miya-jima
Favorite trip: Hiroshima
Favorite food: Acorn Squash Tempura
I have had a phenomenal time in Japan. I have thoroughly enjoyed learning about a different culture, tasting new foods, and trying lots of new things.
To me, it is amazing to know that 1 month ago I was completely freaking out about getting on a plane to go to another country, halfway around the world, for 1 month, but now, I can see that everything I have done has been worth it.
I am soaking up everything I can in my last 2 days in Japan, so when I come home, I will be able to share it with everyone.
Please feel free to continue to post comments and ask questions.
Thank you so much for following me and my many adventures!
Favorite place: Miya-jima
Favorite trip: Hiroshima
Favorite food: Acorn Squash Tempura
I have had a phenomenal time in Japan. I have thoroughly enjoyed learning about a different culture, tasting new foods, and trying lots of new things.
To me, it is amazing to know that 1 month ago I was completely freaking out about getting on a plane to go to another country, halfway around the world, for 1 month, but now, I can see that everything I have done has been worth it.
I am soaking up everything I can in my last 2 days in Japan, so when I come home, I will be able to share it with everyone.
Please feel free to continue to post comments and ask questions.
Thank you so much for following me and my many adventures!
Saturday, August 2, 2008
LABO Camp PHOTOS
Tomo was the captain of Deneb 2. She helped my lighting the campfire on the last night of camp.We (the campers) particiated in several rituals, songs, and chants. The IY group also led a song for everyone.
Deneb 2 group heading to the Camp fire ceremony...The setting sun was beautiful behind the mountains.
Tomo and I chose this Outdoor Activity... we had to walk a couple of miles in the woods and in the mountains. Most of the time we were in the river, up to our waist in FREEZING cold water. Our guide told us that it was glacial snow from the top of mt. Daisen.
Tomo and I chose this Outdoor Activity... we had to walk a couple of miles in the woods and in the mountains. Most of the time we were in the river, up to our waist in FREEZING cold water. Our guide told us that it was glacial snow from the top of mt. Daisen.We wore socks over our shoes. I wore my silver crocs and they were a life saver!
I had sooooo much fun!
LABO Camp-Daisen
I have only been in Nara for about and hour and already, Nahomi, my host mom has fed me cheese cake and Belgian waffles...
I had a great time at LABO Camp!
It was a 5 hour bus ride to the mountains, but it passed quickly because I watched Juno (for the 38th time!) on my iPOD...
When Tomo and the rest of Sakamoto Party (my LABO party) made it to Mt. Daisen, we were placed in the group 'Deneb 2'. Each group consists of about 30 kids...there were about 15 groups total!
The camp is run my coaches, college-aged kids who make sure everything is running smoothly. Our groups are directed my Senior Mates, kids around my age who have been in LABO for a while.
We also had 3 Group Mothers, who stayed with our group and helped with the kids.
We stayed in hotels with traditional Japanese futons, food, and public bath.
All of the International Youth (IY) were encouraged to participate in all of the activities, and that included the public bath. It is not such a big deal because it is just a custom in Japan and is considered a part of the camp routine.
Each camp session has a 'Theme Activity', based from a children's' book. The Theme Activity was The Sign On Rosie's Door.
We had to sing lots of songs and practice acting out the story.
It was difficult to understand what was going on, but I tried my best to just jump in and act like a little kid.
I quickly learned that LABO camp is not accommodating to vegetarians. There was meat everywhere, and most Japanese don't completely understand that being vegetarian means not eating meat in any form. I was stuck with rice and cabbage for every meal until my IY counselor smuggled me a couple of boxes of Calorie Mate, a high-fat, high-protein biscuit.
I was able to communicate with the kids even though they didn't speak English.
I taught them a few 4-H songs and games. They thought I was completely insane and funny, but that is the way you have to be to have fun at LABO camp.
It was a new experience and I had a lot of fun!
I had a great time at LABO Camp!
It was a 5 hour bus ride to the mountains, but it passed quickly because I watched Juno (for the 38th time!) on my iPOD...
When Tomo and the rest of Sakamoto Party (my LABO party) made it to Mt. Daisen, we were placed in the group 'Deneb 2'. Each group consists of about 30 kids...there were about 15 groups total!
The camp is run my coaches, college-aged kids who make sure everything is running smoothly. Our groups are directed my Senior Mates, kids around my age who have been in LABO for a while.
We also had 3 Group Mothers, who stayed with our group and helped with the kids.
We stayed in hotels with traditional Japanese futons, food, and public bath.
All of the International Youth (IY) were encouraged to participate in all of the activities, and that included the public bath. It is not such a big deal because it is just a custom in Japan and is considered a part of the camp routine.
Each camp session has a 'Theme Activity', based from a children's' book. The Theme Activity was The Sign On Rosie's Door.
We had to sing lots of songs and practice acting out the story.
It was difficult to understand what was going on, but I tried my best to just jump in and act like a little kid.
I quickly learned that LABO camp is not accommodating to vegetarians. There was meat everywhere, and most Japanese don't completely understand that being vegetarian means not eating meat in any form. I was stuck with rice and cabbage for every meal until my IY counselor smuggled me a couple of boxes of Calorie Mate, a high-fat, high-protein biscuit.
I was able to communicate with the kids even though they didn't speak English.
I taught them a few 4-H songs and games. They thought I was completely insane and funny, but that is the way you have to be to have fun at LABO camp.
It was a new experience and I had a lot of fun!
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Hey Everybody!
I will be away from the computer for a few days. I am going to be going to LABO camp!
just so everybody knows... :)
answer to Scott's question: The man pulling the jinrikshaw pulled us my mostly running
answer to Alexander's question: Yes, I did eat the ENTIRE thing of cotton Candy! Can you believe that?
Love,
Sarahb O.
I will be away from the computer for a few days. I am going to be going to LABO camp!
just so everybody knows... :)
answer to Scott's question: The man pulling the jinrikshaw pulled us my mostly running
answer to Alexander's question: Yes, I did eat the ENTIRE thing of cotton Candy! Can you believe that?
Love,
Sarahb O.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Nara!
Tomo did not enjoy the deer as much as I did....you get the picture....
The Great Buddha. It stands at approximatly 49 feet tall! Just one ear is 8 feet tall!
I am standing in front of the largest wooden building in the world. This building houses the Great Buddha which many have come to distinguish as the symbol of Buddhism.
Tomo and Ihad the opportunity to ride on a Jinrikisha! The shafu ('sha' means car and 'fu' means man), or driver, was very chatty. :) He took us all of the way from Nara park to the Buddha Temple. Jinrikishas' are treated like cars in Japan so we had to ride on the road and wait at traffic lights. The ride was fun, except Tomo and I were both worried he was going to drop us!
I LOVED feeding the deer (sheeka) in Nara! The deer are all around Nara park, and Tomo's Dad, Toshikazu, said they are often the cause and victims of traffic accidents. The deer weren't as polite as the Miya-Jima deer (regular bloggers will get this reference :) and they really enjoyed the cookies I bought for them to eat. As soon as the deer saw the food, they came right to me. If you hold your hand high in the air, the deer will bow so you will give them a cookie... it really works!Sunday, July 27, 2008
Kyoto Photos
On top of the temple in Kyoto. It was nearly 100 degrees Fahrenheit, but we made the climb up the mountain to see the beautiful sites.
Kinkaju-ji, the Golden Pavilion in Kyoto. I enjoyed this place very much!
The very scary 'ninja' at the Kyoto Movie Park.Kyoto
I just got back from a trip to Kyoto, the old capital of Japan located about 2 hours away from Nara (which is where I am staying).
I went with Tomo and her Dad, Toshikazu.
First we went to a place where many Japanese movies are filmed. The set is modeled after a typical Japanese village in the 13th century. We watched a show about ninjas, which was exciting, to say the least. I found a vending machine that sold over 10 kinds of ice cream. I got a didn't know which one I had chosen when it came out through the slot, but Tomo said it was Caramel Custard-delicious!
Next on our list was Kinka-ju-ji, the Golden Pavillion.
The walk through the woods was tranquil and calm, despite the immense number of people that came to see the beautiful temple. The temple is made from pure gold and rests on an island in a pond.
Our last stop was another temple, high atop a mountain. We had to make our way through Japanese style streets full of vendors and even monks begging for money!
When we finally reached the top, the view that we saw was terrific!
I went with Tomo and her Dad, Toshikazu.
First we went to a place where many Japanese movies are filmed. The set is modeled after a typical Japanese village in the 13th century. We watched a show about ninjas, which was exciting, to say the least. I found a vending machine that sold over 10 kinds of ice cream. I got a didn't know which one I had chosen when it came out through the slot, but Tomo said it was Caramel Custard-delicious!
Next on our list was Kinka-ju-ji, the Golden Pavillion.
The walk through the woods was tranquil and calm, despite the immense number of people that came to see the beautiful temple. The temple is made from pure gold and rests on an island in a pond.
Our last stop was another temple, high atop a mountain. We had to make our way through Japanese style streets full of vendors and even monks begging for money!
When we finally reached the top, the view that we saw was terrific!
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