Outbound Students
Anna's August Report
This month has been extremely stress inducing. Almost every week I have had many Rotary events after school and during the weekend. I also started school again, and have been doing many tests based on our Summer holiday homework. My Rotary club and I are preparing for when my parents will be coming over to visit me. I also have been making more and more efforts to speak Japanese, I even finished my first novel, In Japanese!!! I seem to find myself getting more and more tired as my brain has made the complete swap from English to Japanese. I find myself having difficulties speaking English now. Other than all that, this month has been going really well; although, it is going really fast and it's getting closer and closer to my coming home date.
Hi Paul,
I have decided to check with you whether to publish Anna’s August Report or not. As an insensitive soul, I admit to being affected by Anna’s report. I have hosted students and am aware of the phenomena of thinking in another language. However, I detected more than this. I will publish if you agree, otherwise I am happy to “lose the report”. Regards Keith |
Thank you Keith for your consideration.
Anna was stressed last weekend. She told us that the high expectations from the local club was taking its toll and that she did not want to say no either. Her host mum realised it and Anna was exempt from Rotary duty on the weekend. We talked to her again on Sunday and she was more relaxed. Regarding the language confusion, from my experience, this is good news. It means that she is getting very good in Japanese. I can remember feeling the same way while studying in the UK. Similarly, my brother lived in Spain for a few years and when he was coming back home he was using Spanish words with a French flavour. Her report reflects that. Please feel free to publish it in part or in full, or not at all. You have more experience about these matters than myself. Either way, you have my full support. Kind Regards, Paul |
More photos from Anna
Hi,
Anna went to Eniwa summer festival wearing her traditional yukata.
Kind Regards,
Paul
Anna went to Eniwa summer festival wearing her traditional yukata.
Kind Regards,
Paul
Anna's July Report
Hi Everyone,
This Month it seems, that I have been getting busier and busier. Between Rotary meetings, meeting up with friends, changing host families, school festivals and even going to Tokyo (!) I still find time to go to school and outside clubs and lessons. Japan also seems to be getting hotter, and summer has finally arrived in Hokkaido! It has gotten up to the scorching heat of 25 degrees!!! Although, it's constantly windy so indoors is a humidity trap while outdoors will make you lose your balance due to the strong winds. Recently I have been going to School on the weekend just to catch up on the school festival and study. Now, after an extremely busy term I am FINALLY on summer holidays! I am planning to go on camp with my new host family. And this time I actually have a little sister to spend time with, it's honestly really nice! So I can easily say, I’m having a good life here in Japan, especially after 6 months of language barriers, culture shocks and extreme fatigue. I have a long way to go but for a halfway mark I am extremely happy on where I have gotten.
Regards
Anna
This Month it seems, that I have been getting busier and busier. Between Rotary meetings, meeting up with friends, changing host families, school festivals and even going to Tokyo (!) I still find time to go to school and outside clubs and lessons. Japan also seems to be getting hotter, and summer has finally arrived in Hokkaido! It has gotten up to the scorching heat of 25 degrees!!! Although, it's constantly windy so indoors is a humidity trap while outdoors will make you lose your balance due to the strong winds. Recently I have been going to School on the weekend just to catch up on the school festival and study. Now, after an extremely busy term I am FINALLY on summer holidays! I am planning to go on camp with my new host family. And this time I actually have a little sister to spend time with, it's honestly really nice! So I can easily say, I’m having a good life here in Japan, especially after 6 months of language barriers, culture shocks and extreme fatigue. I have a long way to go but for a halfway mark I am extremely happy on where I have gotten.
Regards
Anna
Anna's June Report
Hi Everyone,
This month has been so busy. Every week I had something on. Between birthdays, rotary events, hanging out with friends, Japanese lessons and an upcoming school festival I haven’t had time to rest. Other than all that, I spent my 16th birthday with my family. My rotary club even surprised me with a cake that had my baby photo on it!!! I felt so blessed, I almost burst into tears. It is finally summer in Hokkaido and it’s a heatwave! 20°c!!!!! I didn't think it would get this hot! Everyone is in short sleeves and shorts. In class we all have our windows open, and I am the only one who is getting cold from that! Other than the lack of humidity Japan is also getting more beautiful every day. There are flowers everywhere now and it looks and smells amazing! All in all everything is going well in Japan.
Regards
Anna
This month has been so busy. Every week I had something on. Between birthdays, rotary events, hanging out with friends, Japanese lessons and an upcoming school festival I haven’t had time to rest. Other than all that, I spent my 16th birthday with my family. My rotary club even surprised me with a cake that had my baby photo on it!!! I felt so blessed, I almost burst into tears. It is finally summer in Hokkaido and it’s a heatwave! 20°c!!!!! I didn't think it would get this hot! Everyone is in short sleeves and shorts. In class we all have our windows open, and I am the only one who is getting cold from that! Other than the lack of humidity Japan is also getting more beautiful every day. There are flowers everywhere now and it looks and smells amazing! All in all everything is going well in Japan.
Regards
Anna
Photos from Anna
Hi,
Anna turned 16 last week and the Club made a cake decorated with a picture taken when she was a little bit younger.
She went to Sapporo for the Flower Carpet festival.
Also, they are experiencing a heat wave, with temperatures up to 27 degrees.
See you at next meeting.
Kind Regards,
Paul
Anna turned 16 last week and the Club made a cake decorated with a picture taken when she was a little bit younger.
She went to Sapporo for the Flower Carpet festival.
Also, they are experiencing a heat wave, with temperatures up to 27 degrees.
See you at next meeting.
Kind Regards,
Paul
Photos from Anna
Please find attached some pictures from Anna.
She went to a "cat bar" where you can have a drink and pat some cats.
Last weekend, she went to a place that looks a bit like Europe and did some fishing and other activities. Please note that the snow seems to be gone and crops are growing.
Kind Regards,
Paul
She went to a "cat bar" where you can have a drink and pat some cats.
Last weekend, she went to a place that looks a bit like Europe and did some fishing and other activities. Please note that the snow seems to be gone and crops are growing.
Kind Regards,
Paul
Anna's May Report
Hi Everyone!
This Month has been quiet (compared to the other months) but also so rewarding. I have moved host families and I am fitting in well. I am participating more at school and have all my weekends booked up with school and rotary events.
My Japanese is improving so much I keep getting compliments on how fast I am learning. I have made so many new friends as well, and if I have nothing on I usually can easily organise something quickly with a couple friends.
Nothing much will be happening besides rotary events and such. It's nice getting used to the easy pace of life. Although soon, I will be the only exchange student in our district as everyone will be going home. Hopefully I get to meet the new ones coming in soon.
Regards
Anna
This Month has been quiet (compared to the other months) but also so rewarding. I have moved host families and I am fitting in well. I am participating more at school and have all my weekends booked up with school and rotary events.
My Japanese is improving so much I keep getting compliments on how fast I am learning. I have made so many new friends as well, and if I have nothing on I usually can easily organise something quickly with a couple friends.
Nothing much will be happening besides rotary events and such. It's nice getting used to the easy pace of life. Although soon, I will be the only exchange student in our district as everyone will be going home. Hopefully I get to meet the new ones coming in soon.
Regards
Anna
Anna's April Report
This Month has been my busiest month yet! My rotary Club decided to take a club trip to Kyushu (the south island) and we spent 5 days travelling the island's main cities. We visited many museums, ate Kyushu's famous delicacies and and lovely nights having banter at the Onsen. Most nights we went to bed at around 1am because we were too busy talking to each other. As I was the youngest I spent most of my time looking after the old rotarians and carrying a lot of their luggage but they all were very kind and i could feel my Japanese improving. I am so thankful to have gone on this trip as I have gotten closer to my rotary club and learnt so much about Japanese culture and history.
This month I also joined 2 after school clubs and have gotten involved with my school more. Every day I come home at around 7pm, after club activities. I am slowly making friends in other years and starting to be a lot more social. My weeks tend to be getting a lot busier and i often don't tend to have time to do much else except late at night. Last week my rotary decided to have another trip and we went up north in Hokkaido to have an Onsen Weekend. It was very nice and enjoyable. I spent more times with the rotarians and won 20000yen in bingo!! I learnt a lot of Japanese words and points of grammar, I am finding myself becoming more and more tired from using Japanese constantly. I will be moving families on the 7th of May, I am both excited and sad to leave but hopefully it would be alright. I trust you are all well! Regards Anna |
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Anna's March Report
Here is my monthly report! I hope you all had a great month! I hope next month is lovely and that you keep safe~
Have a lovely day! -Anna This month so much has happened. I finally made a few School friends! I found it so difficult to go and make friends but I am so happy I did! This month I also went on a ski camp where we stayed in a traditional Japanese hotel, and I got to try the Onsen for the first time ever!! It was s Awkward being naked in front of everyone but soon after I got used to it. The bath was so nice I loved it so much. The View was also very beautiful and I kept taking so many pictures. I can’t wait for next month as it will be cherry blossom season and I will be going to Kyushu for a week with my rotary club!! Honestly everyday feels like a dream. I will be joining 2 clubs at School for recreation. I am so excited! Lately I have been doing exercise more and not only am I keeping myself busy I am starting to feel fitter! |
Anna having fun skiing
Anna's March Update
From Paul Laroumanie
"I just talked to her. She is happy and tired because she now has good friends at school and consequently talks a lot in Japanese.
She is going to one week of skiing with the other Rotary Exchange Students."
"I just talked to her. She is happy and tired because she now has good friends at school and consequently talks a lot in Japanese.
She is going to one week of skiing with the other Rotary Exchange Students."
Anna's February Report
This month has been great! I started School in Japan on the 2nd of February. It was very interesting and I was surprised on the amount of attention I got from everyone, it's honestly very nice but sometimes a little intimidating as nobody wants to start a conversation with me. But once I started approaching people it slowly started getting better. Every week I have to do a speech at my rotary club and as I keep practicing I get better and better at it, I feel like my confidence is growing more and more.
I have been going shopping a lot with me other rotary exchange students, and I am starting to master the japanese train system! I have noticed that I am very tired very easily but that's mostly because I have been over working my brain a lot.
I went to the Sapporo Snow festival and even went skiing for the first time! Next month I will be going on a ski camp and hopefully I will be going to more rotary functions!
But the highlight of my month has to be visiting the preschool. I was greeted by so many adorable children and i felt so happy. I even went and gave them all a koala or kangaroo. They were so cute.
I haven't had many problems yet and I feel very happy being here.
-Anna
I have been going shopping a lot with me other rotary exchange students, and I am starting to master the japanese train system! I have noticed that I am very tired very easily but that's mostly because I have been over working my brain a lot.
I went to the Sapporo Snow festival and even went skiing for the first time! Next month I will be going on a ski camp and hopefully I will be going to more rotary functions!
But the highlight of my month has to be visiting the preschool. I was greeted by so many adorable children and i felt so happy. I even went and gave them all a koala or kangaroo. They were so cute.
I haven't had many problems yet and I feel very happy being here.
-Anna
Anna's January Report
23.01.17
Today I went to meet the citys mayor! I was expecting something small and formal, except it turned out to be a huge crowd with many people from the press interviewing me. I was terrified! But the mayor was sooooo kind and Invited me to his house.
After the interview I went to my school where I was introduced to the school system and class. Turns out I will be finishing my year 10 in march and move into year 11! (A full year ahead of me!) I then got my uniform tailored.
Mai-san Invited me to go shopping with her and I got school supplies and clothing! She then bought me home and said I could stay with her family tonight.
I was told today that I will be going to my actual first family at the end of this week and I am a little sad to leave my Current family but I am also excited to meet my new family! Everything is so exciting! Everyone is inviting me to meet their families and eat meals with them! I feel so special.
At around 10pm Mai-san's husband decided to take to a Game centre where we spent some time playing around on claw machines and various games of the sort. We then went to a convenient store to get some ice cream and eat it outside in -10C, i enjoyed it.
24.01.17
I woke up early to have breakfast with Mai-san and her family. Her husband left to go to work and we just watched tv until her cousin came over with her 9 month old Kiko. I spent most of my morning looking after Kiko-chan and making lamingtons for my rotary meeting tomorrow. Today has been a very slow day and honestly there isn't much to say, but it was a really nice day and I still enjoyed it.
Although, I went into the kitchen to draw a little bit and my host dad saw me. He then proceeded to pull out his japanese calligraphy set and write words and names in kanji, showing me how to write it down. It was so interesting! I learnt so much and i even had a go at it myself.
25.01.17
It was another slow day today, although I did attend my first rotary meeting and it was very awkward....
It was mostly old men who strangely called me Anna-chan (chan is a suffix used for cute and adorable things, such as babies and small animals). They also kept calling me adorable which confused a bit at first but afterwards i got used to it.
Other than that it has been a really slow day and honestly isn't much to it. I hope tomorrow will be a more exciting day.
26.01.17
Today was an extremely eventful day! First, I went to an Aquarium and spent a few hours there looking at fish, and i even got to touch some! It was so nice and pretty, I learnt quite a lot of vocabulary. I then spent the day helping my host parents doing some shopping before going into a traditional japanese restaurant for dinner. It was their daughter's birthday and we spent a lot of the evening eating and chatting, it was really nice. I was very happy and honestly i haven't been worrying about much at all! I really love being in Japan.
27.01.17
I thought yesterday was an eventful day..... today was worse (in the best way possible). Last night I met my host sister's boyfriend during her birthday dinner. I attempted to have a conversation with him in japanese and he told me that i was working very hard, so he invited me to go to the fire station where he works (he is a fireman). I got to see all the trucks and even get to drive around in one, i befriended all the fireman and they invited me to come over to their station after school sometimes to have afternoon tea. Then, my host father took me to his work place to view around the place before then taking me to his friend's factory where i was personally toured around and shown what they did there. They even gave me a few gifts to take home that day, i felt so happy. Once i got home, i had hour before we left for dinner again with my 2nd host family. It was really nice and i got to meet everybody. It was a little tiring speaking in japanese constantly and i ended falling asleep as soon as i got home. It was truly an eventful day!
28.01.17
Today was a much slower day than yesterday, I had a nice night's sleep. My family and my host father's brother's family went shopping in Sapporo (the next city over). We mostly went around in home depots but it was still a nice day. It was very cold so I spent most of the day trying to warm myself up.
I had a welcome party with my rotary host club, and was told to present a speech. I talked about my experiences in Japan and how different it was to Australia, they seemed to enjoy it. Although, i felt very awkward and out of place. It was a lovely party and i enjoyed everything!
29.01.17
I went to a traditional Japanese temple today and participated in a ceremony. I spent the day with 3 rotarians who couldn't speak english and i learnt loads of vocabulary as well as gaining confidence in speaking. Before the ceremony the high monk approached me and i began having a conversation with him, he then gave me something for goodluck and said i could keep it. He then wished me goodluck for the next year coming and that he wanted to see me again sometime. He was very nice and i really enjoyed my conversation with him. The temple itself was very beautiful and in the first hour of the ceremony was just listening to the singing of the monks, it was very lovely to listen. After everything had finished it was 4pm and the rotarians and I decided to have late lunch/early dinner. I arrived home and had a great conversation with my host dad about alphabets before heading to bed early as i was exhausted.
30.01.17
It was quite an odd day yesterday, we went to a sushi train where i made many mistakes of eating foods i wasn't quite expecting. Then we went to my host parent's friends house to visit, she was a very nice lady and she had a very nice dog. When we got home i went into my room to pack as i am leaving to go live with my first host family tomorrow. At night, my host dad's brother and his wife came over to have dinner with us, and they spent hours chatting and laughing. It was really funny to watch them gossip.
Today honestly was quite slow but it was nice and relaxing, i enjoyed it!
31.01.17
Today wasn't a very busy day either, I finished packing my bags and I said goodbye to my current family. I then went and moved to my first host family where i will stay for the next 3 months. I really enjoyed my stay so far, and i can't wait to start school in 2 days!!
Overall
This month hasn't been too difficult and i actually have enjoyed it a lot! I have gone to so many amazing places and ate so much delicious food. I actually still don't believe I am actually here. I haven't felt much anxiety yet so i think it's going really well.
Today I went to meet the citys mayor! I was expecting something small and formal, except it turned out to be a huge crowd with many people from the press interviewing me. I was terrified! But the mayor was sooooo kind and Invited me to his house.
After the interview I went to my school where I was introduced to the school system and class. Turns out I will be finishing my year 10 in march and move into year 11! (A full year ahead of me!) I then got my uniform tailored.
Mai-san Invited me to go shopping with her and I got school supplies and clothing! She then bought me home and said I could stay with her family tonight.
I was told today that I will be going to my actual first family at the end of this week and I am a little sad to leave my Current family but I am also excited to meet my new family! Everything is so exciting! Everyone is inviting me to meet their families and eat meals with them! I feel so special.
At around 10pm Mai-san's husband decided to take to a Game centre where we spent some time playing around on claw machines and various games of the sort. We then went to a convenient store to get some ice cream and eat it outside in -10C, i enjoyed it.
24.01.17
I woke up early to have breakfast with Mai-san and her family. Her husband left to go to work and we just watched tv until her cousin came over with her 9 month old Kiko. I spent most of my morning looking after Kiko-chan and making lamingtons for my rotary meeting tomorrow. Today has been a very slow day and honestly there isn't much to say, but it was a really nice day and I still enjoyed it.
Although, I went into the kitchen to draw a little bit and my host dad saw me. He then proceeded to pull out his japanese calligraphy set and write words and names in kanji, showing me how to write it down. It was so interesting! I learnt so much and i even had a go at it myself.
25.01.17
It was another slow day today, although I did attend my first rotary meeting and it was very awkward....
It was mostly old men who strangely called me Anna-chan (chan is a suffix used for cute and adorable things, such as babies and small animals). They also kept calling me adorable which confused a bit at first but afterwards i got used to it.
Other than that it has been a really slow day and honestly isn't much to it. I hope tomorrow will be a more exciting day.
26.01.17
Today was an extremely eventful day! First, I went to an Aquarium and spent a few hours there looking at fish, and i even got to touch some! It was so nice and pretty, I learnt quite a lot of vocabulary. I then spent the day helping my host parents doing some shopping before going into a traditional japanese restaurant for dinner. It was their daughter's birthday and we spent a lot of the evening eating and chatting, it was really nice. I was very happy and honestly i haven't been worrying about much at all! I really love being in Japan.
27.01.17
I thought yesterday was an eventful day..... today was worse (in the best way possible). Last night I met my host sister's boyfriend during her birthday dinner. I attempted to have a conversation with him in japanese and he told me that i was working very hard, so he invited me to go to the fire station where he works (he is a fireman). I got to see all the trucks and even get to drive around in one, i befriended all the fireman and they invited me to come over to their station after school sometimes to have afternoon tea. Then, my host father took me to his work place to view around the place before then taking me to his friend's factory where i was personally toured around and shown what they did there. They even gave me a few gifts to take home that day, i felt so happy. Once i got home, i had hour before we left for dinner again with my 2nd host family. It was really nice and i got to meet everybody. It was a little tiring speaking in japanese constantly and i ended falling asleep as soon as i got home. It was truly an eventful day!
28.01.17
Today was a much slower day than yesterday, I had a nice night's sleep. My family and my host father's brother's family went shopping in Sapporo (the next city over). We mostly went around in home depots but it was still a nice day. It was very cold so I spent most of the day trying to warm myself up.
I had a welcome party with my rotary host club, and was told to present a speech. I talked about my experiences in Japan and how different it was to Australia, they seemed to enjoy it. Although, i felt very awkward and out of place. It was a lovely party and i enjoyed everything!
29.01.17
I went to a traditional Japanese temple today and participated in a ceremony. I spent the day with 3 rotarians who couldn't speak english and i learnt loads of vocabulary as well as gaining confidence in speaking. Before the ceremony the high monk approached me and i began having a conversation with him, he then gave me something for goodluck and said i could keep it. He then wished me goodluck for the next year coming and that he wanted to see me again sometime. He was very nice and i really enjoyed my conversation with him. The temple itself was very beautiful and in the first hour of the ceremony was just listening to the singing of the monks, it was very lovely to listen. After everything had finished it was 4pm and the rotarians and I decided to have late lunch/early dinner. I arrived home and had a great conversation with my host dad about alphabets before heading to bed early as i was exhausted.
30.01.17
It was quite an odd day yesterday, we went to a sushi train where i made many mistakes of eating foods i wasn't quite expecting. Then we went to my host parent's friends house to visit, she was a very nice lady and she had a very nice dog. When we got home i went into my room to pack as i am leaving to go live with my first host family tomorrow. At night, my host dad's brother and his wife came over to have dinner with us, and they spent hours chatting and laughing. It was really funny to watch them gossip.
Today honestly was quite slow but it was nice and relaxing, i enjoyed it!
31.01.17
Today wasn't a very busy day either, I finished packing my bags and I said goodbye to my current family. I then went and moved to my first host family where i will stay for the next 3 months. I really enjoyed my stay so far, and i can't wait to start school in 2 days!!
Overall
This month hasn't been too difficult and i actually have enjoyed it a lot! I have gone to so many amazing places and ate so much delicious food. I actually still don't believe I am actually here. I haven't felt much anxiety yet so i think it's going really well.