Saturday, October 13, 2012

発表会

発表会

As per my email that was sent to you on Saturday...

We will be wrapping up the trip with one final meeting on Thursday October 18 6:30pm in the staff room. The meeting is for your FAMILIES (i.e BOTH students and parents).

The focus of the meeting is for you to share your photos and stories with other families. You will be required to talk about 6-8 photos on 2-3 powerpoint slides. 

GROUPINGS AND TOPICS

1) Pam and Mallory - SCHOOL VISITS
2) Nemo, Kevin and Asher - HOST FAMILIES
3) Jono and Jamie -  TOKYO
4) Elaine and Shivani -  DISNEY SEA
5) Alys and Rebecca- FOOD
6) Avril and Shantrelle - KYOTO AND NARA
7) Toral and Cherry - OSAKA

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

FLIGHT HAS BEEN DELAYED!

Our return flight to NZ is now expected to depart at 11:40 Japan time and will now arrive at approximately 2:35pm New Zealand time on Wednesday. The delay is due to the late arrival of the inbound flight.

Adam

VIDEO: Osaka at night

Eating takoyaki octopus balls in Osaka



Osaka at night

VIDEO: Kyoto and Nara

At Todaiji temple trying to fit through the entrance to paradise!

Craft session in Kyoto

Osaka at night

love padlocks attached to the garden fence
imagine this building rotated 90 degrees anticlockwise - we went to the top
the beginning of the long journey back down
and this was the view!
the gardens below were pretty special as well

Our last night in Japan - dinner in Namba

Seafood anyone?

Takayoki -octopus balls, oishi!  
people, people everywhere!!! There aren't crowds like this in NZ

Hanging out in Osaka



electronics anyone?
 
 talk about crowded! must be the place to be on a national holiday
or Pokemon?



Photo highlights Monday 8 October

Osaka Castle
we ARE getting better at lining up!!
couldn't miss this photo opportuity
put a wallin front of Nemo and of course he will climb it

Monday, October 8, 2012

Photo highlights, Sunday 7 October

Mallory and the fnished woodcut print
spinning tops under construction

Jamie - master jeweller

dance competition

we couldn't resist!!
 
Kiyomizu-dera Temple


Sunday, October 7, 2012

VIDEO: Off to Kyoto, Nara and Osaka


Leaving Shinagawa on the Shinkansen to Kyoto


YouTube Video
At Nara Park with the deer


Location:Kansai, Japan

Photo highlights, Saturday 6 October.

travelling past the countryside at 300k/hr!
It was SO hard leaving Tokyo this morning

Todai-Ji Temple

bright lights of Osaka at night

the Buddha
Started the day early with a train ride on a bullet train or shinkansen, it took a mere two hours and we were in kyoto. we then went on a  search for lunch most people had doughnuts.we then went to feed deer but i found myself scared of them and didnt like the food ambush some people got. Then we chilled at the park for a while, we then went to a temple with another big Buddha and some people tried to fit through a small hole symbolising good luck and happyness.

We then boarded another train for Osaka, where everyone got to choose their dinner. This was the first day i missed home especially my grandmas cooking (hard for vegitarians to find food).Perhaps tomorrow will be better, with lots of waling and a chance to go to a craft centre.

Saturday, October 6, 2012

Friday 9th September

today i went to a large park with my host sister, brother and cousin. we all rode a four person bike where two people sit at the front and two people cycle at the back. we took turns, it was hard for me and Mai because shun and naoto are heavier than us, it was lots of fun though. it was very hot. next we went to a batting range. naoto and shun were good because they play baseball, me and mai were not so good. a game arcade was our next activity where we played air hockey (i won), basketball type game (which Mai plays so she won) etc. we also got a picture together from the photo booth. today was fun was but also a very sad day as it was my last day wit my host family. at the sayonara party when the lynfield college students sung the waiata and the sakura song, all our practising paid off! lots of photos were taken and there were some nice cultural outfits worn by people such as Adam, shrantrelle, shivani, elaine, Jamie, akari and Mai . i hope we all keep in touch with our host families and have the opportunity to visit japan again someday. i know i will keep emailing them and hope to go to japan again someday.

VIDEO: Sayonara party - we nailed Sakura. So proud of you all!


Final chance to catch up with our host families. What a great bunch of students...and what a great bunch of families :)

YouTube Video

Well done team! Your singing of Sakura was amazing! You were all great. Well done to the three students who sang the song despite not studying Japanese (Shivani, Shantrelle, Jono) and our own rock star, Jamie! So proud of you ALL!

By Shinkansen to Kyoto, Saturday 6 October

We're off to Kyoto tomorrow by Shinkansen ...
... or maybe this is the one!!

Sayonara Party, Friday 5 October

doing it like the locals?!?



... as modelled by Jono
a last minute run through of Sakura
Thanks SIFA for the t-shirts ...
so who has been shopping in Harajuku then!!
we are SO going to miss our host families

Friday, October 5, 2012

My highlights from Japan so far

Shinagawa Festival

On Sunday Jonothan and I attended Shinagawa`s very own festival. My amazing homestay spent the weekend making biscuits (approx. 200). We carried all the biscuits over to the festival and set up the selling point at the Shinagawa Gakuen stall. It was our job to try and sell the cookies, after Jonothan learnt the two phrases `Oishii desu yo` and 'irashaimase' we were good to go. Sales were slow at first, but sales increased as the day progressed. At the end of the day we raised over 30,000 yen for the school.
During the day we went and had a break to see the rest of the festival, we checked out the stands and got to experience what a Japanese festival was like.

Disney Sea

On Wedenesday we all got to visit Disney Sea, something I have wanted to do for a while, unfortunately the weather was not very good, however, this did not stop me from enjoying the attractions and rides. I spent the day with Nemo and Kevin, we mostly just walked around taking photos etc. Despite getting soaked it was in my top 3 days I have experienced during my trip. Somehow Nemo and I managed to catch up on sleep in one of the busiest spots -.-


Akihabara

Akihabara...

Was...

Interesting...
As soon as I stepped out of the station and on to the street there was electronics, electronics everywhere. I thought I had entered a dream world, a world full of electronics and bright lights. Sadly, this was not the case. There were maids, not just one but many, this may have been okay if they didn't start calling me master and handing me things. I snuck out of one of the figurine stores that Jono and my homestay were checking out and found a small computer store. I decided to check some parts out, I asked a question as to the whereabouts of the CPU's. I was suprised at the amount of Japanese I understood when the salesman started talking to me, I even got some dates when the newest products are coming out. I know it doesn't sound like much but after leaving the store I felt good, after studying the subject at school and being able to put it to use felt amazing, my Japanese has improved a lot since coming to Japan, I'm sure everyone's has.


This trip has been (and will continue) to be amazing, only a few days left but I hope everyone makes the most out of this trip.

Big thanks to SIFA, the teachers, homestays and whoever else has helped make this trip happen.

Elaine's relaxing day

Turtle speed turtle speed. Ahh so relaxing~
Since coming to Japan, I finally had lunch with my host family yesterday =D
Went to Asakusa again in the morning to buy some stuff and then came straight home. Ahh so peaceful and finally a day to rest *nods*
Since it was a peaceful and turtle day for me yesterday, there isn't alot for me to say.
Peace out. Bye ^^v

VIDEO: Harajuku, Akihabara, Sky Tree and Sushi

Harajuku, Tokyo

Akihabara - electronics and anime centre



Sushi







View from Sky Tree, the world's tallest tower


This is Disney Sea (Photo Bomb)

PHOTO BOMB!!!! WOOOO!!!!
Disney Sea was amazing. But of course, story of my life, I swear, 2 steps into the park and I`d lost my buddies. After about a minute of searching for them, which included standing in the same spot and turning around, I hear Rebecca`s voice "ALREADY, Alys?" *sigh* yes, already.
So say hello to my new Disney Sea partners.

 
Only realised after I looked at the picture again, that I`d taken a pic of NZ. 


 
I THINK we were allowed cameras on this ride....


 


Should have taken a pic of the Prince sign to go with this one.




Day
 
Evening