Taylor

JUNE 16 Morning


This moment, right now, I am riding to the airport. I have butterflies in my stomach and surging emotions that cannot be put into words. It's been my dream to be able to go to Japan. I had always planned to go during college or maybe after but to be able to go as a junior (or is it senior now?) is a blessing.
This trip is an eye-opening experience that is one of a kind. I'm sure the new-skin I'll be wearing will give me the confidence to speak, even a little bit, with a stranger on a train or wherever. How cool is it to be able to say you made a friend in Japan that you weren't scheduled to meet? This experience will truly change me and the people around me.
My friends will say that I have a tendency to be shy and unsociable at times. I know that the people reading this will probably not agree with that statement but all you have to do is recall the first time you met me. When I am uncomfortable I get quiet and tend to sit alone but I would miss so many one-time opportunities that I may never experience again. This trip will not only open me to a new culture but to new people who are around me everyday.
Last night my dad got the family together and we all thanked God for all the blessing he's bestowed upon us. I am so thankful to him and to the people around me. There is no way this would've been possible without the ones who bought a ticket, who participated in our silent auctions, and even those who bought a t-shirt! Thank you so much for allowing this trip to be possible.

JUNE 18

So I lost my post and I'm not rewriting it because it was extremely long and got deleted so excuse the mistakes.

So after my last post I arrived at the O'Hare airport at 4:30 because my mom and I miscalculated the time it'd take to get there from our house. After waiting a couple of hours Natasha came and then the rest of the group slowly drifted in. After checking our suitcases we went through security which meant it was time to say goodbye to our parents. I gave my mom two bear hugs and I could tell she wanted to cry. Although  I still don't feel homesick I'm sure I'll feel it tonight when I'm sleeping in an unfamiliar place and bed. We had a 2 hour overlay in Canada where we met some really nice Rubgy players coming to Japan. When we finally reached Japan, after the uneventful 14 hour flight, we took three trains to get to the youth hostel. After getting our rooms we went to grab a late-night dinner. Then me and Eseh headed back before the rest of the group to bathe. The communal bathing wasn't as bad as it seemed and it was very relaxing. After Skyping my mom I updated my Instagram and Facebook. It still hasn't hit that we're in Japan because Tokyo is so much like Chicago at night! Today we're going to the Meiji shrine and I'm very excited!!! 

When we were still in America!!!!

June 19 Evening

I feel like I haven't blogged in two days. Yesterday we did a lot. We rode about 13 trains and visited Meiji Shrine, Harajuku, Asakusa Temple, Shibuya, Akihabara, and Shinjuku-tocho. We did a ton of walking and, according to Sensei, burned over 2000 calories. Today we went to Ueno museum and zoo and I took a ton of pictures! We ate at Ameyokocho and I had a hot cake. We also went to Sky Tower which was amazing!!! But I was extremely tired and anxious so I didn't enjoy it to the fullest. Yesterday Natasha and I talked to some "ikemen" and we saw a ton. We also saw a guy with dreads today. People in Tokyo are pretty "kakkoi" and I saw gyarus! I'm extremely tired and don't want to type anymore I'll update tomorrow? Yea night night!!!! Some other person here took it!!!! 

June 22 noon

It's been awhile because I've been very tired. All the things we do in a day, all on foot, is enough to do in three or four days. Anyways, since my last post we have left Tokyo and are currently in Nikko. Today is the third day. We have visited a temple, went on a nightly ghost hunt, visited a mountain and waterfall, Edo and Tobu. Edo is a place where everyone is dressed in the Edo period. It's a recreation of a typical town of that time. It's really cool and fun. We saw a ninja show in which one ninja fought to other ninjas. It was awesome! Tobu is the park where everything is 100 times smaller. They had the Egyptian pyramids, the twin towers, etc. It was interesting. Today, I finally had a crepe. It was soooo good! It had frozen strawberries, whipped cream, and ice cream. It was soooo good! I also had いば (yuba). It's what Nikko is known for. It's really good too. I had it in dumpling form. I will try to blog everyday from now!!

June 24 Evening

I can't believe it's already the 24 of June! I feel like I've been in Japan for about a month, not a week. We have traveled to Hiraizumi which has been named a world heritage city. The first day here we walked a 30 minute walk that sensei said was 10 minutes up and down some hills to our hotel. The hotel is very traditional. For dinner we have to wear a yukata. It's like a stylish robe. Then we sit down for a traditional Japanese dinner. The food is...interesting. It can be a struggle to swallow everything but it'll get easier. Before dinner on the first day we went to a beautiful temple, Mostu-Ji. The temple had a beautiful garden of flowers, primarily irises (I think, at least those are why I saw). In the lake there were these twin dragons. The temple was really beautiful and sensei gave is time for self-reflection. I thought about the trip, myself, and the people around me. It's crazy how much I've learned about Japan, myself, and the people around me. After that we had dinner and then slept. Today, breakfast was a lot easier than the dinner last night. For breakfast we had rice, sunny-side-up eggs, seaweed, fish, mushrooms, miso soup, and some other things I didn't know. The one thing that was hard to swallow was the umeboshi. It's extremely sour but when put with seaweed and rice it's edible. It was a good breakfast. After we went to Chusonji temple. It was a large complex. After the temple visit we went to a family restaraunt where I finally had Japanese curry! It was really good. I also had ice cream. Japanese ice cream is so good!!! It's addicting. After that we went on a boat ride. The female boat driver sang to us a song from Hokkaido. It's was similar to the music played at the beginning of the Japanese banquet. Today was a great day.