Tuesday, September 29, 2009-

++First of all, thanks to everyone who has left a comment to my question yesterday. It is super fun to hear from everyone like that. Makes me feel a little more at home…++

I’ve realized that I’ve reached a point in my exchange where my daily schedule ought to have become a habit. In some ways it has: I wake up for school every day at 7:15 (after hitting the snooze button two times- no more, no less). My host mom has a sack lunch and toast ready for me each morning. My bike ride is spent the same way everyday: trying to avoid traffic while listening to my iPod (probably not a good mix, but I’m willing to risk it). And then I get to school…that’s where it all changes!

I have a homeroom every morning before classes start. It’s usually only after I get to school that I find out what I have in store that day. For example, today I spent the first couple hours studying Japanese, helping teach English, and talking with Grace Lee (the ALT assistant English teacher from North Carolina who helps at Bato High School every Tuesday). Yet during lunch period my entire class was drawn to one of the open windows at the end of the hallway. I joined them only to find the BIGGEST BUG I HAVE EVER SEEN IN REAL LIFE! The praying mantis (カマキリ – Kamakiri) was bigger than my palm and when I got too close taking a picture of it, it lunged out at my camera! Some of the girls screamed, it was pretty funny.

After the bug incident, my second year classmates (equivalent to high school juniors) and I went to the fishery for the rest of the day where we netted, sorted, packaged, and froze the rest of the Ayu in the tanks. That was fun, what we had to do next, not so much. We each climbed down into the giant circular tank the fish had lived in for the past couple months and used steel wool brushes to clean up there slimly little mess. It was just like taking in the dock out at Kandiyohi, only Grandma’s caramel rolls weren’t waiting for me = (

After school I walked around Bato City with Grace Lee and we bought ice cream and kitchen utensils (she needed the latter, I the first). It started to rain as I biked home, but it is still pretty warm here. At least 60’s and 70’s every day. Dinner was delicious sashimi (slices of raw fish) and my host parents were left laughing as we made homemade sushi out of it. Hope all is well back at home, I was so happy to see everyone’s comments below. Keep ‘em coming!