I'm here!

Guess what?!?!

I'm in Japan!!!!!
However, I won't write about that just yet, I promised a post about earlier events soooo let's try and stay cronological shall we. Besides, I have much to write about so far that this post would become too long and no one in their right mind would be bothered to read it xD

I must recommend to anyone who plans on communicating with their host family [when i say 'plans on' i really mean DO IT since its an awesome way to get to know your family before you arrive and also to know what to expect] to do so through Skype. I for one can say that that my Japanese speaking skills are pretty poor and talking to native speakers can be nerve racking for me, however, when I Skyped my family, me going to Japan felt that little bit more real at the time as it still hadn't sunk in fully. And you know what, skyping your family is just plain awesome! They're no longer this email or letter or facebook post. They're real and you'll be with them soon enough! Isn't that just (OMGGGG im going to use the word again) awesome!!! So there I was with my family, sweating from the Aussie heat at 10:20pm huddled around a computer while my host family was on the other end with a fire stove smouldering wearing jackets! Although I could mostly comprehend what was being said, I was lucky enough to have my older host sis (who is basically fluent in english) to talk to when I had no idea what was going on. Seriously though, best conversation over Skype i've ever had. Okaasan asked what my favourite colour was because she was going to buy me a lunch box!! How cute is that??!?!?

Next on the agenda...phone calls. Yes I received a phone call from AFS telling me that my flight details had changed which I started to freak about until they said it was only my domestic. Pheww.

[[ Eh that last paragraph sounded really exciting didn't it. I wanna write about japaannnn but I won't cave in to temptation. Patience. I've been keeping a personal diary so i wont forget anything. I'll just rewrite some things that i've written and post them later. Promiseee ]]

Have I ever mentioned that my friends are amazing? They planned a huge surprise party with my family and kept it a surprise. And what a surprise! My friend took me out for the day to disguise the setting up which was taken place at my house *love love love*. When I arrived home, there was all my friends and family dressed in Japanese style there to wish me luck and farewell. It was an amazing night with food, dancing and lots of fun! The detail they put into it just rocked. The invites took them ages to make by hand and hundreds of cranes and lanterns were made and strung up around the garden and tent [it had been raining due to a cyclone on it's way]. Overall it was the best night and I have the best friends and the best family everrr. It really showed how much they care and will miss me and for me it brought out how much I was going to miss them and how much they mean to me.

They mean the world to me.


You are officially updated. From here on end my posts will be about me in Japan.

I appologise if this post has repeatition or is short and lame or doesn't make sense. It's pretty late and I need sleep. I just wanted to post what I had promised.

Oyasumi

K x

Advice about packing

DO IT A WEEK BEFORE YOU GO!!

And you're saying, but Kaitlin, you still have about a week to go, what's the big deal? Well my lovely readers [if there are any ;)] the thing is, I live in Mackay. It is currently 1.24am on a Wednesday morning and in exactly 8 hours and 6 minutes I have to be awake enough to carry my myself and an over packed bag into an airport so I can catch a plane to Brisbane where I'll be spending a week with my Dad, Step-mother and other family. Considering that this is the last Wednesday morning I'll be spending in Mackay for 11 months, I should have started packing one week ago from today. Sure, I made lists (lists are your friends! Make as many as you can about EVERYTHING) and I went shopping. However, being me and my super unorganised self, I left things to the very last minute to pack my life into a suitcase.

Ooops! Big mistake. For the last 2 and a bit hours I've been running around like a chicken with it's head cut off trying to pack and clean and whatever else that needs to be done. The more things I pack, the more I realise what I haven't packed! It's a vicious cycle *sob* and thoughts are still in my brain about what I've potentially forgotten. My bag was neatly packed with the necessary clothes and everything fit perfectly. Then I realised I didn't look in my other side of my cupboard where I had more clothes which I wanted, sure no problem. Then there was toiletries. Yep, packed good. Here's where the vicious cycle kicks in:

ZOMG I need a nice dress shirt, shoes, razors, deodorant, PJ's, hair ties, where is my camera case?!??!!! where is my voltage converter?!?!!?! OMG I don't even have my YEN!..it's down again, damn it, should have bought it yesterday at 5pm when it was up a little, stationery for school etc, I haven't printed off my meishi, where are my lists?!?! Do I really need vitamins? and I haven't packed up my gifts [which my friends kindly helped me wrap since I fail in that department *hugs*]!!

As you can see from Freak Out A above you can imagine how much I want to drop kick myself for being so lazy and not packing when I at least had the whole day to do it. Now I'm suffering the consequences. My suitcase is no longer neat but everything is thrown on top of everything without order, I will have little sleep and I'm too scared to open my suitcase to check if I've forgotten my camera charger in the fear of caving in, unpacking everything and realising I have to put everything back. T_T why am I so unorganised?

The bottom line is, pack in advance. Sure, you may seem overly keen but that's allowed! Woooot I'm going to Japan in just under a week :D So excited!!!!

I'm going to write a blog about what has happened over the last 10 days within the next few days hopefully. [there's good news about skyping my family, phone calls and surprises :3] The reason why I'm writing this first is because it's currently on my mind and it's bugging me. Now I need sleep...or at least double check I've got everything I need.

Oyasumi,

K x

23 days, so much has happened so much more to do!

First off...pinch and a punch for the first day of the month :D
It's now the 1st of March and I have officially 17 days in Mackay, 6 days in Brisbane and 1/2 a night in Sydney before I arrive in Japan. Wooo! I've been equally excited as well as nervous. It's not so much going to Japan for a year that's 'scary'...more so returning to Australia after a year. I have to start year 12 and welcome all it's pressures that come with it, I'll be with a new grade of people, my old friends are off to uni (some which I may never see again) and I have to settle back into an Aussie life...as you can see I think waaaaaaaaaaay too far ahead for my own good hehe. At the moment I'm just trying to go with the flow and whatever comes bring it on! I want to enjoy what little time I have with my friends, family and not get worked up over nothing or things that are months and months away. [Yes, I've only just realised this now thanks to a few people who have talked me out of worrying so much *love*]

So, much has happened between now and last time I blogged. I've received my detailed host family info (!!!!), school info, orientation site and have been emailing like crazy to my お父さん almost every night. He said on Facebook that Sakura are coming into bloom soon and that he'll take the family to view them. Ahh!! Can't wait :D I've always wanted to see cherry blossoms. Lots of photos will be taken ;)

First things first, my family. They all look so nice and they have a gorgeous house. It's so huge! They sent me pictures of the house, my family and...wait for it...my own room :) Awesome. My Dad is a police officer so don't worry, I'll definitely be safe in Japan. Their hobbies include mountain stream fishing (面白い!), sewing, garding, computer, volunteering and dance. They also like to have family get togethers so it looks like I'll be meeting the whole gang whilst I'm there. Can't wait! I need to buy so many gifts (something that I haven't got around doing yet eeep). Also, my city. Even though it' in the south, it's so cold compared to Mackay. Throughout the year it ranges from 0'C ~35'C!! It won't snow but I hope I get to see snow when I'm there =3 Love, love, love, love, love my family.

My school...I can't wait to attend! My school will be in the next city so maybe I may catch a train? That'll be different to catching a bus everyday. It's a public co-ed school with double the amount of girls than there is boys. However, I've noticed that they don't study Physics D: instead they have Basic Science. They seem to have a lot of business subjects so I guess this school is for students who want to be involved in a business type career?
They have three holidays in year ranging from 2 weeks to a month. I've noticed that Christmas is actually incorporated into the winter holiday so no going to school on Chrissy for me!!
What else can I say...ooo the clubs. So. Many. To. Choose. From. I think I want to do a sporting club so I've narrowed it down to 3 options: Kendo, Kyudo (archery) and Karate....maybe Badminton gosh it's so hard to decide right now! If I decide to do a cultural club I may choose from my list of 4: Tea Ceremony, Cooking, Volunteer Activities (??) and Calligraphy. It's too hard to decide!
Also, my school has a camp in December to *drum roll please* AUSTRALIA! I doubt I'll go since I'll be coming home in a few months after that but how cool nonetheless.
I also wrote a letter to my principal last week in Japanese to thank him for allowing me to attend the school. Many thanks to Aki for correcting my mistakes *hugs*

Orientation...so excited! I've been talking on this Facebook forum to tonnes of AFS Japan go-ers and I'm feeling better that at least I've been aquainted with a few of these people before I arrive so I don't feel like some kind of loner. I got given a red sticker which means I'll be going to Osaka for my orientation. That's good and bad news. Good that I know a few people going...bad news because I have to catch a domestic flight. The check in baggage allowance is 15kg in Japan! Be warned! I'm going to have to cram as much junk into my backpack (allowance 10kg) as I can. *thumbs up* going to be hells fun :D

I'm planning to Skype my family soon. Sometime this week hopefully. I've been wanting to for so long but my spoken Japanese is far less superior than my reading/writing. Fingers crossed all goes well!!

Lastly. Guess who passed JLPT 4!!! :D I got my certificate the other day saying I had successfully passed. Woooooot! It's a little stab of confidence of my Japanese skills haha. My friends, go for it this year. You'll pass a hell of a lot better than I did with grade 12 Japanese under your belt. Totally do it :)

And yes, I'm still unorganised. Haven't done anything in the way of more shopping, photos for documents and everything. Pressure is my friend. It will make me put my A into G in no time soon. More than anything, I just want to see my mates at the moment. Can't wait for next week when I will! No sign of my CoE yet...I'll hassel them next week if I hear nothing soon.

That's enough from me I think...this is what happens when you don't blog for a while. You end up writing long posts with lots of "!" and " :D/:)" everywhere!!! :D

K x