I'm Alive! : AIIU Newlsetter Article

Here's my contribution to the AIIU newsletter, I thought, since I haven't posted in a long while, I should post it here too as an assurance that I will soon update. Expect more updates this week! I've been working on some "catch-up" posts to make up for my slackness.
Thank you for reading. :D I will also reply to all your comments (starting from... NOW!). Alright, over and out!

...

It’s five thirty in the morning.

“HEY hey, YOU you, I could be your GIRLLFRRRIEND!,” Avril Lavigne screams from the futon beside me, giving me a small heart attack for the umpteenth time this week. Stunned, it takes me a moment to realise that it’s not really Avril going off at me, but just my host mother’s alarm clock. Wincing at the clash of ring tone guitars, I groan, check my watch, roll over and reluctantly rise, body swaying unsteadily as I do, still groggy with sleep. Legs shaking, I make a quiet but somewhat precarious leap over the sleeping bodies of my host family (who, being veterans of Avril’s wake-up-call, are able to maintain composure over the roar of her guitar), and land safely (thank goodness) on the other side of the tatami mat. Today, I made the leap. But tomorrow could be the day I don’t. I resolve to practice my landings in たいくtaiku (PE) class.

But for now, it’s shower time.

With three cranks of a small lever, the little fire inside the heater of our Japanese bathtub is lit. Shivering and, well, stark naked (as one usually is when taking a shower), I utter a grateful sigh as the warm water rushes over me. Let me tell you, the minute that warm water comes out, it’s like HEAVEN ON EARTH. It’s quite cold here, in Oyama City, Tochigi (a city, not entirely country, but not entirely city, that lies approximately one hour from Tokyo by Shinkansen) and hey, I'm a bit of a wimp. After my usual shower (my 'daily trial', I suppose!), I take a peek out the window, and gasp as I see that the cars parked outside have been lightly tipped with snow. Beautiful! I’ll be able to take a closer look at it after my host sister and I make our usual bicycle ride to school, dressed in our navy Japanese seifuku school uniform. That is, after eating our Japanese breakfast prepared by our Host Mum, and packing our neatly wrapped おべんとうobentou (Japanese lunch boxes). Today, it’s curry rice.

A month here, and I am in awe of Japan. It’s, as others will and probably already have assured you in this newsletter, a very different, but very beautiful place, rich in culture. The scenery in Tochigi is absolutely gorgeous, and sakura (cherry blossom trees) adorn almost every street corner, constantly drawing looks of admiration from passersby. In a park by Oyama Library, street musicians often softly practice singing their music in Japanese, sitting in a circle together and strumming their guitars, which makes for a pleasant backdrop. A distant bark in the morning will reveal that the little white Akita dog of the neighbourhood has escaped once again and is performing his morning ritual of chasing cars on the street. The locals shake their head as they pass by. Just a normal morning in Oyama.

Lovely Oyama City - the urban and the rural

I am really enjoying my time here. Whilst I do think about my friends and family in Australia and miss them very much, being here, every day, is an adventure. So far I have tried foods that, in Australia, I would never have dared go near (牛タン‘gyutan’, or cow tongue, こぶくろkobukuro, pig uterus and うに‘uni’ or ‘sea urchin’ sushi, for example, and have developed a taste forたこ tako, or octopus); have braved the Japanese 温泉Onsen during our First Year school trip with some of my classmates (think naked public bathing); have been shopping and to Karaoke with friends (and took advantage of the free drinks; boy, did I abuse the system! 5 litres of Calpis, oh yeah!) and have visited a Japanese traditional temple at night time with my Host Grandparents to gaze upon the six hundred year old sakura tree, blossoming for another year.　すばらしくて、いっしょう忘れられないけいけんです。

My classmates, who will be introduced to you soon!

I am struck by the kindness of the Japanese people; the politeness of shop staff (during our school trip, for example, the entire hotel staff filed out of the building, including the chefs, and waved us all a hearty goodbye as we left), the kindness of strangers (an ‘おみやげomiyage’ charm from Korea I dropped – yes mum, I was clumsy again, stop shaking your head! - was returned to me at school, as someone had picked it up and had the heart to give it in rather than keep it for themselves), the kindness of my teachers (two of which who particularly go out of their way to make sure I loosely understand the contents of their classes, one by giving me little letters written in simple Japanese after class, which I am very grateful for) and the accepting nature of my classmates (whilst there is a definite language barrier, it doesn’t stop us from being pals, and they do their very best to include me. Despite my not yet being able to express myself in Japanese words, they have made me feel like one of the group).

Utsunomiya Bunsei Girls High School, too, is beautiful.
In short, I love it here.　日本がほんとうに大好きですよ！

Blossoms in the park near Oyama Station

Well, time’s up! If you’re interested to hear any more of my experience in Japan (both the exciting and the mundane of my rants!) please feel free to visit my blog:
www.lucie-in-utsunomiya.blogspot.com
Shameless advertising! :D

I hope all the other exchange students are having fun out there too, and I can’t wait to hear about what you’re up to. みなさん、がんばってください！：‘D　FIGHT！

Over and out for now,
Lucie ルーシー

NEXT POST: All about my school, its teachers and the students (introducing our story's setting and the all important characters)! Will have some new photos/information to show, and I'll post this either tomorrow or the next day, depending on how busy I am with my recently joined club (who knows what the next few days will bring)... please look forward to it! おたのしみに！