Japan

Haven’t I been slack lately?

Well, it’s only 34 days till I go to Japan. Not that I’m counting or anything. He he.

Three weeks ago we had a fourteen year old Japanese girl staying with us. That was so much fun. We went around Burleigh Headland and down to Currumbin rock twice I think. One time it was really cool because the waves were really big, so we climbed up onto the little rock in front of the big one and saw all the waves crashing up against the littler rocks in front.

After she’d been with us for a week, she went home and another girl came. She was seventeen and from the same school I went to in Japan last year. And, guess what?? I’m staying at her place in Japan for my three month homestay! J I’m so excited.

What else has been happening… ha! In the stupid English competition we have to do every year since about year five, I got a High Distinction! Which I think means I was in the top 1% of the state, or something. I have to say I find it very amusing, cause I guessed half the questions… it’s sad I’m happy about that, isn’t it? It’s not even like it has anything to do with anything. Hm.

Also, in our English class, we’re doing horror, so we’re reading Dracula. The best bit so far is that we had to write a 500 word horror story, not for assessment or anything, but just because we could. It has been so much fun. Mine was about a rich bloke in London yonks ago who made a hobby of murdering his household staff and eating their remains. One of my friends had a really detailed death scene in which a man killed his brother and cut him up into little pieces because he (the dead bloke) was engaged to the girl the bad brother was in love with. Then he (the bad live one) made her marry him, but on the ‘you may kiss the bride’ bit she whipped a knife out of her corset (how she fitted it down there has been a cause for dispute amoung a few of my friends) and stabbed the dude to death. I like it. That’s the beauty of level four English. We all have such repulsive imaginations.

Major cause for disgust in my grade: next year, we’re FINALLY in senior (read: no longer have to be in the same classes as brain dead year nine girls – “Does rice grow on trees like pasta?” (I’m serious, someone asked this question) – who spend the whole time fixing their hair.) But NO!!! Next year is the first year that year ten in Queensland will be a part of the senior school. They get new uniforms. Thank God they’re not coming into our classes too, but they are abolishing the whole Level Four English (not sure about Maths though…) thing and letting them come into year eleven English classes. And you can bet they’ll be coming into the OP one. It seems like my grade’s going backwards. Usually it’s only the mainstream year ten classes that have two, maybe three year nine’s tops. But now, classes like my level four one seem to be going backwards, back with the year nines, which we haven’t done since, well, ever.
Okay, feeling frustrated.

Buh Bye…v

Hello

So. Mum and I went to the markets to sell stuff on Mothers Day. We went to Lennox Head which is way down past Byron Bay. We’ve never been there before, so we thought got hopelessly lost on the way down. Even though we weren’t… yeah.

It turns out that Mother’s Day is a really stupid day to do the markets. No one goes. They’re all too busy taking their mums out to breakfast and lunch and stuff. So we sat. And we sat. And we sat.

You know what the really sad part is? That ‘so we sat. And we sat. And we sat.’ thing? That’s a slightly adjusted quote from my favourite of all the Golden Circle little kiddy books, ‘Lavender the Library Cat’…that reads ‘so she sat. And she sat. And she sat.’

Okay, you can stop laughing now.

Really.

Please?

So… what else has been going on?
In PE my all – girls class is doing rugby union and AFL. I wouldn’t have thought it would be my kind of thing, but it is SO much fun. Because seriously, how often do we girls get a chance to tackle?? All I can say is thank god there’s no guys in the class. One really sad thing though, which made me feel that the whole feminist thing has all been in vain? The south coast rugby union trials were on at the same time as our class, so half the girls, most likely more, refused to play, and instead sat down on the edge of the guys field for half the lesson. It was way better without them, though.

I’ve just been hit by a fresh wave of pre- Japan- excitedness. I’ve found out that, so far anyway, I’m the only one going in Term Four, which sorta sucks, but I’m still happy. Yay!!

I’m sorry that this post is so all over the place, but really, all I can say is ‘nah nah nah nah nah’ (please imagine me poking out my tongue too).

Bye.

Hey,

Well.

A fair bits happened lately. I’ve scored myself a job at Hungry Jacks, which is kinda fun, though I’m still pretty clueless. Only to be expected though, I guess, after only two three hour shifts. I like it though.

I also handed in my application for a three month stay in Japan in Term Four of this year and I’m going to Japan!!! For three months!!! In Term Four!!! As you can probably tell, I’m kind of excited. So, yeah… Cause I had so much fun the first time I went over, and I really didn’t want to go home…. YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I really should calm down. I’ve been hyper all lesson. I think it’s because one of my friends gave me a chocolate Easter bunny, so I’ve had some (okay, all the ears and a bit of the head) and now I feel kinda queasy. But I’ve also been totally hyper and can’t- stop- moving-ish all lesson, so I’m very happy we’ve got a hockey game tonight, cause right now all I want to do is sprint. Which is weird, cause usually I’d prefer to jog than sprint but whatever.

Okay, I’m going to go now.

Bye…

Hey,

I know, I know. I should be doing homework. But anyway.

I’m back at school now. I don’t think I’ve written since the day before.

My classes are pretty good. English is going to be really good. It’s the highest junior one and the first lesson we had to write an essay about ‘What is Language?’. Yeah. Try it one day. It’s harder than it sounds.
Home Economics is International Cookery this term, which rocks. Thursday I’m making a Chinese Lemon Chicken. I can’t wait for Italian- I’m making a beautiful looking chicken lasange.

Maths, Soc Ed and Japanese are the same as usual, Japanese great, the other two alright.

The lessons in Science are unbearable. Nebulae. AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!! I’m going to change if that’s all it’s about. I oughta take in my assignment from last year. I KNOW THIS STUFF ALREADY AND I HATE IT!!!!!!!! IF IT WAS UNBEARABLE LAST YEAR, HOW BAD IS IT THIS YEAR?? Everyone else is all ‘Uh, is it a bright nebula?’ IT’S AN EMISSION NEBULA!!!!!

I feel mad just thinking about it.

OMG! Tonight. Series return of ‘The OC’. I fully accept that my love of this show is totally laugh worthy material. I do realise that this is a show about a bunch of loaded Californians, running around without a haair out of place. I accept that the storylines are a tad out there. (Last season ended with Marissa shooting Trey, her boyfriend Ryan- the silent, brooding one-‘s brother, because the two brothers were having a major fist fight over the fact that Trey tried to rape Marissa. Hey, the guy left his gun lying around. What did he think would happen?!?) Love it. Even considering the whole aforementioned unrealisism of the show, it is totally addictive. Kind of like my friends obsession with ‘Smallville’. (Seriously, that is THE worst show on TV- actually, it’s runner-up to Australian Princess) It makes no sense.

Major news. If someone –please, Coles Myer, please- takes it into their head to employ me and I consequently raise subsequent funds, I am able to go to Japan for three months in term four of this year. It would be to the same school that I visited oh so briefly last September and I would do homestay and attend the school for a whole term.

Mum and Dad have said yes, so now I just have to get a job and save up $2000. That is a really big number when you think about it. I SOO badly want to go. Coz you’re not really meant to go in 11 or 12 coz it messes with your senior stuff.
Okay, I really should go now.

Bye

Hi

I’m in BT (again) and I’ve finished all the work (design a Christmas card), so here I am. Plus, I have stuff to write about too, which always helps.

So. I was in Home Ec. with my friends, cleaning out the reeking and dust and/or mouldy fridge, and the equally as putrid microwaves, when there’s a fire drill. So we all pull of our rubber gloves and traipse outside, where the deputy principal is running around like a chicken with its head cut of yelling at everyone to hurry up. When we get to the oval, we get the roll marked and hang around for another hour, while the police come and wander around, because of the bomb threat. Can I just say that that (bad grammar, but get over it) is the first time we’ve ever had a fire drill or lock down because something happened.

Yeah, so. I know that was boring, but that oval was soaked, so we couldn’t sit down, so heaps of us wandered down to the driveway and sat on that, until the other deputy told us all off because there was a car coming.

Yesterday Mum and Dad got tickets to an advance screening of Harry Potter, so they all went to see that, while I went to a Japanese restaurant for a Japan tour phot swap. I was so jeleous- I really enjoyed the dinner and everything, but I so want to see that movie.

I have to say though, the food we had was absolutely delicious. There were only seven of us and we got so much food. We sat at one of those tables with a big dip in the floor and it was hilarious watching people trying to get out. I also discovered that it was miso soup I despised in Japan (I could- dead set- feel my gag reflexes kicking in as I put it to my mouth. Needless to say, I didn’t eat very much of it at my host family’s house and I didn’t even try last night.)

And on the subject of Japan, here’s me and my buddy, Chieko.

I can’t think of anything else that’s happened lately, so I might go now.

Bye.

Greetings fellow earthlings,

Guess what?

I’ve been to Japan the past two weeks!! So I’m just going to blither on about that, ‘kay?

First up we went to Osaka, which was really cool, especially the subway, even though our whole group stacked every time the train a) started moving b) turned a corner or c) stopped. It was funny though.

We went to Osaka Castle, which was a tad dull, coz it was set up as a museum, so it was like, all in Japanese. I mean I can speak Japanese (kinda), but no where near that well and certainly not with that much kanji. There were some really pretty pictures, though.

We had KFC for dinner the second night, just to experience Japanese food (cough cough) although my friend said her Twister had beans in it, so there you go.

Next day we went to Kyoto, where we saw Kinkakuji temple (AKA the Golden Pavilion) which was absolutely gorgeous, and Kiyomizu temple which was really cool, but not as pretty.

After that we went to Nara for the day, where we saw the Toudaji temple, which had the HUGEST gold Buddha. Then we went on the bullet train to Tokyo (it didn’t feel nearly as fast as it was.) where we went to Akihabara where there was this huge electronics store. My friends and I discovered the true meaning of sardines in a can inside the lift. I could scarcely breathe, and it’s no joke trying to get out from the back, let me tell you that.

Next day was Tokyo Disneyland, which was awesome! We had so much fun and I bought heaps of stuff for everyone I know, especially me!!! We missed one show not once but twice, coz it was full, and enjoyed the fact that every thing was in English most of the time.

The haunted mansion was totally lame, and the flume was so fun- think four girls singing along to zip-a-dee-doo-dah, which was playing in the back ground, in the wrong language, at the top of their lungs , with four Japanese guys in the same boat laughing at them. Very funny.

Next day we went to Harajuku, which was scary. As one of my friends put it, all the girls (and guys pretending to be girls) seemed to be trying to out scare one another. Apparently that’s where all the Japanese girls in Gwen Stefani’s video clips are from, but the people actually there were way creepier than them.

After Harajuku we went to Yokosuka, where we did homestay for a week. That school was incredible. It was like three stories and brand new. It left my fifteen year old school, with about twenty stairs total in the entire place, in the dust.

Homestay was so fun- my family was totally nice, only thing was they spoke English to me the whole time, so I couldn’t practice, just think I know how to say that in Japanese. we slept on tatami mats and everything, I was hopeless though, and would get halfway across the mat before I’d remember to take off my slippers.

Anyways, I’m home now, after the best two weeks ever. Sooooo much fun.

OMG, I luv this song- The Prayer by Anthony Callea. My mum cried when he sung this on Oz Idol. Seriously.

I’d better go now, I don’t want anyone thinking I’m actually practising my touch typing!!

Bye!

I’m Laura and this is my blog. As if that’s not obvious.

Anyway, here I’m going to write about random, probably uninteresting stuff that happens.

Like how thoroughly my hockey team gets thrashed, how much I wish PE at my school was split by gender and how hyped up I am that I’m going to Japan the day after tomorrow.

That’s also one of my favorite movies too, The Day After Tomorrow. It’s really cool. I love natural disasters. I did a huge model of a cyclone in year four or something. I’m babbling and I’m not even speaking out loud. This is seriously weird.

So, Japan.

I’m going with school for two weeks, one travelling, one doing homestay at our sister school. My family’s had Japanese students stay with us before, and that’s been really good. Shame my Japanese is so dodgy.

Did you know it takes 9 hours to fly from the Gold Coast to Osaka? Good thing I’m going armed with a magazine, a Dan Brown book, two friends and a bag of Fredos.

I can see my kitten from where I’m sitting. She’s six months old and absolutely gorgeous. I’m not sure how long she’ll stay like that if she leaves her head in that spiky bush, though.

I’ve gotta go, I feel like vegemite on toast.

Bye.

Laura