Well, it's been awhile since I've posted something. I've been extremely busy. This job is pretty much 24/7, so it's rare that I have any time to myself. I'm sure it'll get easier once I get into the routine of things, but this first week was a little bit rough. There is just so much to do all the time. Not only am I working the camp, but I also have to work in the office during the day. Monday through Thursday the students are in class, so I try to take care of any reservations that need to be made during the office hours. I've already decided that I hate planning meals. It's a real pain. We also go on weekend trips, which can be stressful with so many people and things to keep track of. Despite the stress, I'm learning a lot and I LOVE the students.
I seriously couldn't ask for a better group of people to work with. They are so eager to learn and so much fun to be around. It's tiring most days, but it's worth it. I was a little down those first couple of days because it was so hard to spend the day without Dakota. After 2 years of living together and seeing each other everyday, it was rough to spend that first night alone. The students have cheered me up considerably. On the second day, one of the girls came up to me and handed me a package. She wrote me the sweetest note thanking me for helping her during this program and saying that she hoped I could understand her English (which I can just fine.) She also enclosed some adorable goodies from Japan: a beautiful flowered fan, some scented rubber bands, a mechanical eraser, and the tiniest set of sticky notes I have ever seen in the shape of little weiner dogs. I was honestly speechless. It made my whole day.
Everyone here has been so incredibly friendly. It's only been a week, but I've already learned some interesting things about Japanese culture.
1) Knowing your blood type is a big deal in Japan. It's common when introducing yourself to someone to ask what their blood type is or tell them what your blood type is. They were asking me at lunch one day and were shocked when I told them I had no idea.
2) The sweets here are waaaaaaaaay too sweet for them. I'm not much of a sweets person myself, but they have a really low tolerance for the amount of sugar that we put in our food.
3) Japanese poker and American poker are not the same. They invited me to play cards and I asked what they were playing and they told me it was poker. I honestly don't know how to play poker, but I know this game is not what we typically refer to as poker. All of the cards in the deck are distributed among the players. Before the game begins, you should put down any number pairs that you have. When you begin, you will take a card out of the person to your right's hand. The objective is to get a match from them. You want to run out of cards before the others.
4) Japanese scissors have a cover on them to make them safer. I definitely think that idea should carry over here to the U.S.
5) I know I've already mentioned how nice the students are, but I can't emphasize it enough. They are so polite and respectful. I had made some brownies for one of the girls' birthdays and the next day she handed me the containers I had brought the brownies in. She had washed them for me. It's just little polite things like that that catch me off guard.
6) Nicknames are very common among Japanese students. They've already given me one. They call me Buri chan.
Well, I'm pretty much exhausted for the night. We had our first weekend trip today. I'm ready for some sleep.
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