FDI Surprise
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Fall:
This is a piece that explains my thoughts from before the Opening Ceremony and after the Closing Ceremony. I thought that it would be easy to handle my buddy since I am Japanese. But, it wasnft just language I had to think about. It was also my friendship between. I'd expected that my buddies would talk really hard Japanese but it turned out that they went easy on me with Japanese. Well, actually I wondered if theyfd even talk to me. I wondered if they would get shy and stay away from me but actually they stuck right by my side, so I relaxed. I also thought that they would go walking off by themselves.
I had worries about the picnic, too. I thought the grass would be soggy. I thought it would be a long day so I would have to work like this the whole time and it would be hard. But then, everything worked out great. I started talking to them so they started talking to me. Both my buddies didnft run away because they were best friends. They were very comfortable together. My buddies were so amazed at the equipment in the playground because in their school, they didnft have swings, jump ropes and balls. When, I went to Fuchu Dai Ichi for the icebreaker, their playground had monkey bars, slides, things to swing on but they werenft swings and a running track. It looked pretty cool to play on for 2 days but not for 2 years. I think they really wanted to play with our playground equipment for recess at their school everyday. The picnic went great too. The grass was wet, but we had tarps to sit on, so we didnft wet our clothes and we didnft have to eat indoors. The whole day was so short and unexpectedly, I was sad when my buddies left. Now that I know them well, I canft wait until February to see them!
My buddies cooperated with me so the day went smoothly. The picnic was fun too. I love eating but I like eating even more when Ifm eating with someone. Mask making was fun too. My buddies did what they were told by me. The day went smooth and my buddies seemed relaxed that I was nice too. They said things that I understood and they werenft that bad. That day was one of the best days of my life.
Like I said in the ending of my first paragraph, I canft wait until February to see them again. I suppose that my trip to Fuchu Dai Ichi will be the exact same thing except for that my buddies are going to be the hostesses of their school.
Zoom! The day was over before you could say "Fuchu Dai Ichi!" It was all done, the talking in Japanese, the playing of the non-usual, everything. But I still have another chance. The time I go to Fuchu Dai Ichi. This time, Ifll go there with a bright smile on my face. Me and my buddies will have a better time together.
Spring:
Wow! How exciting! It was the beginning of a great Fuchu Dai Ichi adventure! At the beginning, we had to get ready by packing our lunches and our other urgent needs. And as expected, many kids didnft feel pleasant about going to a Japanese squat toilet so many of the kids went to the bathroom before we left. As my friends and I got out of the toilet, we noticed one, big main thing. It was pretty noisy. The bathroom was nearly overflowing with people! That was why it was pretty noisy. Everyone must have been excited. When my friends and I got back to the classroom, everyone had their backpacks on, ready to go. We got our backpacks quick and lined up with the class. Our class walked to the buses, still pretty noisy. Once we got on the bus, it was a lot more louder than usual. That was because Mr. Harritsfs class was also on the bus. I bet those teachers got headaches! On the bus? Oh what fun I had! I played my gameboy while listening to my friend, Nastassjafs CD player. Tick, tick, tick, jring! Zoom! Time flies! Before you could say Japan, we were in front of the school, Fuchu Dai Ichi! All the fourth graders from Fuchu Dai Ichi were waving at the arriving buses. Our class jumped off the bus excitedly. But once we got face-to-face with our buddies, we were as shy as babies! But our buddies were as cheerful as they could possibly be. Our buddies led us to the genkan, the Japanese word for entrance. There, we had to put on our school slippers to enter the school. I had brought fleece socks AND slippers because I had heard Mrs. Fincher say that they didnft have heating and I am always cold when people tell me itfs cold. I had trouble putting them on for a while but then I got used to it and got going. After everyone was able to slip their slippers on, our buddies led us to the gym. There, we had an opening ceremony. A few of our buddies went up and spun a Japanese top with a string tied onto it. As those people got back to the audience remaining, another group of our buddies went up. They spun another smaller Japanese top called a byun byun goma. As those people came back, another group went up and walked on stilts. And finally as those people got back another huge group went up and danced a Japanese dance. They were singing gsolan! solan!h When all the fuss in the gym was over, we were led to their classrooms to make byun byun gomas. Mine didnft work well. But it was okay anyway. When we were done making the crafts, we had recess. First, I played dodgeball. Then, I played a Japanese badminton-like game. When recess was over, the fuss was over I was shocked! I was about to say ghey, arenft we going to talk more?h They surely know how to transition from a recess manner to a classroom manner! It was quiet as we ate lunch. My lunch was really tasty and mouth-watering but it would have been better if our buddies talked more. Me and Katelyn noticed that we were the only ones talking in our table group. As our lunch ended, which was really quick, the ASIJ students packed up and we had a tour around the school. We ended up in the gym and had our closing ceremony. At the end of the closing ceremony, we sang gItfs A Small World After Allh with our buddies. Ifd thought wefd sing it in Japanese but we didnft. We prepared to leave as our buddies made lines and we waved good-bye. I hope to see my buddy in the future and get along as well as we do now.
Page made by Ami
March 2004