Day Four of Arrival Orientation (The One with the Salmon)

Day Four started the same as all those that had come before it. Wake up at 6:30, down to breakfast by about 7:30 and then back to the classroom for a quiz on the PIEE rules and regulations. Stuff we’d read over a million times before, but had to have drilled into us once more in a painful 1 hour and a half long quiz. Not so much a quiz, though, since every answer was read out and explained to us in depth again and again.

Next on the schedule for Friday (Our last full day at the youth center!) was a lesson on Japanese manners including bowing, how to enter someone’s house, table manners and the usual fare. This was at least more fun than the previous quiz, since it was more interactive and hands-on. After the explanation was over and done with we had a game where each group had a bowl full of smarties and they had to transfer them over to an empty bowl using chopsticks, each person in the group was to transfer 5 over and then hand the baton to the next person. It was a lot harder than it sounds! The shape of smarties meant they kept slipping out of the chopsticks unless you got them on a really good angle. Regardless, Ao (The team I was in) won! Our prize was that we each got a pair of chopsticks (Made in China).

After manners we got a short break and then came back for a lesson in calligraphy. Some volunteers and the staff helped us translate our names into kanji characters so we could have a go at writing them in calligraphy. My attempts were pretty lacklustre. I say it’s due to my lack of artistic talent :D! Afterwards we all lined up on the stairs outside and took a photo. I really like this one, despite some people hiding in the back.

Calligraphy, manners and rules out of the way we could finally go and get something to eat! After our last lunch in the youth center we went back to the room to have a bit of a presentation with two students who had been in Japan for 7 months so far, as well as Japanese host families and Kana. The staff had questions written up which they asked them and they answered to the best of their ability, it was interesting to get some insight into life as an exchange student/host family from those who had actually lived it. It gave some more reality to the fact that the next day we’d all be saying goodbye and going our separate ways, something we hadn’t thought about for awhile.

After the presentation was over we were able to prepare for our presentations on our countries. Since there were so many Australian students, we split into 2 groups and I ended up working with Craig, Alistair, Carissa and Samantha. The presentations were all fantastic, and I was really happy with the poster our group came up with (Mostly thanks to Carissa). My favourite presentation was from the group of Thai girls who showed different aspects of Thai culture like bowing, ways of saying hello and traditional dance; as well as showcasing traditional Thai dresses! Some guests were there to see the presentations too. Harrison and Pear’s host families had come to watch and that meant they’d be leaving that night, as well as a PIEE staff member that was taking Lilianna to stay with him until she left for Kagoshima.

During dinner we sat with Harrison and his host sister as well as Sununtha and Hugo. It was nice to finally be getting to know everyone better! For the whole time we’d mainly associated with the group we were familiar with, but now I was getting to know the other students much better. Sad that it had to be on the very last night! After dinner we said our goodbyes to Harrison, traded emails and whatnot and then we had to return to the classroom to get the details on what was happening the next day. Before going to dinner we had a run-in with some friendly Salmon though! Outside the cafeteria they approached us and started talking. For our entire stay it had been a bit of a mystery what the salmon were doing at the center… we guessed maybe some sort of sport or something along those lines. But it turns out they were all nursing students! Guess we were a bit off the mark with that one.

In the classroom I got a chance to talk to more people again and ended up exchanging emails with most of the other students. As I write this though I haven’t been able to keep in touch with any of them! I haven’t had Internet access since I moved to my host family! It was nice to be talking to so many people but sad at the same time, considering we’d be saying our goodbyes early on the next day.

After sticking around in the classroom for a while our original Aussie group headed out again to vending machines and whatnot. While I was waiting for the others outside some of the salmon walked past me and then one of them turns around and shouts out “Hey! How are you!?” in English. I replied “Hey! I’m great! How about you?” and then she spazzed out and screams “I am very happy!” haha. The same girl kept spazzing out and we saw them a few times after that… at one point she fell on the ground and her friend said (In Japanese) “Don’t mind her, she’s a bit funny in the head”. I wouldn’t argue that.

So our last day at the Youth Center ended pretty well. I’d made some new friends, and was anxious for the next day when I’d be boarding the Shinkansen with some others to go to Kyoto! At this point nerves were beginning to really set in, I guess.