☆Rotary Meeting This Saturday!

I'm actually at school right now (har har har! computer classes!) so I thought I would do a quick update. I have just under 5 months until I leave now (4 months 4 weeks 2 days) and according to Google, I have 151.7474 days left!
Not much has happened other than the fact that I've recently been meeting a lot of people that are also going to Japan with Rotary Youth Exchange this August, too! A lot of them have already found their placements, but unfortunately I have not :( The time will come, I'm sure of it.
I've met a lot of them on an exchange forum, and I've also met a lot of them via YouTube vlogs! xD
I actually would like to have my own, but I don't own a good camera at the moment, and my laptop's hardware is corrupt. It might even become impossible for me to blog while in Japan, because last weekend my laptop stopped working COMPLETELY (again...). Oh well, I'm going to be optimistic! I might be able to buy one this summer.

This weekend, I have my first "official" Rotary meeting, on Sunday. I say "official" because the first time we all met, it was for the interviews, though it did feel a lot like a meeting since there was a seminar afterwards. We had to get the sizes for our blazers so we'll have them for the next Rotary meeting (at the end of April!)
So, I'm excited, but also really nervous :S I didn't feel nervous before, but I'm starting to now.

☆What I want to do in Japan

According to this countdown:

I have 5 months, 3 weeks, and 3 days until I go to Japan. People keep telling me that that's close, but it feels like forever to me! I wish I could leave now, but I still have things I need to finish up here before I leave.  Anyways, since I have so much time to ponder about what I would like to do in Japan, I came up with a list. Of course, there are probably other things that I want to do that I haven't thought of yet, but I can't wait to experience these!

• Go to the Studio Ghibli Museum
• Ride a bike/train/bus/or subway to school. Walking would be really cool, too! I can't wait to see how I will be getting back and fourth from school.
• Of course, attend a Japanese high school!
• Join several clubs (if allowed). I'm interested in the Kyudo club (archery), Karate, Ikebana, and others. I'm interested in seeing what they have! 
• Eat a bento. I'm sure I will be doing plenty of this while in school, but I really can't wait to actually do it! ;D
• Visit historical landmarks... Especially the old castles, and the city of Kyoto.
• Go hiking! I always see videos all over YouTube about hiking in Japan, especially in the mountains. I love hiking myself, but there aren't many places to go where I live. 
• Be fluent in Japanese... Upon return. I'm hoping that I cram enough Japanese into my head before I leave so I can be somewhat conversational upon arrival. 
• Take a LOT of pictures! I want to make a huge scrap book when I come back. 
• Visit small villages and towns.
• Go shopping in a Japanese grocery store. I know this is rather random, but I'm interested in seeing how something so ordinary in our life is different in another country.
• Visit temples and shrines. Lots and lots of shrines. 
• Participate in festivals. It would also be really cool if I could go to one where I could dress in traditional attire, like a kimono or yukata.
• I would really like to see geisha. The geisha is what caught my interest in Japan... When I was 5 years old.
• Have Japanese Host grandparents... Ojiisan and Obaasan! (I believe, haha!) I would love to hear their stories about Japan. I love listening the stories my dad has about Russia, and my grandpa about Germany.
• Try Japanese candy! ;D And takes lots home!
• A typhoon & earthquake. I would NEVER want these natural disasters to harm people, or be strong enough so they could. I've just never experienced one of these before and think it would be interesting.
• Eat all Japanese food dishes ;)
• Have a fun year!

So these are just a few things that I want to do while in Japan. I'm open to much more and would like to experience everything! 

☆Donating Blood in Japan

Lately I've been spending a lot of my free time on this website called, "GaijinPot.com" because they have numerous articles about Japan. One in particular caught my eye, and it was about donating blood in Japan! Apparently, there is a shortage of blood donations in Japan, so the Japanese Red Cross is holding a 2 month campaign starting in February (now) to "raise the importance of donating blood."

And, of course, leave it to Japan to come up with an adorable mascot!

Here is the link to the original article: http://injapan.gaijinpot.com/2012/01/11/donating-blood-in-japan-part-one/

I know many exchange students wouldn't put "giving blood" as something on their "to do list" but I'm actually quite interested in doing so. My blood type is O (I believe O- but I'm not positive... Pun not intended!) I've also researched the "rules" of donating blood in Japan, and so far, I'm safe. Unfortunately, I can't seem to find anything about an age requirement. I know that in America you have to be 16 (or, at least in my state) but I don't know if that applies to Japan. I guess that's something I'll have to check out when I arrive!

As of right now, the only new news I've gotten regarding my exchange is that I will be having an orientation meeting on March 25th and April 2nd. I was super excited when I received the news, but then I realized I still have almost 2 months to wait!

☆And then there was some news...

Great news, the Ticker works! So I now have 6 months, 3 weeks, and 5 days until I go to Japan! Unfortunately, everything else seems to be coming at such a slow pace. I haven't heard anything from the Rotary club for awhile. No news about my district... Or no news about where I will be living. Well, here I am making it sound so dramatic! It's only been about 2 weeks since the interview, so that's understandable.

Fortunately, I've met with some other exchange students on FaceBook that are also going to Japan with Rotary this year! We've been talking for awhile now; it's awesome! It's cool that I get to "prepare" and fantasize about going to Japan with other girls my age. One is from America, and the other is from Brazil. I most likely will meet the girl from America when we fly to LA for our pre-departure orientation. The next day, we'll fly to Japan together! As for the girl from Brazil... I probably won't get to meet her until I'm actually in Japan and the Rotary club there holds a meeting, which they say are held periodically (usually one to two times a month).

Also, I received an invite from one of the girls that were at the Rotary interview on FaceBook! We've been talking back and forth, and we've added all the other people that were at the interview as well, though I don't really talk to them. She hasn't heard any information either concerning which district she'll be placed in. Another person I met on FaceBook, who is going to Japan with Rotary this year as well, said that she got accepted by Rotary in mid-December, and that she found out her district the second week in January. It shouldn't be long (hopefully) before we find out our information...

This Saturday I have my BPA regional competition. BPA stands for Business Professionals of America, which is a "club" that I participate in at school. I will be doing "keyboarding" (typing) because I can type 100 words per minute without mistakes ^^" But I also have to know basic knowledge about computers. For the BPA meets we HAVE to be dressed in business attire. Unfortunately for me, I found out just yesterday that the meet was this Saturday, so I had absolutely nothing to wear! My mom picked me up early from school to find an outfit... And I wound up with this...

A bright blue and green business suit... The picture doesn't do it justice. (And yes, that is a miniature Christmas tree in the background. I feel like it really adds some warmth to my room, so I'm keeping it up! haha xD) My mom bought it because it was on sale... She said, "You can't beat this price!" I kind of like it, but a lot of times people think my tastes in fashion are... Strange... So I'm worried people might tell me I look like a Peacock or a Chameleon. D: Oh well, we'll see how it goes.

☆7 Months and 1 Day until Departure?

I found this one website called "Cultures-Shocked", which is a place where foreign exchange students (past, present, and future) can talk to each other and give advice. I noticed that several people had these countdown apps on their signatures, so I decided to make one!

I think these are so cool! You can actually choose the background of your "ticker" (and there are a lot to choose from) as well as the icon, mine being the airplane. I chose an airplane soaring through the clouds because (1) I'm a huge airplane/airport nerd, and (2) it's quite fitting.
I had some trouble posting this onto my blog, so I had to post it as a picture, though I don't know if it will "count down" like that... Unfortunately, I don't know when the exact day of departure will be, so I put in August 21st, 2012, which is the date most people usually leave on their Rotary exchanges. This day is actually on a Tuesday, so I highly doubt they'll send me then. It most likely will be on Saturday, August 18th, or the following Saturday, on August 25th. I hope it's closer to August 18th! ^^;

7 months is still kind of a long time, unfortunately, so I'm more focused on counting down the weeks of school! I have 17 left, excluding Spring Break. Our school is split up into "9 weeks" and two 9 weeks makes up a semester. It makes me feel better to say, "Next 9 weeks is the last!" but we just started this session, so... I still have quite awhile! But after school lets out I can chill during summer. I will be working so I can buy a camera and maybe a cheap laptop (I'm afraid to take my current one, the hardware is corrupt, so it has many problems. Sometimes they're so bad I can't even get on) before I leave for my exchange. The money for my exchange is due on May 1st! Ah! Suddenly it feels like I need more time ^^;

I'm going to be studying my Japanese hardcore now! I can read hiragana and katakana, and I studied quite a bit of vocabulary. My mom bought me a small phrasebook, and I'm going to try to memorize the whole thing, even the "unnecessary" parts, like going to the bank, sending mail, etc. I think it will help me in the future to know that type of vocabulary, and also it might help my Japanese progress much faster once I reach Japan!

☆I'M GOING TO JAPAN!

Today, I got online to check my mail, and saw that Tuso from the Rotary meeting sent me an e-mail saying, "HEY I DIDNT GET JAPAN BUT I GOT SWEDEN :p IM GLAD YOU GOT IT THO:)"

At first I was like, "What? How did he find out that he was accepted? And what country he got? We weren't even supposed to know until March... How did you know I got Japan?!" So, I jumped onto my other e-mail and saw a message from Rotary! I opened it, and it said:

I am pleased to inform you that you have passed the interview part of your long term exchange application!
The recommendation of the committee is for you to exchange with Japan.
I flipped out when I read this message! I replied to my exchange counselor and told her, "Oh my gosh! Thank you!" (I know, not the most professional, but I was so happy that I didn't know what to say!)
Being excited, I ran into my mom's room (and crashed into the couch in the living room while doing so) and jumped into her bed and told her the news! So now we're all happy, and I'm happy and.... AH! I'M JUST SO HAPPY! I can barely sit still! I just want to run and scream around the neighborhood (but it's 10 PM and I have school tomorrow...) I have this stupid grin on my face that I can't get rid of!
***** My exchange counselor just sent me an e-mail saying:


I could hardly wait to tell you! 
I spoke with Toussaint this afternoon. He will be going to Sweden instead of Japan. He asked if you would be going to Japan and I told him you would be going. He wanted me to be sure and tell you how pleased he was that you were selected for Japan.
So now I know how Tuso knew! Tuso is so nice! Though I'm a bit upset that he didn't get Japan. I wanted us to be "J-buddies" :T But, I guess fate has a different course for us. That sounded so cheesy, didn't it? But we'll get to see each other at the Rotary meetings and still be buddies, and I hope he keeps a blog on Sweden, too. I think Sweden is also an awesome country!
I thought I wouldn't get Japan. During both interviews, I was asked, "You seem pretty serious about going to Japan. What if we can't send you to that country?" so, I told them what every exchange student told me NOT TO... "Well, if I can't go to Japan I don't think I'll go to a second country. It's not that I'm not open-minded, but I only get to go to a foreign country as a high school student once. I would try again next year." After that, they all looked at each other like, "Is she serious?" I thought I was going to die, and regretted saying that. But, after that they smiled at me and said, "I'm glad you're so serious about going! You really are fascinated with Japanese culture, aren't you?!"

Oh, Japan! You are filled with wonders!

Okay! So I need to get some sleep now! It still feels like my heart is in my throat, and that butterflies are in my stomach. I can still feel my adrenaline rushing through my arms. I don't know how I'll get sleep tonight!

☆The Interview...

Well, today I had my interview... How did it go? Pretty swell, if I should say so myself! At first, I was really nervous! I was shaking really bad, my stomach was cramping, and my hands were sweating. I was afraid that I would say the wrong thing during the interview, or while I was doing it I would mess up on words like I usually do when I'm nervous. I still did (ah, I have to learn to overcome that!) but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. My mom helped me review the interview questions beforehand so I think that helped a little.

Whenever we arrived at the college where the meeting was being held, there was only one other student there, a boy and his mother. My interview was scheduled at 9:30, and his at 10:00, but my "partner" didn't show up so they pushed his interview to my time. There were two rooms filled with interviewers (I would say about 4-5 in each) and we both went into different rooms. The first room I went to had an exchange student, a boy from France, and he participated in the interviewing process (I'm not sure how old he was though! Maybe my age?) After our interviews were done, we switched rooms, and when I went to the second one I was met by an older woman who hugged me and said, "I finally get to meet you!"

I had no idea who she was or what she was talking about! So, I smiled and said, "Yeah! I'm so glad!"
Turns out, she was the person I had been communicating with for almost a year about my exchange! She knew who I was because of my name tag ^^" There was also another exchange student! A girl from Brazil! I don't know how old she was either, but she looked older than me.

So, back to the other exchange student! His name is Toussaint, but I call him Tosu for short.When we came back from our interviews, we started talking, and it turns out he wants to go to Japan, too! He also wants to go for a full year, and we both started talking about everything we wanted to do in Japan! Then, an older Rotarian (who is actually from Germany) came up to us and said, "This is really weird, but we actually have another student who wants to go to Japan as well. Usually there are NO people that want to go, so it's funny how we have so many applicants this year!"

We never did talk to the other boy, and we rarely talked to the other exchange students as well. Everybody else was kind of quiet, and we were laughing a lot ^^" Hopefully we both get Japan! It would be cool to go to the orientations (as well as fly to Japan) with somebody I know! We actually both exchanged e-mails so we could communicate. We'll meet the other exchange students when we have the orientation camp, which will be in April, at the Moody Gardens hotel at Galveston! AH! I'M SO EXCITED! I HOPE EVERYBODY GOT ACCEPTED, AND THEIR COUNTRY CHOICES! I hope the next time we meet we'll warm up easier ^^ I also hope to have a video blog on YouTube when I go on exchange, but I don't have a camera yet :T

The dress I wore to my interview... It reminds me of something that the characters off of Zelda: Wind Waker would wear, and I really like it!