2017　

Lake Norman Charter-Nanzan Kokusai Exchange Program

 

２０１７．０３．１９

I was so tired that I went to bed by ten o'clock last night. I set my alarm clock on seven thirty, but because of the jetlag, I woke up at three in the midnight. Staying awake for an hour, I went back to sleep and managed to wake up on time. Megan told me that it was her grandmother's birthday at the end of the week, and asked if I could go out and get breakfast with them. After we got breakfast, we walked down the streets to see stores. She drove her grandmother home, and she took us to rest for the party which held by Mrs.Marinello. I had a great time talking to the other host students. I was also able to talk to the senior students in LNC. The LNC students told us that they talk about school a lot more than other people do, and how school affects them. I thought it was different from Japanese school, because we don't have much homework, and our thoughts for schools are not that strong. After leaving the house, we went back to our house and rested for five minutes, and headed for the movie theatre. We went to watch "Beauty and the Beast" with China and Claire. The movie was great, and we went to a grocery shop after the movie, where Megan's brother, Michael got his fingers stuck in the holes of the basket. My host family is so kind, and deciding the schedules with them are really fun.



２０１７．０３．２３

Megan woke up late, and we were late for school. We were with our buddies today, and my buddy today was Savannah. I didn't realize that she was the same girl that had come to our school few years ago. Savannah had noticed me because she had been following me on Instagram. The first class was Spanish, the second class was Math, the third class was another class of Math, the fourth class was Social Studies, the fifth class was English, the sixth class was Chemistry, the seventh class was Art. I taught the students at our table in Art class, how to make a crane out of Origami paper. I was glad that a lot of students greeted me. Since it was Megan's birthday, her father had painted the school rock for her. After school, Megan went out to buy a dress for the prom, so I followed her. We came back around five o'clock, and Megan left to practice basketball at six. While she was gone, her friend came over and decorated her room. In Japan, we don't usually do these stuff for our birthdays so I found it interesting and exciting.



  ２０１７．０３．２７

Today, we were with our buddies. My buddy was Alex, who had stayed with Masaki last year. Alex had Math, English, two classes of Spanish, Physics, and two hours of Biology. He was nice and kind, and I got to know about the school council. After school, we went to play mini golf with Michael, China, and Claire. It was my first time playing, but I was in the second place, so I was satisfied. It was funny when we kept missing the hole, and when Michael did some funny movements when he swung the club. We went to eat pizza, and at the store, we met Ashley. Me and China taught the four, Japanese, and I was happy when they asked us a lot of questions. We went to cold stone to get an ice cream, and it was exciting, because I usually have volleyball club and cram school after school until late. We talked a lot about Japanese, and we entered a store with a lot of North Carolina t-shirts. I couldn't find one that was to my taste, so I didn't buy anything, but everything was so cool inside. Since me and Sakurako will make a Japanese meal tomorrow night, I went to the grocery with Megan, and bought the ingredients. Even though I'm a little worried about cooking, I will try my best.



  ２０１７．０３．３１，０４．０１

I didn't want to get up, and I didn't want to leave LNC. I was so sad when their dog rubbed her body against me. I was feeling sorry for waking up Megan and Michael so early, even though they had school. I was happy and sad when Michael and Megan hugged me, but I burst into tears when Mrs.Michelle hugged me tight. I was so sad and tears wouldn't stop rolling down, so I couldn't look at them in the eyes that well, but I could see their kind smiles. While I was walking around Detroit airport, I got a message from Ashley saying "Save travel!!" and I almost cried again but I tried my best not to. I sent messages to Ashley and Megan on Instagram, and I want to keep in contact with them forever. Megan is a senior, so she might go to a university far from Charlotte, but I want to see her again before she moves out. These two weeks meant a lot for me, and I've got precious memories that I'll never forget. Although I'm still sad and I miss them, I have their address, so I will keep in contact with my new, precious, fun, and cool friends.

2017 3 20

At March 20th I woke up at 3:30am and couldn't sleep at all because I was so excited to visit Lake Norman Charter school. I talked with my mom and my friends. I started to get ready at 5:30. It was too fast to eat breakfast so I didn't. I left the house at 6:30. At the car we talked about the music. We arrived at 7:05. We first went to cafeteria. There was some welcome breakfast from the club and the teachers. We had fruit , doughnuts , and cupcakes and the drinks. After the breakfast, we had a tour of the school. I was so surprised how big the school was. And also I was astonished that they don't have any home room. After we saw the school, we went to 2nd period which was math. It was so hard to understand the class. After we had 3rd period I had lunch. I was so excited to eat because I made it with my host family. At lunch many students who sat near me talked to me. I was really happy because they were so friendly. I spent fun time but I couldn't believe that I had spoken to them for the first time. After the lunch we went to 4th period. It was English. I was surprised with the difference in the level compared to my school. At 5th period we learned many languages. After that I had science at 6th and 7th period. It was about our body and I learned which I didn't learn at Nanzan. So it would be useful some day. After the class ended, we planned to go watch tennis game with Marin and Sakurako's family. First me and Marin went to cook out and had some snacks. After that we went to see the tennis match. Sakurako joined there. We returned at about 7:00 and took some walk around the house. At 8:30 we had some barbecue. I was so excited but was worried with my school life at first. But it wasn't necessary to consider.



2017 3 24

On March 24th I woke up at 5:10. I want to return to Tuesday so that I could have fun with kids. I think going to middle school is more useful because it is easier and I can understand what they are doing. I got up so early today because Claire had a plan to take test on 6th period but she couldn't take it because we had school trip today. So she had to take that test at the morning. We left at 6:15 and arrived at 6:50. While she had test I talked with Rachel. After she finished, we went to Ms.Marinello's room and got a roll all. It was a busy morning. At first period I watched CNN news. I thought it was about American history. I'm not sure. After that they had some work with their iPad. Next was math. Like Wednesday I had no idea what they were doing. So I made seal with origami and gave it to the teacher. Third period was French. I ate Dunkin Donuts and croissant. They were talking with French at that time so I couldn't understand. At 10:15 I went to the office and got ready to go to a school trip. We went to Mint museum and looked at many birds. And we also went to Bechtler Museum and learned about American history. The guide was so funny so we laughed all the time. After that we went back to school, and soon we went to a mall for shopping. In the car I got my face out from a window of the roof. It was the experience which I had never done. Claire and her friends and Marin and her family came with us. We looked for many clothes but there were no clothes that I like. After shopping we had a dinner at Chick-fil-A. I really liked the nuggets and lemonade. I wish I could eat one more time. At 6:45 we got back to the car. In the car we had so much fun and it was like a party. Me and Claire and Ashely went to see a movie at the theater. I watched "Beauty and the Beast". It was second time to see it but I cried. This movie was the best movie which I saw in my whole life. I love this movie!! When I went back to Japan, I want to see it in Japanese version. After watching the movie, we went back to the house. It was a long long trip. I got so tired but it was a wonderful day!!!!!



2017 3 28

On March 28th I woke up at 5:40. The breakfast was a chocolate bar. We left the house at 6:30 and arrived at 7:10. When we arrived we first went to Ms.Marinello's room. She told me that I am going to be with Claire only on the 1st period and 4th period. On 2nd, 3rd, 5th and 7th period, all the Nanzan students visited 5 classes in the group. First period I watched CNN news and listened to their speech. And also they were discussing about the discrimination. On 2nd period, I had to go to room 204 but Claire forgot about it and told me to stay at math class. I tried to go out but teacher didn't let me. I'm so sorry about this trouble. At math class , everyone had test so I had to be quiet. Next class, I went to room 305 and joined Nanzan students. At first we had fire practice. When we came back we introduced ourselves. When it finished, we saw " shining hope farms by LNCDigCit" and "Lydia's loft video by LNCDigCit" and "Lake Norman Community Health Clinic by LNCDigCit" . After that everybody was sharing their thoughts. At 4th period I had English. Everyone was using their iPads and phones. So I didn't know what they were doing. At 5th period, we went to art class. We helped painting safety town for the children. It was such a fun time. The 6th period was AP history. They were doing something using the iPad. While they were working, teacher put on the music so I listened to it. At 7th period, we had Spanish. We introduced ourselves and answered the questions. My next seat was Savannah. She talked to me a lot . Which was about American TV show. I laugh a lot and had fun in this class. This class was the funniest class which I had in high school. After the class, we had tacos party. I was so excited to eat and talk to many students. I went back to my house at 7:00. I was so sleepy so I decided to sleep early today. I'm so sad that I have to leave America on Friday.

Overall

Through March 18th and April 1st, I had a wonderful days. I want to thank everybody who took part in this program. I can say that my view point had changed by meeting many people and many opinions. I was a little worried to go to America first. Because I thought American people speak distinctly and clearly express their feelings especially when they hate something. But it was my imagination. Many people who I had met were so nice and friendly. They talked to me like a family or like a old friend. The thing I was surprised the most in America was the size. It was not only about food. Every thing were so big. For example, supermarket. I went to target on one day. First thing which made me surprised was the size of the shelf. I can't pick the commodity which was on the top of the shelf. Next thing which made me surprised was the size of commodity. I bought pop tarts which was in a huge box. I couldn't believe it. The most interesting class in high school was the film class. When the class starts we talk about what movie do I like. At the last class , I watched the movie called "Alice in Wonderland " and we had to watch it carefully so that we can write a picture of the clothes which Alice wore. In this program, my opinion had changed because I met Claire and Ashely. To be honest, my first impression of them was very different people. But when we talked, I thought they had a warm and kind heart. Now I understand why people say "Don't judge people by their appearance." I had learned many things from this program. And also I have made lifelong friends and had precious time.





Miku's Diary



Tuesday, March 21st, 2017

Today we went to Lake Norman Charter Middle School, and spent so much fun time with the kids who were younger then me. There was a buddy in middle school. She was a very cute, kind girl, and she was in six grade. In first period, we met almost all of the six graders, and introduced ourselves and talked about Japan. Also, the students asked us some questions, such as "Do you like the American culture?", "What is your favorite food in America?". Everybody was nice and cute! In high school, we didn't have recess but in middle school, there was recess for 25 minutes. In recess, the middle school students play American football in the football court, run around the tracks, and walk around the tracks, and there's some people who sit down and talk. Everybody is having fun in this time. I walked around the tracks with my buddy and some Japanese students, also there was some kids which were my buddy's friends, and they asked me a lot of question about Japan and Japanese. In middle school, there wasn't much "group work". Most classes worked by there selfs and use there I Pad. The teachers puts the work in everybody's I pad. The school has a application called "School G", and the students have this application in there I pads and do the work. I think this is a easy way to study, and they don't use paper so much, so people won't loss the papers, so I think this is a good way. At middle school I liked English class the most. They were doing "poems" and "haiku". I was surprised that Americas middle school students were studying haiku. The teacher said that poems and haiku don't have the correct answers, but to think of the scene is an important thing. I hadn't thought about goals or poems so deeply, so I think I learned a lot in this class. There was so many classes to learn and I liked all of the classes studying with the students. The kids were really kind and I really enjoyed studying in middle school. I want to go back.



Saturday, March 25th, 2017

Today my host family took me to an amusement park called "Carowinds". It is kind of like "Nagashima" in Japan, and It is in South Carolina and it takes about 30 minutes to go from the host family's house. The day I went was the first day of opening this year, so there was a lot of people. I hope everybody was waiting for the opening. This amusement park has a lot of roller coasters, and I rode on a lot of roller coasters. There are a lot of different roller coasters that they don't have it in Japan. There were some roller coaster that we ride it by standing, or ride on it by lying. It was really different to Japans roller coasters so I enjoyed the rides. But I was kind of scared, I was screaming before the ride dropped. At the park, I had dinner. I ate "Panda Express" which is the most famous Chinese fast food in America. When I was young I almost had Panda Express every week because my family liked this restaurant and I liked this place too. But it coast more then other Panda Express. I think it was expensive because it was in the amusement park. After playing at that amusement park, Lauren which is my host student picked us up, and went back home in almost 10 o'clock p.m. I really had fun going to this amusement park, and I made new memories in America. I want to go back to this morning, and start the day again.




Wednesday, March 29th, 2017

Today's first, second, third period, I was with buddy one who's name is Hope. She is a really kind girl, she taught me a lot about school. Also I had another buddy whose name is Caitlin. I was with for lunch fourth, fifth six period. I had a good time spending with my wonderful two buddies. In the first. The teacher was not here so another teacher was here. He was a very nice, funny man. His nephew is going to go for six months, and I told some good places to visit in Japan such an ass Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya. And today almost all of the classes were I went had tests. So a lot of students really tired. I thought teenagers all over the world don't like tests. In seventh period we had P.E. we played "Pickle ball". This is a game like a tennis and ping pong game. We set up the net on the floor, and we have a plastic ball and a racket made by wood. It's bigger then a ping pong racket, but it is smaller then a tennis racket. The rules is the same as tennis. We played for an hour, and it was so fun! I'm really bad at sports, but this sport was very fun, and even if you can't play tennis or ping pong, you can play good in this game, so you can have fun! It was my last day spending time with my two buddy's. It is really sad and I will absolutely miss them. Times pass so fast, I can't believe I have one more day at school, and leave America in two more days. I will really miss this place.






Overall

I had really great time spending two weeks at North Carolina, and spending time at school. I would like to thank my host family for hosting me, and to my buddies in middle school and high school Letting me spend the time at school. When I first arrive Charlotte airport, I first met my host family. They welcomed me so much. And I was really happy to meet my host family. First I was worried about my English, but I try hard speak to them by using my dictionary and my phone and checked the words, and I could communicate with my host family. School was awesome too. Especially lunchtime. Talk to you too wonderful people that I met was fun and I enjoy talking with them. Most of them were talking about college, and they were really excited about spring break. I have so much memories at the school, and I found a lot of difference at this cool too. The most difference that I thought to our school is that all of the students use their own iPads and don't use their notebooks that much. If they sometimes use your textbooks, but mostly they use your iPad to study at school and to do their homework. Also there isn't any blackboard. In this school, they use a board called smart board. You use this board conjunction with a personal computer, and you touch the board to change pages. Also you can write on this board. They use this board in middle school too. I learned about American culture. When I lived in America I live with my family so I haven't known Real American culture, so staying with my host family for two weeks I think I learned the real American culture. Food culture are different, language is different, life styles are different. I learned about these different culture. Also I thought that it is a wonderful country that respects each individuality in the country where people with various races, religions, values are living. I had met so many wonderful people and made great memories. Once again I would like to thank my host family and all of the people who I met. I hope one day I could go back to this place again.






Sakurako's Diary



Saturday March 18th, 2017

We met up at Centrair at 8:30 AM. We said good-bye to our families and went through the security. We got on the plane without any big problem. I was really nervous and excited at the same time, of the next two weeks I will be spending in the United States. It felt like forever to get to Detroit, but we eventually got there. We had a lot of things to do at Detroit airport, so we got on the plane to Charlotte in a rush. About two hours later, we arrived in Charlotte. It was my first time in Charlotte, so I was very excited as I looked out the windows on the plane. I met my host family, and I was relieved that they welcomed me and they seemed very nice. As soon as I got home, I fell asleep because I was really tired from the terribly long flights. After I woke up, Lindsey, my host student took me to Chick-Fil-A for dinner, where I had terribly wanted to go while in Japan. I really think that we should have Chick-Fil-A in Japan. Then we went back home, and I got to see the two cats they had. One was Fluffy. He was a fat, gray cat. The other one was Key Cat. She was pretty old, and very sweet. After hanging out for a while in family room, I took a shower and went to bed. I was exhausted by the time I went to sleep, but I was really excited for the upcoming two weeks!

Wednesday, March 22nd, 2017

Today, we went on a field trip. My host mother, Mrs. Jacobson, gave us a ride to Mint Museum and Bechtler Museum. On Mrs. Jacobson's van, Lindsey, Marin, Marin's host student, Megan, and I were on it. At Mint Museum, we just looked and played around with neat toys they had. After Mint Museum, we went to Bechtler Museum. First, we had to get our tickets and put away our backpacks because they didn't allow you to carry around big stuff in the museum. Then, we took the elevator and went to upper stories. There were a lot of interesting sketches and sculptures on the second floor. After spending about 20-30 minutes there, we went to third floor. A video clip called "Happy Days" was playing there, and it was really weird because it was just a video clip of a lady buried in sand from her neck down, singing. After watching that for a while, Marin, Miku,and I played a matching game with cards artistic pictures on them. It was hard because a lot of the pictures looked very alike. Then, we had lunch. I ate lunch with Lindsey, Miku, Megan, and Caitlin. We got to go to a French bakery called Amelie's to get a dessert after lunch. I got three macarons; two of them tasted like raspberries and one of them was salted caramel. They were the best macarons I ever had. After going back to school and dropping everyone off, Lindsey, her sister, Kristin, Lindsey's boyfriend, Drew, Mrs.Jacobson, and I went to the movies and saw Beauty and the Beast. It hasn't been out yet in Japan, but I am definitely going to see it again when it comes out.



Sunday, March 26th, 2017

Today, I woke up at 9:00. I slept in because I was really tired last night from riding rollercoasters at Carowinds all day. As I was getting ready, I was excited that we were doing some shopping and photoshoot today. At 10:30, Mrs. Jacobson came home from church, so Mrs. Jacobson, Lindsey, and I went to a grocery store and I got plenty of candies and chips for my friends in Japan. I bought Milkyway, Sour Patch Kids, Skittles, Oreos, and so on. After that, Kristin, Lindsey and I went to Southpark mall. Southpark was a little bit far from our house. As soon as we got to the mall, I went crazy for shopping. After I was done with my shopping, I felt really bad for Kristin and Lindsey because they had to wait for the whole time I was enjoying my own shopping. Then, we went to a couple of stores Kristin wanted to go. I waited patiently, but she didn't take that long, so I still felt bad that I took so long to shop. Before leaving the mall, we got Starbucks. On arriving home, Lindsey and I got dressed and we were off for some photoshoot. Kristin was a great photographer, and I was really excited that she took really cute pictures of us. For dinner, we had my favorite food; Caesar salad! It was so good that I asked for more. I had Ben & Jerry's ice cream for dessert. Today was just nothing but an AMAZING day!





Thursday, March 30th, 2017

I didn't want to get up today. Today was our last full day on this program. I got ready, made myself a lunch, and got in the car. The fact that this was my last time doing these made me really sad. I was with Lindsey for the day at school. For first period, we went to English. Mr. Seneca gave out essays and they were working on multiple choices. For second and third period, we went to AP Physics. It was interesting to see Mr. Patterson do some experiments and his video clips. At lunch, I said good-bye to Lindsey's friends. They all were really nice people. For fourth period, we had French. We got to sit in the hallway, so everyone was just making French vocabulary cards. For fifth period, we had AP calc, which is like math but more advanced. We had a sub in that class, so everyone just worked on their study guides. For sixth period, we had APUSH which is short for AP United States History. We took notes about the civil rights movement. For seventh period, we had chemistry. We had a sub there as well, but the sub did a normal class. After the classes were over, us, exchange students got together in Mrs. Marinello's room and took pictures. Then, Lindsey took me to Birkdale Village which is a shopping place. I did some last-minute shopping, and we had Starbucks as well. For dinner, Mr. and Mrs. Jacobson decided to take us on a fancy Italian dinner, so I was really happy about that. I had a tomato sauce spaghetti, and it was really, really good. We just talked and ate, but tonight will be one of the nights I will always remember. I had a very good day today. I am so not ready to leave yet, I wish we could stay longer.