Saturday 1st August
Not much today, finished unpacking all my stuff and setting up my room, getting frustrated at myself because I couldn’t remember where I decided to put things, always the issue with changing hosts, re getting used to the environment and where I am able to put things. I then got a little bored and started to sketch from my photos.

Sunday 2nd August
This afternoon saw me going to Inami with my host parents, it was a sweet littletown whos main industry is woodcarving. I got to see some of this in Action and just look at lots of other finished and half finished pieces of work.

Monday 3rd August
So didn’t really get up to much today did some more sketching.

Tuesday 4th August
So at lunchtime today my host brother and I went out to an Okonomiyaki restaurant, I hate how on several occasions different host families have said lets go out to lunch/ dinner, and then we go on to a heap of other things, mainly because I don’t nessaceraly take my camera and wallet with me when we are “just going out for lunch”. Today we went to a book off which is a second hand book store, also has dvd’s cds and that sort of thing. And then on to some tower, it was a huge tower in the middle of nowhere but from the top it was quiet a nice view.

Wednesday 5th August
Morning didn’t really get up to much, after lunch I decided that it looked like nice enough weather to go for a walk, I ended up down at Aeon (shopping centre) where I picked up a few things, befor coming home and doing a fair chunck of study. I did last years test of the level 4 Japanese profiency test, and passed it very easily. I will be sitting the level 3 test in December, but as the textbooks I am using cover level 3, and 4 and I finished all the level 4 stuff about 2 months ago and the practice book I bought has both levels.

Thursday 6th August
Again I went for a walk after lunch, today I went in a big circle, I went up past my second host house, round to a shop I had seen while driving past it on multiple occasions and thought I should take a look at it. And then I went on to Aeon again, just because I could. Tonight we went to the Tanabata festviale where we had dinner, and wandered around. I must say I highly object to festival games that result in winning goldfish which you are given in cliplock bags!

Friday 7th August
So today I spent with Josh, the another Aussie who lives in toyama. Today he came to Takaoka so for a while we went and hung out in the park, where I managed to get the kookaburras to pay attention to us by singing “kookaburra sits in the old gum tree” then the gorilla decided to copy what josh was doing, and then would nod or shake its head at questions we asked it, actually at questions Josh asked it didn’t seem to like me very much. We then went to the 100 yen shop for the first time, and then we headed back to the train station via the festival stands, to wait for nick. Nick said he was running late so we went back to the 100yen shop and the bakery nearby for some lunch, a while later we got a message from nick saying he wouldn’t be coming so Josh and I decided to head down to Aeon, we had intentions on maybe seeing a movie, but none really suited us with time restraints and what not so after wandering around the shops a bit we went to the arcade part where we played a rhythm game, where we failed very epically! Then a shooting game which again was an epic fail and then finally a car racing game, it felt weird “driving” again. It will be very weird to actually get back in and drive a car when I get home! After that we just sat round talking for a bit more before walking back to the train station together and then heading home.

Saturday 8th August
So after a fairly uneventful day full of sleep and study I went to the summer light up of Zurugi temple. If you think back to the 14th of Feb I went to the winter one then to, it was exactally the same! Well except its not freezing at the moment, but as far as the actual festive side of things it was exactally the same, they had the same food stalls, the same souvenir stands, everything, it really gets me questioning about some of the Japanese traditions, and festivals, don’t get me wrong I love the festivals and that they have such a deep rooted set of traditions, I mean gosh my town here is 400 this year, and Queensland (my state in Australia) is 150 this year, and the history of White Australia doesn’t go back all that much more. However all of the festivals are pretty much more or less the same, I mean the decorations differ, but what you can do as someone who attends them is the same, even the entertainment seems to be the same from festival to festival.

Sunday 9th and Monday 10th August
Again not much to write about, I went walking on both days, got the present for my next host family organized, I say present as I am only going to be with them for 10 days and I am having to be sparily to some extent with the presents I have, never thought I would have so many host families. and then packing yet again. I really don’t like packing! Especially this time, I was re packing things that I haven’t even used since I got here, but unpacked because when I got here I had no idea that I was only here for such a short time, and I'm only at my next family for 10 days.