sorry for taking so long! and for this being such a long entry

Saturday 21st March
Band this morning which was pretty fun really, at one point one of the girls in the percussion section had to take a photo for the concert program, of our conductor conducting, but he didn’t want to just pose for the photo so we were playing she would take a photo, stop work his way through to get the camera, check decided he wanted another photo so back he goes to the front. I should mention here that we aren’t rehearsing in the hall atm but in a classroom due to renovations going on at the school so we are somewhat squashed.
After band Okasan picked me up from school and we headed to Toyama for a classical music concert, which was awesome. It was a violin player with a piano acumpliment and the violinist did most of it by memory, in fact all but one piece and that piece went for over 20 minutes in its self.
Putting a bit of a time line in here we got to Toyama and parked in one of the huge parking towers. I find them kinda amusing, I know we have them at home to, but at really busy places, like airports or in the inner city, they seem to just be everywhere here. We then went to the performing arts centre and traded our tickets, we had things saying we would be going to the consert kinda thing and we had to trade them for our tickets into the concert that assigned us our seats. We had pretty awesome seats in row L so what (abcdefghijkl) 12 rows back (with an aisle in front of us) and right in the centre.
After trading the tickets we went to a nearby hotel for lunch, and then back for the concert. This went for about 3 hours (including interval).
After which we headed home, but as it was almost 5 when we got home we went out for dinner as well.

Sunday 22nd March
Band in the morning. Are you surprised at all?
Came home for a little bit and then we headed out for lunch.( Yes my third meal out in 2 days! ) and then proceeded on to an onsen, (that’s a public bath remember) but this one wasn’t anywhere near as fancy and we didn’t stay there, just went for the bath that’s it. (but it was a heck of a lot cheaper 2 … the 3 of us cost about a 1/7 of one person going to the other onsen we went to a few weeks back) now don’t get me wrong I love onsen. I love having a bath you can practically swim in and I love being able to take really hot showers for as long as I like. But I don’t understand why sometimes. And by that I mean I really don’t get why we went to an onsen today, I mean it took almost an hour and a half to get there , so that’s 3 hours driving for a bath, I mean nice yes but to me it seems the sort of thing that needs to be done with a night away. Or at least a day trip to the area.
Home again for a while in which I crashed, (sleeping that is) even though I had slept most of the trip home from the onsen. And then wait for it wait for it.
We went out for dinner!! (Yup 4 meals out in 2 days) we drove around for ages because we were going to a new restaurant and they didn’t know where it was. It was a soup curry place, it was nice enough, but I'm not a huge fan of curry so yeah. Here I would like to make 2 points, firstly even with all my eating out I have only had one double up on restaurants! The other point being that restaurants are in really strange out of the way places. Like this one they aren’t on main streets, they aren’t even on the streets off of main streets they are in really out of the way places. This isn’t the only restaurant I've been to that I've thought that about there are been quite a few of them.

Monday 23rd --> Wednesday 25th
Band! Actually really not much to say just band. And that the school year is now over, we had closing service on Tuesday which was a short and unlike Australian ones as graduation ceremony was


Thursday 26th
Tour started today, Okasan dropped us at the station as it was snowing so it would have been too hard to walk there, met Mike (American) at Takaoka eki and got on the thunderbird where we met Riley (Canadian) and Josh (Australian) who had gotten on in Toyama and it continued on to Kanazawa where Bree(Canadian) Nic (American) nick(Australian) and Geoff (Canadian) also got on, completing the group of 8 of us exchange students and our guide, my host dad.
Today it was off to Miyajima Island, so when we got off the train at Hiroshima we put our big bags in the coin lockers and headed over to the island. I love this place just as much as I did when I went there in 07 but it did look significantly different, as it was low tide so the gate wasn’t in the water and there were a lot of people on the shore picking up all the oysters. But also because there were Sakura (cherry blossoms) we are yet to get them in Takaoka but will soon … when it warms up enough.
Then it was back to Hiroshima where we got our tuff and headed to our hotel which was very close to the train station. We had dinner at the hotel resutorant, kinda of a buffet meal only not, we could eat as much as we wanted but we had to order it to our table. And boy did we eat a lot that night! All 8 of us then went to Karaoke! I think I ended up paying a bit more than my share coz I just paid the whole thing and people payed me back but I don’t think everyone gave me the right amount.
We had a 10pm curfew but that was to be back in our hotel by that time, so the 3 of us girls did the girly thing and did each other’s make up. We then put on our robes and toped it off with shower caps before going and visiting the boy’s room.
Friday 27th
This morning we went to the Hiroshima memorial museum and the peace park. I went into the museum this time and I was right in my reasoning to not go back in last time I came, you really do only need to see some of that stuff once, but in saying that I would not discourage people visiting it. I bought a book all about the museum and what is there if anyone wants to borrow it once I'm back you would be more than welcome to read it. (it leaves out some of the more graphic and disturbing things you see at the museum)
At the park we were lucky enough to run into a free tour guide who is an A- bomb survivor, he wasn’t actually born at the time but his mum was pregnant with him at the time of the bomb, and as many of our would know a lot of the unborn children from the time were born with complications due to the bomb, making those that lived A – bomb survivors as well.
After Hiroshima we went to world heritage Himeji castle where we were not given anywhere near enough time to actually appreciate where we were, here we ran into another rotary youth exchange student who was traveling with his parents at the time, from Italy living in Okinawa (very south prefecture of Japan). Having to follow the rotary emblem on a flag everywhere does come in handy sometimes !
It was then onto Osaka to our hotel in which we would stay for the next 2 nights, this was a business hotel so we all had our own room which was 90% bed.
Dinner was out at a Mexican restaurant which was enjoyed by all, especially the Americans and Canadians who have been here for 7ish months and have really missed that sort of food.
The 8 of us then went to a shopping centre that has a huge Ferris wheel on top which we all rode before splitting up into smaller groups
Back at the hotel most people crashed mikes room I however went to bed.
Saturday 28th
Universal studios today don’t really have much to say about that huge lines ect all the norm for them parks. Nick (the aussies one) Riley, Mike and I left the park earlier than we had to in order to explore the shops between the park and the train station which was good fun there was a Takyoyaki (octopus dumpling) museum there, more or less just shopping selling it and the stuff you need to make them, kinda interesting none the less. And some other cool shops, one which had lots of capsule machines and a game arcade and another which just had lots of big collections of stuff, some smurf stuff some Japanese cartoon characters, some star wards stuff.
Dinner was on our own tonight so after exploring the electronics store for a bit we had dinner and went to gold plated Karaoke I'm not going to say much more about that at all expect that we were very upset at the cost of it and it was a good lesson learnt to always find out the cost of it prior and that the big city karaoke doesn’t work like what we have in Toyama and Kanazawa where you have unlimited time for a set cost, but they charge you by the half hour.
The Aussies and Geoff (who we adopted as an aussies ) hung out in my room and we watched blood diamond … which I must say isn’t really my sort of movie but anyway.
Sunday 29th
Went to Nara this morning, not long enough there either but that seemed to be the norm of the tour walk through something don’t read any of the information that they have there for you to read just walk past it! Although I didn’t mind here because I had been twice before.
Had lunch in a French restaurant where they guy that owns that works for one of the other students current host dad! Although that wasn’t just by chance turns out that is why we went to that restaurant.
Then it was back to the train station and home we headed
Monday 30th
Band today was just free practice but I went purely coz I had missed so much band while on tour otherwise I don’t think I would have because it was such a nice day, I came home by lunch time though. And spent the afternoon packing for my shift I can’t believe it is time to move already but alas it has to happen at some point and it probably one of the reasons that we have multiple host families so that we don’t get to attached to any one family and find it really hard to leave at the end of the year
Tuesday 31st
Okasan birthday today, I gave her a scarf I had made! And then off to band for the entire day! Came home at 5 and packed the last of my stuff up, basically I changed and found a place to stash my school uniform. Then carried it all down stairs, it mostly fits in the boxes and bags I came with, the only thing that wasn’t in them was my school uniform and my coat, but although it’s still the same size I swear it is sooo much heavier and that’s a worry. Though I have tones of school books which I don’t plan on bring back to Australia with me, they are just too heavy!
We went out to dinner at a really nice restaurant, like nicer than normal hahaha yes I know I eat at restaurants far too much! After dinner it was off to my new house, also Kenmore family, confusing hey!
Turns out I have walked past my new house a fair few times, it’s between Zuiryuji temple and Aeon on the main road.
I gave them their presents and pulled out my aussies map and postcards of aussies animals and the comparison map of Japan to Australia, and it was a pretty late night.
Their house is huge, it comes close to my house in Australia but for Japan that’s huge, and there is only the 2 of them living here. I am the first exchange student this family has ever hosted ! which in a way is cool because they don’t have the expectations that I've heard a lot of families have that we will do things just like their past exchange students but it’s also a little scary in that they don’t really know the program and have no experience with it.
Wednesday 1st April
In the morning okasan and I caught the train to school and then walked home, so I would know how to if I ever needed to but most days I will ride to school. Went to Rotary today I feel really bad that the only time I ever seem to go is the week where I get my pocket money, but anyways. Came home and studied for a while and then their 2 grandkids, 1 and 4 came over, okasan babysits them every wed- Friday afternoon. So I played with them, kinda sad when a 4 yea1r old corrects my Japanese but there you go. (I've been studying the language since before she was born!)
Thursday 2nd April
Went and ordered my bike this morning, and then continued on to Toyama family park to go to the zoo there coz okasan thought they had wombats there, turns out they don’t they have capybara which do look fairly similar (when sitting down) but they have legs a lot like the Mara( kinda dear like) I just realized how stupid using Mara as a comparison is when I myself hadn’t ever seen Mara until I came to Japan this year. We then came home and had lunch and I went for a walk down the Aeon in the Avro while okasan was out and then her grandkids came over again.
Friday 3rd April
I had band all day ….shock horror

Saturday 4th April
Went to a festival in Toyama this morning, can’t remember the name of it but it was groups of 3 people all dressed up playing music was really cool and quiet interesting. To get to where the festival was we parked at one of the shops in my host dads business and walked which was quiet a nice walk past Toyama castle.
After we had seen enough of the festival we went out for lunch which was really nice! The place we went to does desert pizzas! We didn’t get one coz our main course more than filled us but they looked really cool.
We then proceeded to go to an art museum which again was pretty cool, a lot of it was calligraphy sort of art though so was kinda lost on me but it looked pretty none the less. Got a few souvenirs there coz they were reasonably priced and really pretty!

Sunday 5th and Monday 6th
Band!
Tuesday 7th
Start of the new school year today! Yes in April its insane I know I've asked a few people about why it starts in April and I've got varying answers, because they love sakura…. But I would think that means they want more holidays when they are around, and its spring which means new life, a fresh start to school (I like that one) and lot of people just say because that’s the way it is.
Anyway I'm in year 2 now, in the second class again! Which is on the 3rd floor? Dam all those stairs! Nar they aren’t that bad really, I swear my leg muscles are growing heaps though with all the walking and riding I'm doing.
Had opening ceremony which like graduation and closing ceremony are soooooo short compared to the grace ones.
Afternoon was. can you guess band again!