Time.....

Konnichiwa!
Sorry it has been awhile...for the longest time nothing new had happened!  I have received my Guarantee form!! Allowing me to start my visa application! Good news my visa is ready for me! The travel agent has started and almost finished the flight schedule!!  I got the preliminary flight schedule this morning and have to pay by tomorrow!! It says I shall be leaving the 17th of August and I will arrive August 19th! I'm pretty sure I will start packing within this week and the coming week! Luckily I am able to start packing thanks to all the family and friends that have contributed to my leaving, including my going away party!  My party was lots of fun! I got to see lots of my friends and family! I am continuing my language studies....with the help and extra push from my mom! I have three weeks left in the US. It is weird to say that! :) My US School put out our schedules for next year....and all my friends were talking about it...funny part is they made a schedule for me as well! :) Hopefully it won't need to be used this year! Everything has really sunk in!! I'm going to miss everyone!! I promise to write soon!
Jamata, (talk to you soon)
Sarah Cook
サラ

FAMILY!

Hey,
Sorry I have not written in awhile! School is done! No more regents for a year! Now to the part everyone wants to know! I got an email from my first host sister!! She is 20 years old and her name is Miho!  She went on exchange in 2008-09 to Oregon! She told me I will also have another sister and mom and dad! She told me none of them speak English except her!  She asked me "Are you excited to be living in Kobe, Japan?" 
 I was like WHAT?!  I'm living in KOBE!!! I was SO excited! The map is where she placed her house on a map on Facebook!
 So now that you know I wanted to tell you how  I found out!  I had just gotten to school Tuesday  June 19, and my mom had dropped Aimee and I off early so I was the only one! My phone said I had an email so I checked it and it was from my club person Mr.Strange, she had had my wrong email address (whoops!)! I opened it and it said
"Sarah look what I got!" I realized it was an email from my first host family! I ended the email I didn't read any more of it and called my mom we were both SO excited! Then when I hung up, I went back and read the email and was SO excited! Figures after that I was going to have to take my Science Regents!
I'll update soon especially when I find out more and get pictures!
Sarah

Sushi, Vacation, and More!

              So I've had a wonderful vacation the week of the 8th! On Friday April 13, 2012 I went to a Japanese Restaurant named Kampai owned by my very own country contact, Mr. Richard Matsushima.  One of the other exchange students who is going to Japan, named David, set the whole thing up! THANK YOU!  I tried sushi for the first time there, it was not bad!  I didn't know what kind of sushi to try first so one of the inbound exchange students from Japan gave me a piece of sushi and told me it was octopus.  I was excited because I've had octopus before when I went to Montreal and I liked it!  I learned that, that piece of sushi was really chewy and you aren't supposed to cut your food! So you just stuff it in your mouth!  I had a ton of awesome and yummy food! I learned for breakfast people in Japan usually eat Miso soup, fish, and rice!  Heavy Breakfast!!

Miso soup

Picture taken by inbound exchange student Alice Shimomura
I didn't take any pictures and there are no pictures of the sushi or rice but I will add some other pictures of food we ate!



Fried dumplings and dumplings  :) YUMMY!!



Tempura, it was good and they had I think it was "fried" vegetables! it was good.

 \

Okay this was AMAZING!!!  It was a beef roll with soy sauce and more!




This is called sukiyaki, it had noodles that were AWESOME!!



These are cold noodles that you dip in cold sauce, that was hard to get used to!



I'm not sure what this was but it was a type of soup and I don't remember what it tasted like but I think the pinkish things were possibly fish!



This is Matcha ice cream which I think is like green tea ice cream!
Thanks to my friend Alice who let me take these pictures off her blog and use them!



Here is one last picture from Alice and it is of From Left to right
Mr. Matsushima, Izzy, Aimee(my sis), Me, Alice (from Japan), and David!
THANK YOU to Mr. Matsushima for the lovely dinner!
I also got to talk to my host sister that I stayed with for the Albany trip! It was so good to talk to her! :)
____________________________________________________________

Now for the More part in my title

NEWS!!!
So During the dinner Mr. Matsushima told us where he sent our applications! I found out my application was sent to the district named Hyogo Prefecture! Which if you don't know where that is, it is on the mainland in the south!  Exactly where I wanted to go, but of course I have not received the guarantee form which means they have found homes and a school for me! I will just half to wait!


Today I had another exciting surprise! I got an email from my travel agent! She was emailing me about my VISA, where I will most likely to be flying from and into, and about the possible time I could be leaving!
Okay so to fill in the "blanks" and this could all change before I leave so don't get set on this!
Fly out of:  Albany
Fly into: Tokyo
Most likely will leave: August 18-20 which is the group flight!
I'm So excited!
Well I'll close for now.  Sorry it was such a long post!
おやすみ、ありがとう、そして神ブレス,
(Thank you, Good night, and God Bless)
Sarah A. Cook <><

P.s.
Please do not forget to comment! :)

Recently

                Spring has come!  What a lovely winter we had, not much snow and not so cold.  The sun has been shining and there are plants sprouting and I'm so excited!  Well lots has changed, I'm now taking my second Global class I need to take in order to be able to take the Regents this year.  My life has been crazy since I've started this class, and well since the 3rd quarter has started.  I've had more homework then ever, and am sometimes up until 9pm doing homework!  I usually have at least 5 subjects of homework every night.  I do however try to walk with my mom and sister in this nice weather.  I've realized these walks allow me to relax, talk to my mom, and reflect.If only I could walk every time I got frustrated.  I've still had issue with friends, its been tough not having someone close to talk to.  I've not been able to talk about guys or about home or issues I've had with either a teacher or a friend.  I've needed this but, I only have my parents which don't get me wrong I love my parents but, sometimes just need a girl my age to be able to talk to.  Some issues with friends have resolved themselves but, I'm still often sitting by myself or not having anyone talk to me.  It's been extremely hard!  The next issue I've had recently is now that we are within the home stretch of the school year the teachers have started talking about next year and what books or subjects everyone will be covering.  Of course my issue with it is that I won't be here next year so the idea that I won't be here has started hitting home.  I've definitely had my ups and downs recently and it is hard to sometimes cry two times a week...whether it be about homework, friends, or home. 

             On a happier note I went on the Albany trip with all of the inbound students and some of the outbound students!  I missed a Friday of school and stayed in a host family with another outbound student who will be going to Brazil next year!  The host family I stayed with had an older daughter who had been a rotary exchange student to Japan a few years ago.  I meet so many people, from Australians to Germans, to Brazilians.  They were all PURELY nice and happy.  If only everyone was this nice.  Even though my experience with the host family was only two nights it was SO cool.  I'm extremely excited for the future but, people just keep talking about the future I just don't want to rush my time in the U.S.  I've been thinking about how I've made so many friends but most of them live in Europe.  Everyone who is going to Europe will most likely visit one or more of the inbound students.  I, on the other hand will be halfway around the world.  I'm not complaining don't get me wrong I'm super happy to be going to Japan.  I just wish I would be able to visit my friends I've made here while I'm on exchange, but hey that's what after high school is for.  Hopefully travel far and wide  and visit all my friends...of course that is my ultimate dream!  Well in closing I hope everyone reading this has enjoyed my blog so far!  Take Care!

Sarah A. Cook <><

Lately

Wow, how time flies! Its already February! Speaking of February its my birthday month! I will be turning 15,  this will be a normal birthday...sitting at home eating cake and opening presents except my birthday present hasn't been ordered yet! I'M GETTING......LUGGAGE!!! I'm helping my parents pick it out! So back to my birthday...next year will not be such a normal birthday! Next year I will be turning 16, and I'll be in Japan! What an awesome birthday that will be! Most teenagers would be upset to miss their 16th birthday...the reasons....driving, one more year closer to graduating. I'm extremely excited. I realized how many friends I've made through rotary! I went to a basketball game the other night and saw some friends that are going on exchange and others who are on the waiting list but just the same I love seeing them!!  So I started this and never got a chance to finish.... so I'm now 15 and have gotten my luggage...a brown suitcase with pink polka dots!
This has been delayed because I've been so busy! So I'll post it as it is and hopefully you will all enjoy it the way it is!
Sarah A. Cook

Why Japan??

Why Japan??
Everyone asks this! Why Japan? Hmmm...Well, first of all I don't get to choose where I'm going.  Second of all, I have always been into Japanese stuff! In rotary you go through a series of interviews and at the final interview you give the wonderful people at the front desk a paper with your country choice! Here were my choices 1 being where I most wanted to go:
1 Belgium
2 India
3 Japan
4 France
5 Germany
I know quite different choices! That is me!  As you can see Japan was my third choice! not to bad! The rotary volunteers choose where they think you will do best!
To go off of that I recently had a my first orientation! SO Much FUN!! I made so many new friends, from everywhere! Everyone was so nice! no DRAMA, and everyone could relate to you! It was so nice.  I was sad when the weekend ended but everything has to end sometime.  We did some role playing and it was the best thing I have ever done...I laughed so much.  I can't wait until next time.  Back to why.  I am extremely happy to be going to Japan!  I can't wait to be on the plane and meet my family!
I'm not sure what else to talk about, for now I'll close!
Sarah A. Cook
P.S. please don't forget to comment!

Introductions!

             Hi my name is Sarah! I'm giving up my life in a small town in upstate New York to live in Japan for a year.  Where in Japan? Not sure yet. I'm going to try to blog my fun times, sad times, and all the times in between! I'm going through Rotary Youth Exchange! I'm extremely excited and hope you enjoy my blog! I will try to be as consistent as I can with postings but I can't promise anything, if you have read any other exchange student blogs...it varies! There are 2 other teens besides me in my district that are going to Japan! I'm excited, nervous, and not quiet sure what to feel! i will be going during my sophomore year.  I will miss all my friends (for those who are reading) :) and I will miss my loving family so much.  At the same time, so I'm not just focusing on the what I'll miss, I'm mega excited to go to Japan, join another family, life, culture, and learn Japanese.  What a challenge that will be, but it will be welcomed with open arms!  I've started learning and so far I know cat, dog, juice, and book! :) It's almost Christmas and I've realized that I won't be here next Christmas...it makes me  slightly sad,  but then I think about all the good times that I'll be having in Japan!  Everything still is slightly surreal! I'll be talking to my friends in school and one of them will be like "Oh my Gosh Sarah you won't be here next year!!" and I'll  reply "Yeah I know." I can say those words for awhile but it still hasn't yet fully set in! Well if I don't write before the holidays!  HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!

Sarah <><