I may finally agree that school rocks.

School is probably the greatest thing that has happened so far. I know that a year ago I definitely would not have said that, as I would be gearing up for my senior year at Northfield High School. However, now that my grades do not matter and I can learn at my leisure (or as I understand), I am thoroughly enjoying school. Yes, it does get boring sitting in a classroom for a couple hours without doing anything besides studying Japanese by listening, but the end of school makes it worth it. Since we have shorter days due to the hot summers, school finishes at 12:45 PM. Most of my class eats lunch in the classroom and then goes to their various club activities if they do any. This has provided me with the chance to get to know them. The last few days I have walked down to the 7-11 convenience store that is adjacent to school and bought some items for lunch. I then return to eat with my class.

Walking anywhere is strange because everyone stares at you. As a white male that grew up in Minnesota, I’ve never experienced being a minority. Now I can say I have. Walking down the street, I never see anyone that is not of Asian ethnicity. The only place I see outsiders is at school or the surrounding streets. Even then, there are only five of us. There are so few you can count us! It’s quite an experience. Fortunately, I have not had any negative experiences because of this. One thing I have noticed, though, is that everyone from Nagano High School recognizes me and says “hello” in English. It’s very cool! I feel so welcomed to the school.

I feel like I am being well taken care of. The students keep on eye on me in the case that I make a mistake or don’t know where to go. They are all willing to help. My first full day some of my classmates walked me to the room I was supposed to be in. Many times my homeroom teacher has checked on me just to make sure I am doing well. She has also helped me find the correct people to talk to about joining clubs.

On Thursday, I went to soft tennis club. I think that it is only a Japanese sport because I’ve seen any mention of it before anywhere else. It is exactly like normal tennis except the ball is very rubbery. It is the same size as a ball used for racket-ball, but it is the consistency of a stress-ball. I followed a student from my class named Kei and he helped me out with it. I also met a third-year named Maho. She was actually the one that invited me to come the day before. She is apparently interested in teaching Japanese in foreign countries. Soft Tennis was fun and I think I will go to it on some days after school.

On Friday, I went to the Nagano Wind Orchestra’s rehearsal. It was incredible! The group is made up of about 30-40 students and is conducted by a third-year. As far as I can tell, the only direction is given by a Nagano High School alum that hung around this year to help out with music. For rehearsal, they leant me tuba and I got to play with the two other tuba players for an hour. Then, I was given a trombone and I practiced with the trombones and euphonium player. They are very, very, very, very good. At the end of the rehearsal, I was given a private concert of their main piece, a jazz medley that included “Sing, Sing, Sing”. Ever note was precisely where it should be and (for a group this size this was very impressive) completely balanced with one another. When they were finished, they had me critique them. That was very difficult to do in both English and Japanese! I gave up on my Japanese and gave them my praise in English.

I suppose it would interesting for people to know that there are very few boys in some club activities. For example, both soft tennis and the orchestra have only one boy in them (well, now two). Both are very good at what they do and have no problem with being the only male in their clubs.

I went to aikidou last night with Nanako and Mitsuki. It was a lot of fun! It's really hard work, though.

The Kawachinagano Rotary Club puts out a newsletter every week. I was in it along with the speech I gave and a biography of Northfield.

So I guess that when I said fall was on it’s way, I might have been a little early. These last couple days have had more wind and clouds than usual. This is because of a typhoon (hurricane) that has been working it’s way up the coast of east Asia. We may not have school next week! Yay! While it is a hurricane (yes, that IS rather scary), there should be no issue and it should blow itself out before reaching Osaka, therefore there should be no hastily written emails or worrying. I do hope that Zoe Webb in Taiwan, Logan Regnier in South Japan, and Wren Kruse in Hiroshima are not too affected by it.

じゃない！

Wes

ながのこうこう

It has been a little bit since I last wrote but not a lot has changed except for my attitude. My first week and a half was almost as if I was in a dream or just on vacation. I met a lot of people and saw a lot of places, but never really felt like I was settling down. Now, a few days into school, I feel like I am finally finding my place.

Two days ago I had an introduction to the school. That involved meeting with a small board of teachers to come to conclusions about certain things regarding my education and to go over the rules. I also received a tour of the school by three of my classmates.

My schooling here is a little awkward. Having graduated from high school, I am already on the edge for participating in Rotary International’s youth exchange. One the rules at my school (Nagano Prefectural (Public) High School) is that exchange students may not have classes with third years. This is because they are all studying and preparing for taking university entrance exams. Oh yeah, I suppose this would be a good time to mention that high schools in Japan only have three grades: 1^st years (10^th grade), 2^nd years (11^th grade), and 3^rd years (12^th grade). The school year also starts in April and ends in March. This means that because I am starting in the second trimester, the only way to prevent me having a 3^rd year class is by enrolling me as a 1^st year. I will then move up to be a 2^nd year in the spring. Back to the awkward part. I didn’t realize this when I was chosen to go to Japan (not that it would have changed my mind), but I am now working on retaking 10^th grade. That means classes with 10^th graders (ages 15 and 16). Please take this moment to reminisce on your 10^th grade and realize just how chaotic and crazy it probably was.

It’s not a big deal that everyone is younger than I am. It does help, though, because it means that they actually have time to talk with me and not study all the time.

In the words of fellow RYE student Logan Regnier, it was my second last first day of high school.

That first day was quite an experience. Luckily, I spent quite a bit of time in the CALL (Communication and Language Learning) office which is where the English teachers have their offices. There are two native English speakers. One is from the US (Upstate New York) and the other is from Australia. There are also 3 or 4 English teachers that are Japanese but whose English is absolutely incredible. They have helped me figure a ton out that I otherwise would have been completely stuck on.

That first day there was an assembly for the whole school in the gymnasium. There were awards presented to various club leaders and the school counselor said a few words. Then I had the absolutely wonderful opportunity to speak in front of all 1,000 students. It should be noted that the last line should be read in the most sarcastic voice your brain can produce.

Having already experienced being the new kid in school when I moved to Northfield, MN, from Poynette, WI, I figured this wouldn’t be that much different. That said, it would have been 10X easier had I been able to understand a single bit of the lesson. Japanese history is complex and complicated, but it’s even more-so when it’s in a language you don’t understand. Thankfully my classmates all agreed that it’s not a fun subject. After school I had decided that I would look into joining a club. A couple of my classmates are in Kendo (blunt sword fighting) and it sounded interesting to me. I talked to them and one, Ron, turned out to have been born in Japan, raised in Australia, and then moved back to Japan for high school.

That first two weeks of school are only half days because the weather is so awfully hot. This means that club activity schedules are all screwed up and they all start at different times after school. As I waited, several of my classmates sat around and talked to me. They were very anxious to see a picture of Annika (my girlfriend) and, upon seeing the picture I produced from my wallet, all the girls screamed かわい (cute!). I’m sure they are very jealous of her red hair and blue eyes, as many of them would love to dye their hair a lighter shade and several wear colored contacts.

Watching Kendo was a very interesting experience. The uniforms are modeled after those of the samurai, with very wide pants and half-length sleeves. The premise behind Kendo is that you bludgeon your opponent with a dull sword. The armor that the participants wear is very hard and solid. It would take a lot of force to hurt someone through it. The face-mask is metal bars that are each about a centimeter apart. Combat involves whacking the opponent as hard as one can on their head or on their oblique muscles and stabbing under their chin. It is incredibly scary to watch and I imagine to participate in. The sound that is produced from sparring is incredible because both opponents are screaming and there is the thwacking of the bamboo swords on armor.

When I returned to the Tani family store after school, I found out I would be going to Aikidou with Mama Akane, Mitsuki, and Nanako. It was fun and I learned some defense. It also turned out that it was the same Dojyou that Kiana Asada (RYE 2012-2013 from Northfield, MN, to Kawachinagano) attended during her exchange. It was fun to meet her senseis and they invited me to join. I will be attending classes with a group of adults that are all the highest level in Aikidou, so I should be well taught.

Japan is incredible. I reached a new happiness today and I feel very welcomed by the student population of Nagano High School. When I walk past anyone student they say “Hi” in English. They are very accommodating to my limited Japanese and are patient with me as I figure out what to say. I have already met quite a few people that I feel I will make strong relationships with.

The weather has been cooler these last couple days (25 degrees celcius) and the Tani family all say that fall is on it’s way. I am excited to see the colors of the trees!

Here are some pics from school.

Pictures made from tons of toothpicks stabbed into styrofoam.

The girls take pictures all day on their phones and every single one looks like this.

The guys. I think I've found the right crowd.

またね

Wes

Welcome Party

The people of Japan are so wonderful. I am having a fantastic experience and it would be absolutely nothing without my host family and all of the Rotarians that are helping me get acquainted with Japan. Yesterday was a big day. I went to my first Rotary meeting. The Rotary club of Kawachinagano is very small in comparison to Northfield’s. It has 30 members whereas Northfield’s has at least 100. The meeting wasn’t an ordinary one, though. It was the first time that the club was meeting me, but that wasn’t the most important part. The Rotary International governor from this past year, Yasuharu Nakamura, happened to be visiting from Tokyo. It was a great honor to meet him and I think it pleased him to meet an exchange student. As the governor for all of Rotary International, Yasuharu Nakamura had to host the international meeting. It is usually hosted in the country of the current governor’s origin. Instead of having it in Japan, Yasuharu Yakamura decided to have it in Portugal to celebrate 300 years of peace between Japan and Portugal. My counselor here in Japan was actually the Kawachinagano Rotary Club representative at the meeting.

Anyway, enough history. I was scheduled to speak at the meeting so I brought along a speech that my counselor in the US had written for all Japan Outbounds. My speech went great! So great, however, that the entire club thought I was fluent in Japanese. Apparently I even used a Japanese accent. Oops! After my speech I exchanged Rotary club banners with the president of the club. Then Nakamura-san gave a speech. I wish I could have understood it better. What I inferred was he was restating the mission of Rotary International and was saying that Rotary needs to get the younger generation working through Rotary so it may continue in the future.

When the meeting ended, there were many people that came and talked to me. One man had heard that I play tuba and he told me I should get involved with the brass band at my school, Nagano High School.

It was so overwhelming and nerve racking. I think I may have even been shaking before I went up for my speech. I truly hope I made a good impression on the club and that they will be interested in spending  more time with me. I will have another chance to tell the entire club about myself in about a month when I give a speech about myself and home. Yikes!

That night, Gigi and Baba took me to a tea shop in downtown Kawachinagano that is run by Morishita Hiroko, the exchange student coordinator in Kawachinagano (for those in Northfield, she’s a Vicki Dilley equivalent). She was hosting a welcome party for me and had closed down her shop for the party. It was an incredible gesture of kindness. There were 13 members of the Rotary club there including Baba, Gigi, Michimoto-san, Hiroko-san, and Okita-san. One of my host mothers whom I hadn’t met in person before, Yukiko Yamasaki, was also there. Hiroko-san had prepared a lot of food for the occasion. There was sushi, noodles, takoyaki, vegetables, and pasta. It was all very delicious. The son of Hiroko-san taught me to make takoyaki. That was super fun and cool! It was also very hard to make perfect round balls. Hiroko-san’s son, it turned out, went to a college for two years in New York and spoke very good English.

I feel so welcomed by the club, although I can’t help but wonder if I will mostly do things with adults or if I will make friends my age as well. From what I’ve heard high school students start running out of time to make friends with exchange students in their junior and sophomore years.

Speaking of school, I start on Monday. Originally I thought I would start on Tuesday, but there is orientation for 2 hours on Monday. I will receive my uniform and sign up for various clubs. Scary!

Last night it rained. I’ve never seen such rain before! It poured and poured and poured! There was also thunder and lightning. The thunder made the night feel like there was a war going on because the cracks and bangs were so loud and close. When I woke up, the clouds were covering the tops of the hills around the house. What a sight it was!

It really doesn’t feel like it’s been a week already. I don’t know where the time went! I’m hoping that my jetlag has started to wear off and I will be able to focus on everything more. I had heard that being an exchange student is the most tiring thing you will ever experience. Now I would have to agree! You have to be alert every second you are awake and you can’t afford to tuck yourself away.

またね！

Wes

すごい！

So because I don't have constant internet access here (which is absolutely wonderful) I will be writing offline and then posting when I am able to. I will post the dates above the entries. It's basically gonna be journal style.

8/20/2013

Four days have gone by already and it doesn't seem like any have past. It’s incredible. Even though it’s only been that short amount of time, I think my Japanese is improving slightly.

Today I meet Okita-san in person. I emailed with him before coming to Japan. He and his wife (Hiroko-san) gave up a whole day to spend with me. First, they took me out to an udon noodle restaurant. It was oishi (delicious)! They were served in a broth with leeks and a piece of deep-fried shrimp. Next, we drove to Osaka harbor where the Osaka aquarium is located.

 This was our primary destination and we spent most of the afternoon wandering through it. I don’t know that I've ever been in an aquarium with such active animals. It was fantastic! The otters were wiggling, the sea lions were diving, the capybara was capybara-ing, and the jellyfish were jelly-ing. The aquarium’s main exhibit was based on the “Ring of Fire” around the Pacific Ocean. The main attraction was a 5,000+ ton tank in the center in which live giant stingrays, groupers, several shark species, and many other fish.

 Although that may sound rather normal for a tank (minus the fact that it’s 5,000+ tons of water), there was one species of shark that you would not find in your normal aquarium tank. The Osaka aquarium manages to house not one, but two wale sharks. Holy. Cow. They’re so cool!!!! I’ve never seen such a large fish before. The best part was that we were there for whale shark feeding time. I knew that they sucked in water and filtered it, but to see the quantity that they pull in is astonishing. I thought the divers arm would be sucked off!

If going to an aquarium weren't big enough treat, Okita-san and Hiroko-san also brought me to see Osaka Jyou (Osaka Castle).

 This relic was built over 400 years ago and has survived a couple wars. It’s an incredible building. It once was used for city purposes such as housing the police department, but now the entire complex is a city park. Complete with two moats and one-foot thick metal gates, I can’t see how it could be penetrated with today’s technology. It was phenomenal to read all the extensive history behind it and I wish that I could spew it all onto this page. Unfortunately, the lineage and wars between families is so complex that there’s no way I could remember most of it. If you’re ever in Osaka, I would highly recommend it as a place to visit.

So many things are different here from the US. The only way that I think that I can make it clear just how different it is, is to make a list. I may or may not have stolen this idea from Mari Arneson (RYE Germany).

1.       Roadways

a.       Driver sits on the right side of the car (unless it is an American car. Then they sit on the left). I jumped when I first noticed this.

b.      Automobiles drive on the left side of the road. This scared me more than a.

c.       Seatbelts aren't mandatory in the back seats. This means that the kids clamber all over the place. My little brother sits on my lap every time we go somewhere.

d.      The road is about 1/8 to ½ the size it is in the US. This also goes for car size.

e.      Lines are painted but they seem to be only suggestions. If everyone followed them precisely, there would be pile-ups everywhere.

f.        Telephone poles are made of concrete as opposed to a long log.

2.       Dining

a.       Chopsticks. Best invention ever. You can throw away that knife and fork now.

b.      If you leave a little bit of food, you will stop getting food. Very useful when you don’t know the language well and need to communicate that you are full.

c.       Food is continuously thrown at you. Maybe not literally, but it is offered so many times that it’s hard to tell what to do with it.

d.      Dining is a leisurely activity and it seems to be a time of contemplation. This is a bit of a change for me, especially after my canoe trip where you want to eat as much as possible as fast as possible in order to get more food.

e.      So many noodles!!!

3.       Personal Care

a.       The bathroom and the toilet are separate rooms.

b.      The bath and the shower are separate but in the same room.

c.       Toilets have a bidet built in. At least I think that’s what it is. I’m just getting that from the pictures that are on the control panel. It’s all in Japanese so I actually don’t have any idea.

4.       Interaction

a.       I don’t think I've ever bowed to anyone in my life before. That fact has now been changed as handshakes have been replaced with bowing. It happens in any kind of interaction with anyone else and is a sign of respect.

b.      I haven’t seen any sort of argument yet. Everyone is very patient with one another and keeps their voice very low.

5.       Living

a.       When you enter each house, you take off your shoes and put on a pair of slippers.

b.      The floors are either wooden or mad of tatami mats.

c.       Wall openings are covered with sliding doors as opposed to being hinged. They are also made of a thin layer of paper that is bordered and strengthened by a wood frame.

This list could go on and on but I will stop there so you all are not bored with a meaningless list. I would like to state that the reason I am stating all of this differences is not to make fun of or look down upon Japanese society. It is merely to show what differences there are between the cultures in the U.S. and Japan.

8/21/2013

I met Masahide Michimoto-san in person today. Like Okita-san, I emailed with him before arriving in Japan. He took me to a large city garden called Tondabayashi Savor Farm (Tondabayashi being the city the garden is located in).

 It was a cool set up. We paid ¥600 ($6) to enter into the entire place and then we were allowed into an enclosure with grape wines. We got to eat as many grapes as we wanted but we were only allowed to leave with two bunches.

 We each had 3-4 bunches and then went to a Japanese barbecue-style restaurant inside the farm. The way a Japanese barbecue works is that you get a plate full of meats and vegetables and then you grill them yourself on a tiny grill in the middle of the table you are sitting at. It was awesome. We had tako (octopus), ika (squid), carrots, potatoes, peppers, beef, and onions. We finished off our meal with soft-serve ice cream that’s the farms specialty: grape flavoring right from the field. It was delicious!

Next, we drove to 岩湧の森, a park in Kawachinagano that has a mountain as the centerpiece. We parked and hiked up to the visitor center. From there we could see all of Kawachinagano. We then went up to a lookout point only 30 minutes from the visitor center. The climb was hard and very steep but rewarding. We could see all the way to Osaka proper and part of Kobe to the west. To the north we could see where Kyoto lies.

 The park was incredible. All of the paths had very well built stairs of concrete and there were large rocks in place to hold everything together. It was an incredible feat.

Afterwards, Michimoto-san treated me to a soba noodle dinner, one of his favorite meals. While we ate, he taught me various useful Japanese phrases.

These last few days have been very tiring but rewarding. I am greatly looking forward to getting a better grasp on the language and having more in-depth conversations. It is very frustrating to not be able to communicate fully and efficiently.

こんにちはに日本！

WOW! That's the only thing I can think to say. I arrived in Japan at 2:30 PM. Customs and immigration were surprisingly easy to get through and I would give most of the credit to the fact that I was wearing my Rotary blazer. The immigrations officials knew exactly what Rotary was and they lightened up significantly when they understood. After I passed through with my brand new residence card, I went through customs and out into the airport. There I found several of my host families (Tani family, Tawada family, and Masahide Michimoto) waiting for me as well as the president of the Kawachinagano Rotary Club. They were all carrying signs with my name on it and were extremely welcoming. This is my first host family, the Tani family. From left to right they are Nanako, Papa Kazuhiro, me, Mitsuki, Mama Akane, and Ojiisan Gigi.

 All in all, it was very confusing after being awake for twenty-some hours and being thrown into an unfamiliar language. Momoka Tawada from the Tawada family is traveling with Rotary to Minnesota and she was leaving an hour after I arrived in Japan. It will be hard to remember everyone that I saw there although I will try my best.

The Tani family and I went to the parking garage to drive home. When we walked outside I had to take my blazer off because it was so hot and humid! Papa Kazuhiro and Gigi sat in front while the rest of us piled in back. I guess the laws here require only the front passengers to wear seatbelts. To put my parents to rest, I do still wear my seatbelt. I am especially ok with wearing it because the roads are insane. a lot of the time the country roads are one lane but they still have two way traffic on them. The also follow the curvature of the hills because they are so steep. Mama Akane asked me if I liked roller coasters when we went past an amusement park and I told her that we were on one already!

The ride back to the house was quick. We would around through the hills and through a couple tunnels. The Tani house is out in the country on a steep hillside. When we arrived, I meet Obaasan Baba.

 I was shown my room and then Kazuhiro, Nanako, Mitsuki, and I walk the two dogs, Ryu and Bingo. After dinner we went to a night market that happens once a summer in Kawachinagano. It was fun and interesting. There were Buddhist dances being done around some trees in the middle of the market. We had cotton candy and grilled sausages. There was a came in which you tried to retrieve bouncy balls from a bucket of water. The trick was that to get them out you had to lift them on a small tissue paper fan. When the fan got too wet, the balls would fall through and you wouldn't get them. Nanako was able to get 5! We ran into the third child of Kazuhiro and Akane, Yoshino. She was staying at a friends house that night. When we drove back to the house, I fell asleep because I was so tired. When my head hit the pillow, I was out for the night.

When I got up it was sunny and hot. Baba made me eggs and toast for breakfast. Kazuhiro, Akane, Nanako, Mitsuki, and I went to a pool nearby.

 It was very refreshing and we spent a long time there. I had my first experience talking with a stranger! One of the lifeguards started talking to me as I was heading to the bathroom. I didn't know anything he was saying and I didn't know what to do! I eventually picked out that he was asking me if I was an American. Somehow I was able to communicate that, yes, I was and that I didn't know very much Japanese. Phew! That was difficult! I am so thankful that the Japanese people are patient and willing to talk to strangers.

When we finished at the pool, we went to McDonald's. That was quite the experience. There is a mixture of Japanese and English on everything. The food is also in much smaller quantities than the US. The burgers are about half-sized. I was continuously asked if I had enough food.

Kazuhiro and Akane had decided to take me to Osaka proper in the afternoon. We drove into the city around 1 PM. It was nuts. Cars were everywhere and the lanes seem to be optional. We parked in a parking garage 2 stories underground.

 If there were American cars everywhere there would be pile ups and traffic accidents everywhere. It's a good thing that everything is smaller here. Except for their malls and stores. The mall we went to was outside and there were people everywhere. We walked past the hello kitty store as well as the Disney store. I've never seen so many stores! This must not count as a true mall because it was definitely bigger than the Mall of America in Minnesota. We went past Glico man and a big moving crab which are famous in Japan.

Kazuhiro bought a guide book to Osaka for me and Akane bought me flip flops. It was very generous of them. We also went to a restaurant that seemed to serve only appetizers and had takoyaki (deep fried octopus). On the way home from Osaka we past Ikea (pronounced ee-kay-aah in Japanese).

It turned out that we were not actually going home yet but we were just picking up Yoshino and a friend of hers and going to dinner. The restaurant we went to was very cool. We sat at a booth with a big heated pan in front of us and the servers put okanomiyaki (Japanese pancakes is the only way to describe them) on them.

These first two days have been very interesting as well as helpful. I know how cliche it is to say the ignorance is bliss, but it is the most true statement that I know right now. There is all this Japanese being spoken around me and I can't understand a single bit of it. Yes, I did take Japanese before coming on exchange and it was from a very good teacher, but I feel that no amount of lessons could have properly prepared anyone for this. It is quite the experience and very refreshing to feel the utter ignorance.

さよなら！

Wes

Leavin' on a Jet Plane

Today's the day! My parents and girlfriend drove me to the airport at 4AM to catch my 7AM flight to Seattle. At the airport I met up with Kou Vang, another RYE student outbound to North Osaka. Goodbyes were had and to be honest I didn't really feel like this was any different than going to visit family for a week or two. I'm sure the reality will hit me soon and I will feel longing for home. Right now I am sitting in the Seattle-Tacoma airport with Kou. It's amazing how fast this day came. It seems like this morning I was sitting down and eating breakfast with my family and preparing to pack for my year. I will miss everyone back home but I am greatly looking forward to my year abroad. I am very excited to step off the plane and see my host family waiting for me. It will be wonderful to finally meet them after emailing back and forth with them. I will sign off for now but I will most likely be posting again within the next couple days.

さようなら！ありがとうございます！

Thanks for reading!

ウエス

Post-Culture Shock and Pre-Culture Shock

Yesterday I returned from a 38 day canoe trip along the Dubawnt and Thelon Rivers that run through the Barren Lands in the Canadian provinces of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. It was an incredible experience and it will stay with me for a lifetime. The most difficult aspect of the trip was ensuring good group dynamics within the 8-man group I was traveling in. Never have I ever spent so much time with the same group of people before. We were together for all 38 days as well as the 10 days of travel and preparation before and after the main content. This may not seem like a big deal. However, unlike attending school or work or even living within your household, we were together 24 hours a day. I'm sure if we were given the choice we may have taken a break from one another's company for a brief amount of time just to get some fresh air. Because of the forced closeness, we had to learn to get along no matter what someone says or does. I have never been closer to anyone than I am now to these 7 guys. Without any interactions with other people, you get to know your group-mates very well. If they say something, you know exactly what it means without question.

At the end of our trip, we entered Baker Lake, Nunavut; a town of five thousand people. Our interactions with the people there were not much different than what we had as a group, with respect to the fact that we had only seen 7 other faces for the last 38 days. Everyone living in the conditions of the arctic must interact in a similar way that we did to be able to survive. They are all extremely kind people that will go far out of their way to take care of you. Many people stopped what they were doing to either give us a piece of information about the town or offer to drive our massive pile of bags to the airport for us. Going from having this kind of interactions with people to large cities further south was a big change

We flew into Winnipeg, Manitoba, and drove to Ely, Minnesota. All along the way it was obvious that we stuck out. A large group of tan, stinky, and scraggly bearded young adults isn't something you typically see in modern civilization when proper amenities are available. It was only the beginning of my culture shock. When I returned home I was completely taken aback at everything. Northfield, Minnesota, is not a large nor bustling city by any means, but when the loudest sound you've been hearing for the last month and half is the screeches of Herring Gulls and the roar of rapids, planes, trains, and automobiles set you a bit on edge. Mechanical technology wasn't the only factor in this. As soon as I logged on to take care of the month-and-a-half of email, I had to log off from over stimulation.

I've never been one to really feel culture shock before, so experiencing it before I actually depart on my exchange is strange. I will be very interested to see if my modern society shock has dissipated before I dive for the deep. As I'm sitting here typing, I'm only imagining what it will feel like to once again be the one to not fit it. I will be in a bubble trying to break out and experience everything. I will be trying to cut through the icy shell on a lake in a canoe. I am greatly looking forward to being put out of my comfort zone in a completely different way. Instead of being in shock by a place that I have returned to I will be experiencing a new place. For now I will try and acclimate myself to what is around me without letting what is to come nudge my feelings in any direction. Let's hope I'm prepared!