Hey all! Been a few days since our last update. Much has happened! Tonight is actually our last night with our host families in Ashikaga, and from here on out, we are staying in hotels! :-( We will miss our host families, who have once again shown us amazing hospitality. I am currently staying in a Buddhist temple, and my host father is a Buddhist priest. Pretty amazing experience.
Front yard (bell tower):
Back yard (Buddhist graveyard):
Our hosts in Ashikaga have been amazing, and so we have visited the Red Cross Hospital in Japan, taken a calligraphy lesson (sho-do), visited a copper mine in the mountains of Ashikaga, visited the oldest school in Japan, and I had a vocational visit- visiting an accounting office! Hurray!
Bruce also took a test drive with what it would be like to have hair:
Kareoke with our hosts in Ashikaga!
Beautiful scenery by the copper mine:
Oldest school in Japan! Ashikaga School:
My vocational visit YAY!:
Me in a kimono (all of the girls tried one on & hopefully someone else has a pic of all 3 of us!):
 |
| Givon after a meeting with the mayor of Ashikaga! |
WIth our good friend & translator Momi!! Charlie's Angles WERQ
Copper mine!
Our second to last presentation today @ the Ashikaga East Rotary meeting! The team (minus Bruce) in our yukatas- summer kimonos. Very cute but not completely comfortable!! (Especially after our feast.)
I can't believe our trip is starting to come to an end! It has gone by so fast. :-( We're not ready to leave our amazing host families behind. Tomorrow we travel to Utsonomiya (capital city of Tochigi prefecture) for 1 night, then to Tokyo for two nights. Can't wait to see our old friends tomorrow but I want time to slow down!!! Hopefully we will have internet access and can update more on the rest of our trip.
Mata ne,
Katie
Awesome pix. Love u in kimono. U will need to diet after all this feasting. Go to Disney Tokyo!
ReplyDeleteThat's pretty neat to stay with a Buddhist priest! Your trip went by fast. Enjoy what's left of it.
ReplyDelete