Time Flies When Your Having Fun!

The homestay was great. I was placed with a wonderful family and was able to experience many cultural sites of Japan.

Starting with The Brush Museum. My family took me to see where and how calligrify brushes, make-up brushes are made. It was very interstering. I also was abot to see a Japanese baseball game, it was a high school game, semi-finals and it was pretty interesting. Different than American baseball in some respects, but still very fun.

Off to the grocery store we went...well lets just say it was not what you see at our neighborhood Kroger. A massive variety of any kind of fish you could want, any way you want, fresh, frozen, dried...it was an experience. At the meat counter buying beef I noticed how expensive the beef and pork was, 1300.00 yen ($13) for one steak.

After the grocery store it was off to the house for dinner. The house was cute but much smaller than weare used to. I slept in a traditional Japanese fashion...on the floor with a mat and a very fluffy down comforter.

The next day it was back to Miyajima Island. This time I was able to see many other things I was not able to see the first time. In the shrine I saw a Japanese wedding, it was pretty cool.

My family dropped me off at our hotel for the night...a traditional Japanese hotel, a roykan. The room was beautiful and very traditional, another night of sleeping on the floor.

It was back on the Bullet Train to Tokyo...we are in the home strech. Four hours at 200 miles an hour are poof, we are in Tokyo. Home sweet home...well not really but close enough.

Check in, out to dinner, sleep.

Today a full day of meetings.

Tomorrow a full day of presentations of our host cities and the soynora dinner...no pun intended...that is really the name.

Thursday on the plane for about 18 hours to Washington D.C., change planes to CVG and home to crash.

I am planning on coming to school some time on Friday...Hopefully. We will see how bad the jet lag is.

See you all soon. I miss everyone very much.