Saturday, August 14, 2010

Waaaaaaaaay Overdue











Yes, I know the last time I posted something was almost a month ago! I'm so very sorry. I have decided to put more pictures for everyone that can not see them on facebook. Enjoy!

Friday, July 16, 2010

Talk about stuff

Ok, I know I havent posted anything in the last few days so now I will! Today I am going to talk about 3 random things in Japan: Transportation, Food, and TV.

Number One: Transportation
Theres a lot of ways to get around in Japan! From bikes to bullet trains, theres no way you can be stuck at home! My favorite part of this subject is the JR (Japan Railroad) trains. They are passenger trains that stop at stations throughout Nagoya. I ride the Tokaido Line from the Kyowa Station to Nagoya every school day. Its about a 20 minute ride from my station. About a week ago I finally found a couple of the people who ride my line, Amanda and Mecayla (Its Italian so i dont know if i spelled it right, sorry =( ) Its fun because Amanda is from Sweden and Mecayla is from Italy so we talk about differences in languages. All I can say is "Percula" (It's Finnish). The Subway system in Nagoya is also fantastic and easy to navigate! and somewhat cheap. To Sakae, its 200 yen with is like $2.50. Sakae is very popular for us AFS kids to go to!

Number Two: Food!!!
The food here is fantastic! I love rice and almost everything here goes great with rice! Also, let me say one thing, Sushi is not a common food item. Sushi is actually a special dinner food and is veeeeery expensive, but its so darn good! For lunch at school, everyday Taiki makes my lunch and it is fantastic! Its different every day but you can count on rice being in the bento =). As for snacks, I love Onigiri. Onigiri is a rice ball with something put in the middle then wrapped in a seaweed sheet and it is a perfect snack!

Number Three: TV
Why TV? because it is really weird and cool. First, I love the all anime channel. Anime is basically animated show in Japan, but not like cartoons. Cartoons are make for kids while Anime is more entertainment for teens and adults, but that sounds wrong. Basically, Anime would not be suitable for children under the age of 13 in the USA. Also, about the cartoons, they show the old ones on cartoon network and also Japanese ones mixed in. and all i can say is, they are violent, lol. Its funny how much cartoons have changed over the years. And one last thing. The commercials are VEEEERY funny. If you dont have facebook, heres a link to my favorite commercial so far http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-0rXGWyePA Its a commercial for Glee in Japan. The main guy singing is a famous sumo wrestler from Hawaii. I also watch a lot of NCIS with my host dad. Since he is the only one who really knows English, we watch NCIS in English with Japanese subtitles.

Thats is for this Installment of my Blog, and Ill leave you with more pictures from Japan!!
1. View from my room
2. Another view from my room
3. I know this is late but this is the AFS USA kids before we left for Japan.
4. My invitation to my host family for the ceremony
5. Taiki and James at the arcade






Saturday, July 10, 2010

More Pictures

Since I need to take more pictures, Ill share some of what I have right now! They are:
1. My name a wrote on the board when i visited Taiki`s school
2. The Helicopter in the earthquake center (The Italian Chopper since all 7 got in at once)
3. Playing Shogi-kuzushi at Taiki`s school
4. Me in the Chopper
5. Aoki-sensei in the fire truck
6. Nagoya Station area from the Nagoya station
7. Osu Kannon, a big shopping place in Nagoya








Sunday, July 4, 2010

Pictures!!!!

Ok, after I found new batteries and losing my camera in an arcade and getting it back 2 days later and taking pictures to post on my blog, Here are some pictures finally!!!!! enjoy!

Side Note: Ill post more later, but Im at I.C. Nagoya doing this and I dont have much time, thanks =)





Tuesday, June 29, 2010

A lot of awesome stuff!!!!!!

Ok, it is 5:55 pm in Kyowa (a part of Obu) and I have found an internet cafe 3 minutes from the house so YATA! Ok, so lets see, how awesome is Japan so far... hm... OK, lets start! 1: Taking the train to school; Its so cool to walk down to a train station and take a train to Nagoya and get off at that station and walk to the school! 2. I.C. Nagoya; The school is a part of a building but its pretty neat inside. We took a placement test and I am in Class A, the beginning class, but im ok with that because even though i did the online test, I really didnt learn that much... except to identify the Hiragana characters. It was more of i needed the teacher and classroom environment to learn Japanese, so its all good. 3. Being on my own!; I like being on my own! Its like this, after school, I can buy a ticket to the subway and go where ever i want in Nagoya then when I`m done, I find my way back to Nagoya center and go to the train station and ride the train to Kyoowa then walk home through the town. Its just awesome! Ok, Ill come back to this cafe tomorrow and next time have some pictures to share! This is Chase Tyree, signing off!

Sunday, June 27, 2010

Everything is Good!

Hey everyone! This is the CTJ (Chase to Japan) update! with your Host, Chase Tyree! Everything is going great so far! Yesterday I met my host family, the Kawahara`s and they are an awesome family! We had lunch at a sushi resturant where it all is on a conveyor belt (fricken awesome!) and we had luch at a western style steak house to celebrate Otousan`s (Fathers) birthday! Today, Otousan, Taiki, and I walked to the train station and took the train to Nagoya to show me where the school is and to have lunch. We also, and this is the best part, we went to the... POKEMON CENTER NAGOYA!!!! Lol, a pokefans dream! It was full of awesome pokemon stuff and was just awesome. I would show pictures but I...well... forgot to put new bateries in my camera before i left to Japan, so once i get some, ill post some pictures. Well, i got to get to bed now! Gotta wake up to catch the train to school =)!!! Lets see if i can use this Japanese keyboard right... おやすみなさい! Ok, good night!

Thursday, June 24, 2010

OOoooOOoooOOOoooOOOo Im in the future!

Its is the night of the 24th, Yes, its the morning of the 24th for most of you. I am in our new "イチケン青年” Or a public house. I would show a picture but until I get new AA batteries for my camera and it doesn't take an hour to upload a video, I will just have to say that it is awesome! Its like sleeping on the floor like most anime's or feudal Japan pictures people see. Its really cool and we are here for 2 nights, tonight and tomorrow night. At 2100, or 9 pm, we are taking a bath so it'll be a new experience.

Oh, and also, we, the most awesome group, the Nagoya group, has decided to team up and post each others blog links on here, so, without further ado, here is 3 other blogs:
Peter - www.destinedforjapan.com
Carrie- sarurunkamui.livejournal.com
Anastasia- http://arzjapan.blogspot.com

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Finally Here!

コんいちわばか!!!

Made it into Japan. Not much time to talk. long flight, dinner, brb, roflrofl! Ben and James say Hi from Tokyo!

Friday, June 11, 2010

Host Family Pics

HEY ALL! I got a packet today from AFS and it had info on my host family!!! They sent some pics of themselves, so here they are!




Sunday, June 6, 2010

TRAINS!!!

These are two train stops in Obu-shi! I can't wait to ride them!

Obu
From Tokyo:346.5km
Date of opening:September 10, 1887
Location:Obu City, Aichi
Through service to JR-Central Taketoyo Line
Notes:Station with sidetracks(turnouts).






Kyowa
From Tokyo:349.5km
Date of opening:December 7, 1934
Location:Obu City, Aichi



Pictures!





Here are some pictures of the city and the school where I will be going!

Almost there

Well, there are 15 days until I leave for L.A. and then 16 days until I get on my plane for Japan! I am very excited, especially since I have gotten an e-mail from my host family, the Kawaharas. Here is what they said:

Dear Mr. Taylor


How do you do?
We are your host family, Kawakawa.
We have gotten the paper about you from AFS.

How is Colorado Springs where you live?
Obu city where we live is calm city.
Your school is in Nagoya city, where you can go in about 20 minutes by
train.
Nagoya city is large in the third in Japan.

We want to take a trip to Kyoto and Nara with you.
Do you know Kyoto and Nara?
They are ancient city in Japan.
Please tell us the area where you want to go in Kyoto and Nara.
And we are going to watch Sumo wrestling with you.

We wish to share wonderful 40 days with you.

We are looking forward to meeting you as you do.


and here is what I responded with

Dear Mr. Kawahara,

I am doing great! I am very excited to meet your family and to visit the wonderful country of Japan. I actually go by my middle name "Chase" which I think in katakana would be チャセ。Chase was my grandfathers' mothers maiden name.

Colorado Springs is a wonderful place! We have the Rocky Mountains to the west and the plains to the east. Our weather is very strange. We can have snow, rain, and sun all in the same day! Colorado Springs is a military city. We have the United States Air Force Academy, two other U.S. Air Force bases, and Fort Carson, an Army base, to the south of us. We are about 45 minutes from the capital of Colorado, Denver. Colorado Springs is also the main entrance to the mountains. People pass through to go to the mountains to go skiing.

I go to school at Air Academy High School, which is actually located on the United States Air Force Academy, but it is a normal high school, not military. I have a 3.85 GPA there and will be becoming a senior next year. I researched the school where I will be going and I am very excited to see it in person. I am taking an online course from a college named Brigham Young University. I know a little bit of nihongo but I hope that by living with your family and taking the classes in Nagoya City, I will speak a lot of nihongo.

I've only heard of Kyoto and Nara briefly in World History. I will go wherever you think is amazing, even the 嵐山モンキーパークいわたやま . I also heard of the deer in Nara and would love to see them! I can't wait to see the Sumo Wrestling! I've never seen an actual match, only ones in movies, commercials, and kids shows.

I also have some random things that I like that I bet Taiki likes as well. I love anime and manga, with my favorite Anime being One Piece and my favorite manga is Death Note. I also love sushi, both raw and cooked. We also do not have any train or subway systems in Colorado Springs so I really want to ride the trains everywhere. I like biking too!

I am counting down the days until I leave for this very exciting experience with your family!


I can't wait to go!