11/13 Blog Post by Tatyanna

Today, we left Shintoku Highschool and embarked on a journey to Kojo Highschool. Shintoku Highschool was an interesting experience especially since Highschool in Japan is different from Highschool in America. We got to learn first hand about Highschool life in Japan. We learned about how their classes function, the closeness the students had with each other, and the types of classes the school offered. Upon our departure, there were lots of tears and hugging and pictures. We were all sad to leave the families that sheltered and fed us for four days. They took us to a lot of places and treated us like their own family. If we were sick or feeling unwell they would do whatever necessary to make us comfortable. They took time out of their day which they probably wouldn't normally do, to take us around and show us memorial sights and shrines. We got to see the breathe taking and beautiful sights of Miyazaki in Kyuushu. A moment that really stuck with me on our last day in Miyazaki was when my host dad drove my host and I to the train station. We stopped on the side of the road, over looking the sea as the sun rose over the horizon. I got to capture the sun rising, which was a first for me. The sun rays refracted on the sea giving it slightly glow and the wind blew gently. It was a nice moment something I hadn't experienced before in America. 

     After taking our last photo with or host families and giving our last goodbyes, we past through the train station and boarded our train, finalizing our stay in Miyazaki. Even though, our stay may have been short, we still have our memories of them and we’ll stay in contact.