Osaka is famous for okonomiyaki - a savory pancake stuffed with whatever you like. Literally. Okonomi means “how you like,” and yaki means grilled. Sounds perfect, right? So I was pumped to go to Osaka this week. 

My students took me to an okonomiyaki restaurant near our classroom. LOOK AT THIS.

In Japan, tables at restaurants sometimes have a grill that's built into your table. Usually the food is made by the staff. Other times you make the food yourself! This is something I'll miss when I go back to America.

Osaka had so many exciting things to do - shopping, ferris wheels, lines of restaurants, and even a British Pub. 

Osaka is the second biggest city in Japan, so we never ran out of new things to try.

The view from our classroom.

Group photo!

googlemaps.com

When I first heard that I was going to Ehime, I thought I would be stranded in the 田舎, or countryside, but I was surprised by how lively the city is! After classes, we went to Matsuyama Castle, Dogo Onsen, and Baishinji Beach.

Monday night late dinner!

We also did fireworks and celebrated an intern’s birthday with cake and a barbecue. Just like Hokkaido, the Japanese staff were so welcoming and wanted to show us everything Matsuyama has to offer.

Dogo Onsen is one of the world’s oldest hot springs, and we went there!

Millie (the birthday girl!)

Matsuyama Castle with Rikuto and Ichiro

Climbing was so hard. But worth it!

Three interns and myself flew to Hokkaido this week to teach at a welcoming school called Toshin Eisei Yobiko Asahikawa Ekimaekou. My week wasn’t just the best experience of English Camp 2017 so far—it was probably one of the best experiences of my entire life. 

On the first day, we were met at the airport by three Japanese staff, taken out to dinner (which was completely paid for by the school!), and shown around the venue.

When we walked into the venue, we were shocked by the clumps of balloons and leis decorating the walls. Welcome to English Camp at Asahikawa! was written in bubble letters on the white board. 

Over the course of the teaching week, students were happy and engaged. We made hats out of paper, played telephone charades, and genuinely became good friends with each other. The Japanese staff also bought everyone Hokkaido Fighters baseball jerseys. 

We even played heavy metal music to make students speak louder during their speeches. Best part: a Japanese staff member brought the heavy metal CD.

The day we had our flight back to Tokyo, the Japanese staff took us around Asahikawa.

(http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e6826.html)

These are some of the places we went to, but we also went sake tasting in the morning and got dinner before our flight back to Tokyo (which were also all covered by the staff!) The Japanese staff cried when they dropped us off at the airport. I did too.

Flower Land in KamiFurano

So pretty!

Aoiike (Blue Pond)

I also had an amazing homestay this week. My host dad loved to make soba from scratch, so he made me some for dinner one night. Watching him make it, cut it, and cook it was such a unique experience. They also took me to karaoke, a fireworks festival, kaiten sushi (conveyor belt sushi), onsen, and a fancy restaurant. The grandpa lived across the street, and he often came by and took pictures of my host sister and I. He had a really nice camera because his hobby was photography. He attempted to teach the camera to me one evening via Google translate by using speak to text which was hilarious.

He made the soba so fast too! Probably took him 40 minutes.

I can't wait to come back next year and see my friends again!

Paige