Posted by Amanda Another great day in Japan. We got an early start as I had an appointment with a few other people in Kyoto to get dressed up like geisha. Unfortunately, Noah and I had trouble finding the actual place so we arrived late. Luckily, the organizer (Carrie) of the adventure had already found a fourth to fill my spot. They were all in makeup so we left them a note in their shoes at the door to apologize. It was probably best that I missed it as i...

Posted by Amanda My homestay was very nice today. We basically did what the family would do for the day. I got up and we had breakfast. It was basic with toast with jam or cheese or peanut butter. We ate again at the coffee table. Of course the man from India was curious about who would take care of my mom when she got old. Don't worry Mom, I said I would. After breakfast we got ready for the girls' first ballet lesson. They looked so cute in their lit...

Posted by Amanda Today was the first day of our homestays. I have to admit to being a bit nervous being on my own in a Japanese house. It is always nice to have someone else to ask what to do before you plow in and offend someone. I seem very lucky in my placement. I am with Tokiko, her five year old twin daughters named Maya and Sakura, and her Indian husband. The fact that she married an Indian man makes me feel like she's forgiving of foreigner faux pas. He...

Posted by Amanda First of all the Japanese drive on the left! How did I not know this or even notice it until midway through the day? I think somewhere at sometime I knew that, but I definitely had forgotten. The disembarkation process was very long, our longest yet. We had to get our temperature taken since we are arriving from China which has bird flu. This was actually fast as we all just walked by a thermal camera. Then the customs officials had to che...