This is what our eating experiences have been like... No, we kid. This is a photo from our Undokai donut eating contest.

It's almost been a week and the Academy is well under way with great gusto. We have all settled down and have become great friends. We are almost like a family. It's hard to believe it’s been only six days. Anyways, classes are vigorous and challenging but fun and interesting as well. In the beginners class, we have learned all forty-six Hiragana characters; which is normally a task accomplished within a month in a normal school setting rather than the two to three days we've spent doing it. It is rather a large feat. We have classes all day, whether it be culture classes, art classes or language classes we are always learning. Thursday we headed over to take a cooking class. We worked together in pairs to make a yummy helping of yakisoba. Meat- eaters made a pork-yakisoba. Fellow vegetarians made a vegetable filled noodle dish. I think we all agreed that it was a delicious learning experience. The day before that, we made Daruma. Daruma are papermache-d replicas of the Buddhist Daruma. Tradition says to leave his eyes white so that on New Year’s day you make a wish and color in a single pupil. If the wish comes true by the next New Years, then you fill in the second eye. If the wish doesn't come true, the Daruma is taken to the local temple and burned with other unfulfilled wishes. We finished papermache-ing our own Daruma and left them to dry. We will finish them tomorrow with a coat of paint, giving them our own personal touch; we are allowed to make it traditional or personalized. Another fun art day occured yesterday with a class led by Sakimaki-Sensei. We learned how to do Japanese Calligraphy. Each student picked a kanji and did calligraphy of it. It is very challenging. You have to make every stroke count. I did a very well thought out kanji of the word Love. Today we woke up early and after Rajio Taiso, it was time to hit the fields. The recreation company planned a good old fashion field day or Undokai. We had lots of fun and mass embarrassment. The challenges ranged from a traditional three legged race to a face in flour challenge. Hilarity insued and I do believe we all left the field a little closer as a community. I think the way we have become so close is truly amazing. Like I said it's only been a few days, but we are all great friends. This academy has become our home, and we definitely have become a family

-Taylor

Calligraphy culture class with Sakamaki-Sensei!