Osterloh sisters FOREVER!

Picking up Sachiko!

After a year and a half the Osterloh girls are finally back together again!! Whoo!!! On the day we went to pick up Sachi, you could feel the excitement jumping out of all of us! Once we got to the temple we were just dying to see her. So we came around the corner searching for her cute face. Then we found her! All of us ran to eachother while screaming then hugging and laughing. It was the best feeling ever! It was like we were whole again!

Being with my sisters is probably the funnest thing in the world! Things that you would never think would be funny make us roll over laughing. We can always find some silly game to play... the ninja game.... the water-push-over game .... trust me it's really funny! And we are masters at movie quotes! After watching a movie one time you'll find us quoting half of the lines. Then when we get together and sing it's amazing how much fun we have together!

When i was little i was probably really annoying to my older sisters .... okay i was really annoying. Tagging along with them, trying to copy them all the time, sometimes even spying on them :) But as we've all gotten older we've all grown so close. So basically i live with my best friends.. well not exactly right now, but we all call the same place home. I love how i have a separate bond with each of them.

Sachi is the smartest one in our family. Anyone who knows her could tell you that. When we went to pick her up I was wondering if she would be any different, but it was the same old sachi that we all love! I love the talks that we have together. She's always encouraging me to be my best self and she gives the best advice! Sachi is the type of person who will stick up for what she believes in. Watching her has always given me courage to stick up for myself and what i believe in. I'm so happy to have her home again!

This past summer i got really close with Mariko. We did a lot of things together. Getting our nails done, going hiking, going to the movies, shopping, playing in the pool, movie quoting.... the list goes on. Mari has always been happy to let me play with her and her friends and i'm so happy for that! Because it's so fun to be around her! She's also so strong! I've learned to deal with my trials by seeing how she handles hers. I think to myself If she can do it then so can I! I'm so glad i got the chance to play with her all summer! It was the best!

Kumi, Kumi, Kumi ..... She is definitely my big sister! Just because she's always sticking up for me and being there when i'm sad. Going to high school with her was soooo much fun! I loved seeing her around every day. Especially at the dances! We would always find eachother for at least one song then we would goof off making up funny moves. I loved being able to talk to her about everything! We could go on and on for hours! There's nothing i can hide from her. She always gets me to talk and tell her what's going on, but i love that about her! She won't rest until she's made me smile!

Even though i'm the youngest, my sisters make me feel equal with them. I mean of course there are the times when nobody listens to me or they laugh at my attempts of trying to tell a joke. but in the end they are always there for me. Whether if it's because i'm not having a good day, or if they just wanna have fun. I'm so lucky have this close relationship with them. I wouldn't trade it for anything!!

I love you sisters!!! Osterloh Sisters FOREVER!!!

Field Trip

This saturday my class had a field trip to the beach by my house. Once we got there we started having relay races. I didn't run the first few, but they were fun to watch. Everyone running and diving for the flags. It was pretty funny! We were split up into 3 groups and we had a contest to see which group could build the highest sand mountain. Ours would have won, but it kind of collapsed right before the time was up. Darn! Then after that we had a 3-legged race... only it was with the whole group! The first group walked. Then the second group sort of ran. Then my group went pretty fast but we all fell at the end. It was funny watching everyone trying to stand up again. It's a lot harder than you think!

So after the relay races we were all just playing around and taking pictures. Me and my new friend Mie went into the water so it was at our ankles then we turned around to take a picture. Well right as we took it a big wave came up behind us and got our bums all wet! It was so funny! and it was even funnier that we got the picture right as it hit us! As you can see we were very surprised.

When all of that fun was over we got on a bus and headed out to a park. There we cut up some veggies and stuff to have a bbq. It was way different than any bbq i've ever done, but it was delicious!! I'm so happy i got to go, it gave me a chance to make some new friends!

First week of school

My first week was pretty good. I was nervous but it turned out ok. On my first day i was sooo scared!!! I had to make a speech in front of the teachers then in front of my class in japanese! I was really shy, but my class was way nice. All the girls in my class were really friendly. They kept petting my head and touching my hair it was kind of funny. Then one girl came up and hugged me out of nowhere. I was so surprised.... it was a little weird but it made me laugh.

Then we had an assembly. The band, cheerleaders, dance group, and drum group all performed for us. It was so funny the cheerleaders were like japanese anime characters. They were all cute and bubbly with all these high voices haha i was trying so hard not to laugh. The band was fun to watch too. They played this fun song and they had choreography to go with the music. Then the drum group was soooo cool!!! but i've always enjoyed watching skyline's drum line so i guess thats why i liked it. The dance was pretty cool too. It was hip hop and they looked pretty good. I'm excited to try it out!

So the 2nd day we went bowling! I wasn't very good but my group was really funny. There was this one boy who would throw it so weird. He would run up from the side holding the ball in his arms then chuck it while he balanced on one foot. Sometimes he would almost fall over haha it was way funny to watch. I'm glad these 2 days have been fun. It seems like i'm going to do fine after all!

We got the Cuzins!

Japan has always been a place where i loved to go to for vacation. So i was so happy to come again, but i was even happier that my cousins were coming along. Me, Mari, Jake, and Mo (the cuzins!)

First the plane ride was soooo cool! I am soo happy that i could fly business because it was AMAZING! the chairs/beds were so comfortable and they had little packets of sleeping stuff for you. Then they served us drinks before anyone else got on the plane and they were in glass cups! and for dinner they set out a table cloth and stuff. It was crazy! The whole time me and mari were like i feel so spoiled!! and all of our flight attendants were soo funny! They all were joking with the "cuzins" that's what they called us.

The next day we went to Disney Sea. It was so much fun and it was raining a little so it was empty! The longest we waited for a ride was 15 min maybe not even that! There was one part where we were just exploring a castle type of thing and mari was teaching jake and mo un (yes) and uun (no) so they were shouting down at people uuun uuun! achi achi! haha it was soo funny! So we did pretty much everything by 5:00 by then everyone was tired so we did our favorite rides one more time then we went to go watch the shows. The bon fire show was so much fun! We all learned the bon fire dance then me, mo, and jake were dancing and shouting "We are dancing!" in a japanese accent while mari was filming us. Then we ended the night with a fire/water show with inspirational music!

After we all got a good night's rest, we headed out to the train station where we said our goodbyes. Mari, Mo, and Jake were on to some fun activities, while i was headed to my temporary new home. It was sad to leave, but i'm so glad i got to spend those couple of days with them!

The beginning

This is the start of a new adventure. A big step in my life. I've never been away from my home for longer than a week or two. So 6 months... I'd say that's a pretty big change. Not to mention i'm living in a completely different country, half way around the world!

At first talking about living in Japan was just a joke. Both of my sisters had gone in college, but for me it was never taken as a serious idea. Then half way through my sophomore year we actually started talking about me going. After many complicated plans, we finally figured out how i could fit this into my high school life. Even though i would have to take lots of online classes to make up for the credits i would miss, i thought that this would be worth it.

I've always wanted to be able to speak to my grandparents and the rest of my mom's side of the family, but there was always that language barrier. That is a big part of the reason i decided to come live in Japan. I figured living in Japan and hearing the language 1st hand would help me improve much faster.

I'm big on adventure. I enjoy finding out things for myself and trying out new and mysterious things. Also ever since i was really little i've never hated being alone. I do like the company of other people, but by myself i never get bored. There was always a kind of freedom with nobody watching or judging what i was doing. Both of these qualities made my decision to come to Japan easier. I knew that i would love exploring the new country, and even if i was alone, i would be fine.

Leaving home was extremely difficult! Thinking about all the fun things i would miss. Going to football games with my friends, having big family parties, going to dances....etc. I'm really sad that i'll be missing out on these things, but this is a once in a lifetime opportunity and i'm so lucky to have it. So i'll go at it with a positive attitude, and hopefully all will turn out alright!