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sweatdrop I guess no one can help

i'm planning on being an exchange student as well. 3nodding but the thing is, i'm a beginner in japanese xD sweatdrop i just started crying but anyways.. i think the starting age is 15. i'm not sure though. and well, even if i apply i doubt i'd be able to get to japan sweatdrop soo many people wants to go to japan, and only a handful would get to go. you have to like pick three countries and if you don't get you first choice, you're going to your second choice. crying i don't even know if you can choose which city to go to, it depends on your host family sweatdrop

but it would be fun! whee and well no.. i don't think you have to go to the person who you're switching with's highschool. it depends on where your host family is living. if your host family is the family of the person you're switching with, then i guess you'll go to her/his highschool. but that isn't really the case all the time. there are host families who don't have children and volunteered to be a host family to know how it feels like to have children or something. and there are some who have children but their children didn't go on an exchange and i want to get a host family like this whee so i can be friends with their child lol

i'm not sure how to answer all of your questions.. i don't know if you'll get help learning and perfecting japanese cuz they said that you'll just learn as you go. my friend who went on an exchange told me to becareful with some english teachers.. sweatdrop sometimes they make mistakes and if you try to correct them, they get mad xd i don't know if it's a joke or whatsoever but it's funny in some ways xD. and well, it depends on the english teacher if he/she wants to stay later with you and help you. you can ask your host family for help too, it's their priority.

well, yeah you can take pictures. and well, you ARE a foreigner cuz you came from another country but i don't think it's going to be weird. you'll get a lot of stares though especially if you're non-asian and well, there's probably a lot of foreigners there already so yeah, i don't think it would be weird. if i were you, id take as many pictures as i can lol

and books.. yeah, i think soo. i don't know about the jinmeiyo though. about part time jobs.. i'm not sure about how old you have to be. and you'll need permissions and stuffs.

i'm not making sense to you at all.. xd anyways, the program that i want to go on, is the Rotary Exchange Program. i don't know if i can get into it from here though..

I Just got back from an exchange about 3 weeks ago. It was the time.of.my.life.

I went on the YFU Summer-exchange program. It's a 2 month long program during June and July. Hottest time if the year- but if you're in Hokkaido it's not to bad.(Okinawa requires use of fans.XP)

The program costs about 5000 to 6000 dollars- but there are many MANY full scholarship rides you can get. (From what I've heard- if you have any language experience chances are you'll get one) I was one of them- and I'll tell ya- the scholarship makes it even funner. You can end up in any kind of situation, from middle of Tokyo to a house in the mountains to a farming villiage in Okinawa. I ended up in the last one- and even though it was far from my suburban home- it was a BLAST.

Language wise- especialy with your host family- won't be too much of a big deal if you're on a shorter exchange. Many of these families have students who are going over to America shortly after you leave- and are hosting a short term student for 2 resons- 1. Help their student improve English. 2. It helps their student's standing in the organization... There are also basic language classes in the orientation before departure.

I had taken nearly 4 years of the language- and completed the first 3 textbooks in the Adventures in Japanese series... And I was SET. Most kids did amazingly after 2 or 3 years- which is what most Japanese teachers reccomend... Plus- English is REQUIRED material there... But not speaking- though they really want to try to speak... Don't be alarmed if some random 10 year old walks up to you and starts asking you strange things in Eglish. It's normal.

Knowing the language does make it a LOT more fun. You get to speak to the less outgoing more geeky students in class, and you also get to have more in depth coversations with people...And it's easier to get to know your host family as well... (But the communication between my host brother and I was limited to swapping candy. I got that kid addicted to pixie sticks)

I also ended up helping teach many of the English classes during my stay. The teachers wanted me to talk to the students about Japanese school- since it is VERY VERY different. And having a JET at your school will make it loads more fun. (I loved my JET.)

Don't worry about making friends either...Especialy if you end up in a small town. Chances are they rarely get to even SEE an American or forigner much less TALK to and BEFRIEND them. One alum described it as "You'll be a commodity" and that basicaly sums it up. They all want to know you.

There are also many strange questions you'll get asked.

!. Do you have a boyfriend/girlfriend? (This is asked on a daily basis)
2. Do you have a picture of your friends/family/boyfriend/girlfriend?
3. Have you ever been to Disney World?
4. have you ever been to San Fransico/New York?
5. Who's your favorite celebrity/famous person?

And everyone will ask if you know Dragon Ball, Pokemon, Sailor Moon, Naruto and Nana. Death Note was also huge during my stay...Don't be alarmed if they make a point about how cute you are or how white you are. I swear everyone's first comments were "Kawaii ne!" and "shoroi ne?"


It's a blast. Japanese students are hillarious and your host family will generaly be amazing to.. PM me for any more information...

Wow see now that is something that i was planning on doing..and i if couldn't then i will probally go there when i am 20 or 21 for a summer. Its something that i think EVERYONE wants to do lol so as many people have said the competion is ferice...like my sisters stench XD but i dought i will be able to, mainly because i have no real language background and my parents will shoot me if i ask to go now razz so meh ill wait but untill then i sahll stick to my new book of "japanese in 10 min a day". These book are the best..well not the best there is but they are for my beginner who jsut wants to randomly replace words. ex insted of saying sister i often use oni-neigh-chan(sp) i used the french one to pass spanish xD lmao with a 78 muahaha for those who are dumb i had to pass french XD lmao so hai im still even a more beginner than you razz but meh maybe we will both get our deams...anyways i need to go do my 10 min again XD

i would love to do a Japanese exchange program...but i'm worried about how i'll be treated because i'm black sweatdrop .

I have a Japanese exchange student her name is Narimi Noda. Well, I met her in my gym class and I talked to her and stuff and she's really cool! And I found out that she like anime too, and we have an anime club at our school but she wasn't able to go... My problem that I wanted to ask was that... True I love the fact that she is from Japan, and I was hoping that I could learn more about it by talking to her... But some how I feel that I'm bothering her by asking her to questions... But what else that I feel that maybe she feels like the only reason I'm talking to her is that she's from the country that I admire the most... I just don't want her to feel that I am just cause of that fact alone... Even if she wasn't from Japan I still would want to talk to her and be friends with her cause she's a really nice person... And I don't know what to do. I don't want to annoy her, you know? And be to nice... And yet get to know her more as a friend. gonk I'm confused!!

Why? I thought heta meant unskillful and jouzu meant skillfull but then I would have to say dewanai or dewaarimasen but they'd mean the same thing.

How am I mean? I was apologizing for why I'm not so good with Japanese? Is that bad? I know the sumimasen part but I meant the phrase part, sumimasen goes without saying on this site because I knew I have to say that but the phrase could still mean the same thing. "My Japanese is unskillful." or "My Japanese is not skillful." It means the same thing.

I think it wouldn't be mean because I want them to know that it isn't good so I would be making many mistakes.

Plus I asked if I could say that because I don't know what else to say. Plus I thought ではありません　is more politer than じゃありません. My book said that.

So I appreciate your phrase and help but how am I mean and disgusting? Plus wouldn't it go without saying that someone in this guild with a low grammar skill in Japanese say and ask a question about this?