After our departure from the inn we were off to a Buddhist temple where we saw the Cheseborough memorial. We lit some incense and and prayed for a few minutes.

Afterword we got to explore the temple which was one of the coolest experiences I’ve had. While exploring I had a very nice conversation with the priest’s wife, even though she spoke little English and I spoke little Japanese. We were able to get by and have a very interesting conversation.

Then once we said our thank you’s to the priest, we went and got some lunch at a local market store with lots of locally grown products. While eating I failed at cracking my quail egg and instead of just eating it I decided to accept the challenge that was forth given to me and peel the shell to get to the sack-y membrane. (It wasn’t hard boiled.) Then it was eaten as part of a bet for only a dollar.

Then we went to a museum and learned all about the Jomon period in Japan and got to see all the neat artifacts that were there. After a little bit of downtown shopping it was finally time to meet our host families.

I was a little bit nervous but as soon as I arrived I loved the family; they are all very nice and I can tell the rest of the days I spend here with them are gonna be awesome!

JACOB HADDOCK is a student at Morse High School.