Saying goodbyes have really been my least favorite part of the journey, which made yesterday a hard day. I had a great time in Mito. But just like life, people come and go, and I needed to move on. We got on the bus and said farewell to our host families, while many kids (host brothers and sisters) chased our bus for a long long distance, which actually made most of us cry.
We stopped twice during the bus trip, one time for a stop in a outlet shopping area and one time for a quick visit to a big famous statue of Buddha, which was huge! Then we moved on to Toride, where the Local Organizing Committee was already there waiting for us. Then WCI members were introduced to our new host families. It was really hard saying goodbye to a host family and adapting directly to a new one in such a short period of time. But my new host family is awesome too (my host sister, the 9-year old girl, can speak both English and Chinese and there is another exchange student from New Zealand living in this family!). I believe that my last week in Japan will be wonderful.
(Chong Li, China)
