The classes were really fun! We studied Japanese popular culture and traditional culture and how they've influenced each other over time. We watched movies, animations, read a few books (which we were recommended to read before the trip), and even some comics. We also had lessons in traditional arts like calligraphy, tea ceremony, and flower arrangement. Parts of the week were also spent visiting other cities in Japan and places in Okazaki, which is the city the Youth Center was in. Oh, I forgot to mention that several groups of high schoolers would spend a few night at this Youth Center for basketball camp, or English camp or something, which was awesome because we got to meet a ton of people this way! Japanese kids all take English in school, which doesn't mean they're fluent of course (I took years of Spanish and I suck x) ), but we could usually communicate a surprising amount with what they knew and with what little Japanese we knew. That was the coolest part, meeting Japanese people and finding commonalities with them, despite our cultures being radically different. Anyway, in Okazaki we visited Okazaki Castle and park, a spectacular art museum, city hall, and a miso factory. After class, we'd often go explore the city on our own, like shopping centers, bakeries, convenience stores, arcades, and this fantastic used book shop that was filled wall to wall with comics. We of course had to balance our time with our assignments. We didn't really have homework, except to be prepared for discussion in class, which was always super interesting. We did have a final paper and a few tests, but they were easy haha. Mannnn, this is making me feel nostalgic. I want to go back. Or just travel with a group again, anywhere. There's nothing better than going to a foreign country with a bunch of people because you get to know everyone so well and they know you and it's like there's no better way to bond with someone than when you've gotten sort of lost someplace but you don't really care because everything around you is interesting and different than what you're used to xD 

I want to show you some of the pictures I took! I'm going to try to find this webpage I made for a class a while ago (don't judge my web skillz haha) that has some pics on it.

Wow, it sounds like you did really well!! First with gold! Are you like the best one in your class? Don't be modest x) It's fun to see how passionate you are about all of this. What does it mean to get an invite into the showcase? You get to perform at another competition? Do you have competitions every weekend?

I listen to all kinds of stuff really, I like variety. Although, I'm not really a fan of country music or hardcore rap. Right now I'm in love with a band called The Shins.