AOI=Environments
Day 1
I woke up at 5am on Monday and took the YCAT (Yokohama City Air Terminal) at 6:53am. Then the whole school met at the 4th clock tower in terminal 1 at Haneda Airport. We then went through security and boarded the plane and took my seat in 34 J. The plane took 1 1/2 hours of flight before we landed in Hokkaido. Then we took a 2 hour bus ride to Sapporo, stopping only for a brief break at a store. Then we arrived at NAC and unloaded our main suitcase’s. We then had lunch at NAC which was late so all of us where actually quite hungry. The lunch however was a COLD burger! So no one ended up eating much because it didn’t taste very good. After we took a 2 hour hike to a campsite and everybody was cold, but despite that, the view of the mountains was really nice and it was so nice to breath the fresh air from all the growth and to be finally in open spaces. I really enjoyed that bit, because normally im surrounded by buildings and pollution. But we couldn’t wait or rest we had to cook dinner. We had to make a fire and chop vegetables and make curry for our dinner as well as make a tent. We separated into 2 groups and I was in the cooking group. But even the cooking group had groups so I was with my friends. But in our group we happened to have such a good fire that we burnt through or pot. But every one had plenty to share so it was fine. Then we got into our tent groups for the night. I had Daniel, Jake, Axel, Jaime, Henning and Kai. After we got our sleeping bags and set them up in the tent. Then some people walked to the onsen but I wasn’t one of them. We were given some free time to hang out with our friends until 9-10 pm. The night at the camp site was freezing and the worst part is that we didn’t have a pillow. I had some clothes rolled up but it didn’t really or help.It may not seem like much but it hurts your neck. Any how we survived.
Day 2
When we woke up it was like 6 which was far too early but we still did it because…well I dont really know why but we did. Any how a few of my friends and me decided that we would take a mini hike before breakfast to see the view. It was amazing. It spanned all over the little town that we had been in and spread right out to this big mountain that later we would basically travel around. Then we went back and had breakfast which was an egg sandwich with lettuce, tomato and cheese. Then we (grade) had a mini hike going to where my friends and I had been in the morning. After we packed up all the tents and sleeping bags and left for lunch at HIS (Hokkaido International School). We again had sandwich’s for lunch with chips and drinks. Then we played american football with Jake’s CFL ball. Then we went to a Japanese school and did Japanese flower arranging (ikebana) with flowers home grown from that school. It was quite a nice school and their main education was all about nature, with of corse the mandatory curriculum. Then we took a short bus ride to a Japanese farm. The lady there was really nice but you could defiantly tell that she was a country and farm person. Any how she explained what we were doing which happened to be taking down greenhouse’s. We first had to take little connecting bits out and then we pulled the tightly connected bars which where then bound up and put away. After she gave us little candy and we got to work on her home grown pumpkins. With the pumpkins we made Halloween lanterns! It was funny and very fun. Then we had dinner at NAC which was fish and that was alright but it was again a tad bit cold for my liking. Then most of the boys went to the onsen which was so nice and refreshing. Then we had to go to a recreation room that the school had rented for us. It was where we did all of our night activities. Any how thats where we wrote out our journal. So that basically what we did. Then we went to bed, but we had to make them so that took a bit of time and me and my friends messed around a bit before we finished making our bed and lights out (10:00pm).
Day 3
We woke up the next day at 5 even though we were supposed to wake up at 6 but someone next door forgot to turn his alarm off so we woke up at 5. I was very tired and clumsily walked to breakfast. The breakfast it self was actually quite nice even though it was very japanese style. I had bread and fruit for this day but the options where a lot more than that. Then we went to NAC HQ to get into the day’s activities. We then separated a NAC. I firstly had to go and get my dry suit on and dry shoes on though because the water where we where going was supposably cold and they want us to have it on (I kinda like the idea of not being wet and cold). Then we got on a bus to the lake/sea which was called Lake Toya. It took 1 1/2 hours to get to. When we got there we were all kind of uncomfortable because of the dry suit. Then we had a quick tutorial on how to row and how to get the boat in the water. I was teamed up with Jamie for the two person kayak. Then we lowered the boat down a steep hill into the cold water. Well it wasn’t really that cold but it was a shock to my system but I got used to it and then it got quite a comfortable temperature and warm. Me and Jamie worked really well together and where first most of the way to the island. It was a 2.6 km kayak though it seemed like 4km. We did rest a lot because some people where slow and we were battling current and wind as well as the rain which came down hard half way through. Then about 1-2 hours later we arrived at the island. It was so nice and the tree’s and greenery was so nice. Though the rain ruined it a bit for me. Then we ate lunch which was wraps. They were pretty good but I was so hungry anything would have been satisfying. Then since I was first I was given the slower person as my partner and that meant that I was slowed down quite a bit. Since we had wind on our side we arrived back to the bus in 30-1 hour. Then we went back to NAC to have a very good italian buffet dinner. It was very tasty. Then we went back to a warm hotel with an onsen which again most of the boys went to. Then we went to the recreation room to practice skits for the last night, write journals and watch a movie called Eragon which was about dragons. Then again my friends and I messed around with my friends agin before lights out.
Day 4
This time I woke up properly at 6am and I was well rested. And every then went to the same buffet breakfast. Then we went to NAC HQ. Then we got our already WET dry suit, which was already very uncomfortable. The we got on the bus to a river called Shinbetsu river, it was a short bus ride. And since it had rained before the water level was a lot higher than the day before. The river noticeably colder than the sea/lake. Then we went down the river. We had three chances to jump into the water but I choose not to because I was already cold and there was wind which made it really cold. Finally the journey ended on the river and we picked up our raft and put it on a trailer and went to lunch. We had soba lunch which was actually really good. Then we went and picked up our bikes where we put the rafts away. The bike ride back was all through forest and mud. Being out with nature was so nice and fun and the view was wonderful. We went mountain biking around the base of Mt.Yoteisan. We biked a total 20 km. Then we went back to NAC HQ. We had dinner which was an open taco thing but instead of a tortia it was rice. Then we went back to the hotel and we went to the onsen. Then we wrote our journal, and then we had skit night. That was really funny and fun. Then we went to sleep.
Day 5
We got to sleep in today! Then we went to breakfast and we had the usual buffet and as usual it was pretty good. Then we had packed up our room and bags. Which was a bit of a chore because there was only boys in our room, so it wasn’t so clean and neat. But we passed room check from our teachers. We then took a last look at the nature and the hotel before taking the 2 hour bus to the Sapporo Airport. The greenery and all the nature and was so nice and I was sad to go 
. Through out the camp we littered a lot which was disrupting the environment. This was really bad on our behalf. Its unhealthy and animals and wildlife could die because they think the trash is food. As well as it ruins the view and the experience for others as well as it destroys nature and it may ruin nature for different generations. ON the extreme case it could influence others to do it. And then there is so much litter and garbage that so many of the animals eat it and die. And then they could become extinct. This is very far fetched but we could influence people to do this and that is not good. Its a nice area and we should have respected it, and make sure you dont do it.I bought some special chocolate from hokkaido. It very good, its so creamy and rich…in other words really unhealthy but delicious. Then the 1 1/2 hour plane ride home. It was long and boring. Then we collected our bags at the check point thing and then left and took the bus home. I was welcomed finally by my family and the buildings and all the crammed space.
