I went to Japan with classmates from my Japanese class, I was going onto my senior year and there were people my age one a year older and some a year or two younger. and to quickly summarize where I stood with them, basically I was horribly lacking in social skills at the start of high school, tried to befriend clasmates, they would ignore me on the bus but be "friendly" towards me in class, ultimately it was hard to tell where I stood with them, they could be my friend one day and giving me the death stare the next. I said something to the head of the group, let's call her Paige, in an insensitive way and got Paige royally pissed at me, I apologized before going to Japan and she "forgave" me but said "there are boundaries".
We arrive in Japan and this is a two week trip , the first week was a homestay. Well I'd spoken to the highschooler I was staying with via Facebook before but I was still a nervous wreck and they had food prepared but I really wasn't hungry so I didn't eat much and just in general was awkward because I was scared of upsetting them by overstepping some boundary not knowing their rules or how things work there. and they offered me a chance to take a bath but I shower in the morning so I declined this too. Next day they had an assembly at school and my Japanese teacher pulls me out and tells me the family was super concerned cause I did not eat or shower last night. I explained I was just nervous but teacher said that I needed to not decline that stuff in the future because it's part of their culture.
Also during that first week, I had asked my online friends what they wanted pictures of, someone said to take a picture of ecchi (So perverted anime art) and so I kept my eye out for anything that might fit that, I was at a convenience store with the family, and saw a magazine with suggestive anime girls on the front so I looked behind me, no one around, I quickly try to skim through the magazine (No plastic on it) only to get my shirt pulled by my host high schooler and told that was the adult section and I needed to not look at that stuff. I was a bit embarrassed and mad at myself for being stupid and trying to fufill that friend's request.. Also at a convenience store the first morning we were in Japan, I accidently grabbed a can of sake thinking it was preach juice or soda cause there was a peach on the can. It seemed like that incident was something people laughed off, no big deal . . .but it turned out to be.
Second week was for going to different cities and touring. I had already been getting minor signs from Paige and the peeps my age that they were in a "hate my guts" mode that second week, even though the first week was filled with us happily sharing stories about our home stays. Seemed like the moment I tried talking to them the second week they responded with a "Why do you exist" reaction. The younger peeps were nervous about speking Japanese, so rather than be in an uncomfortable situation with the people my age, I went off to help the younger kids, only all of the adults ended up going with the younger group so I was stuck with them. At one point we were at a restraunt having lunch, the teacher seems to have this weird headache and just trying to be understanding I blurted out I had anemia and sometimes felt weak from that. He looked at me shocked and goes "You have anemia?" And I confirmed I did. Big mistake.
So the teacher a bit after this pulls me aside and asks me how much money I had left because other kids on the trip were running into their own money issues and I had just spend 20 dollars buying like ten volumes of a manga that was discontinued in America but I loved and wanted to support (manga is 2 dollars a volume there, Japanese comic book). I was really religious at the time and didn't want to lie, so I said how much I had (Like 40 dollars?) and the teacher got really nervous because we had to pay for our own lunches (the organization we were traveling with took care of breakfast and dinner) and knowing I was anemic I thought I absolutely needed to eat lunch or I would like, die. (Not true, I went through high school constantly for one reason or another not eating breakfast, lunch or both on bad days and I was fine but I didn't say that). At one point we were in an anime sotre and I found this 4 dollar anime figurine of a girl I knew my friend back home would love. It was in a glass display case despite being only 4 dollars so I kinda told my teacher who was there at the time I wanted to buy it, but he refused to let me due to my anemia and needing to save money for lunch the rest of that week. He said we'd come back at the end of the week and get it if I had money left but me being frustrated with being stuck with these people over watching me, I raised my voice a bit and went "We're not going to be here by the end of the week" Which I thought was true (We actually went back to Tokyo the night before we left) but he didn't bring that up and this classmate dragged me along to look at merch himself cause we needed a "buddy" anywhere we went.
That was the beginning of the week, and after that when we split up the rest of the week, I would try not to go with the younger kids because of that experience with the teachers/chaperones (there were three). But everytime my teacher would call out to someone in whatever group I tried to go with and would try to point at me like "Nyako is tagging along with you guys, make sure she doesn't so stupid shit". Annndd that certainly did not help my standing with anybody. Leading to after dinner each night, we were randomly rotated room mate wise at hotels and everyone would just go do something with their friends but no one invited or seemed to want me to come along so I would have to sit, alone in the hotel room with the only key, watching Japanese TV while I waited for the roommate to come back from doing whatever so I could finally go to sleep myself.
The last night we were in Japan we were in Tokyo again and after dinner I tried to get with Paige and her group since I hadn't talked to them much all week, and again, the younger kids had the teachers, Well when they noticed I was trying to catch up with them they quickened their pace and ultimately ran accross a crosswalk . by the time I got there the light turned red. They ran away from me, leaving me alone, in Tokyo, and it was getting dark, and I had no idea how to get back to the hotel at that point. If the one older girl hadn't seen this all go down from behind me and stuck with me, I would have been fuuuccckkkkeeedd. We went to an arcade and met up with two other people on the trip.
So, I learned from that trip not to take risks, because around the wrong people I'd be treated like a baby.
And ultimately, jut not to go on a trip with people who I did not stand on the best grounds with.
TL;DR: Went to Japan with class I almost bought sake mistakingly, looked at ecchi manga, was awkward as fuck during the homestay, admitted I was anemic and complained when the teacher strongarmed me into not spending my little remaining money on anything but lunch and as a result got treated like a baby and burden the rest of the trip.
