This past summer, I took the trip of a lifetime. I lived in Japan with a Japanese family for six weeks. I became so close with this family in just the six short weeks I spent with them. I had no idea what I was going to encounter on my trip before I left; there were also many hardships included in this experience, but I gained more from this trip than I could ever imagine.
I had to leave so many of my friends behind during the summer. This was the summer before my senior year, and was supposed to be one of the best summers ever. I also was supposed to train for the football season, so I had to leave my team behind as well. This is my last year playing football, and to leave my team behind was heartbreaking. It was almost as if I was letting the team down. However, I talked to my friends, family, teammates, and coach, and they all encouraged me to go since this was a once in a lifetime experience. So I prepared for weeks; I had to buy clothes, study the culture, and get mentally prepared for the change I was about to endure.
Finally the time came for me to leave, and it was a very emotional day for the family. The airport worker let my mom come to the terminal just so she could watch me board the plane. The first few days, I went to University of California at Berkley to learn more about the Japanese culture. After that it was off to Japan. I remember my host family picking me up from to airport. I was so nervous when I met the family that was going to live with for the next six weeks of my life. The first two weeks was the hardest. I was not accustomed to my life yet, and the young kids I was living with were not accustomed to me yet. I missed my family and friends, and was thinking that the trip was a bad idea. I only talked to my parents for a total of twelve minutes the first two weeks. At school, there were only two people that I could actually talk to. I was lonely, and just wanted to come back home.
As time went on, the family warmed up to me, and I felt more at home there. The kids in my home truly looked at me like a brother, and I looked at them like my siblings. I even did house chores, and took care of the kids while the parents were not at home. The family really trusted me and took me in as one of treated me as one of the family members. My grandparents even saw me as one of the grandchildren. They bought gifts for me when they went to Tokyo, and took me to Kyoto, which was Japan's first capital. I loved the family, and I actually see them as my own family. The hardest part of the whole trip was when I had to leave. I had grown so close to the family, and then I just had to leave. The hardest thing about it was knowing that I might not ever see them again.
Going on this trip was a huge risk; I had no idea what I was going to encounter with this trip. This trip taught me how lucky we are to live in America. There is so much that we take for granted that others would not dare of doing. This trip gave me more than that though, because I gained more than I could have ever imagined before I went on this trip. I gained life experiences, friends, and most of all, another family.
Why don't you start with a grabber like,
It's a lifetime experience I had last summer. I went to a trip to Japan to live with a family with a view to getting introduced to the culture there(If that is why you went there, substitute with your reason) . I lived with a family there for six long weeks of my life and have gained a lot of valuable skills. Though a had to go through a lot of hardship to overcome such as getting accustomed with the family members, (give other hardships you had) ... Still this is a trip that would help me grow more.
In the 2nd para instead of telling about what you had to leave tell about what you were expecting in Japan, how were you feeling about the trip, what you were thinking about the host family...
The first two weeks was the hardest. I was not accustomed to my life yet, and the young kids I was living with were not accustomed to me either ...
The kids in my home truly looked at me like a brother, and I looked at them like my siblings. ... Make it short.
Their grandparents even saw me as one of the grandchildren. I loved the family, and I actually saw them as my own family.
The hardest part of the whole trip was when I had to leave. I had grown so close to the family, and then I just had to leave. The hardest thing about it was knowing that I might not ever see them again. . Say that one of the hard things was to leave the family. You grew very close to them and it was heartbreaking when you realized that you might never see them again.
In the last para, delete Going on this trip was a huge risk; Write something like, going on this trip was a significant experience for you though you had no idea what was ahead.
You said that you were lucky to live in America but why you didn't mention anywhere in the preceding paragraphs. So you might want to show some bad side or underprivileged side of Japan which you didn't like. Change the last two sentences too!
Last of all it's all a advice from me, I myself am in big trouble with mine. Just follow what seems astonishing to you.
