I've been working out a plan for the past several months to return to Japan yet again, and it's finally coming close to time. On the 30th of August, I'll be flying out with a friend to spend a month in Japan. This time, I don't have any classes to take or tourguides to follow. It's just us doing what we want to for a whole month.
For the first couple weeks, we'll be staying most of the time with the same friend I stayed with two years ago, only now we'll be in Utsunomiya instead of Yokkaichi. We haven't nailed down all the details, but we do plan to visit Tokyo for a few days, as well as Nikko, and if we can manage them, Kyoto and Osaka.
For the last two weeks, I'll be instead staying with my brother's family on his vacation, after my friend returns to the U.S. That will be mostly around Tokyo with Kyoto towards the end. So this time, I'll be the tourguide. The friend who lives there speaks and reads Japanese at a fairly high level which can help in the beginning, but the one coming with me only knows a little, and my brother's family knows none. So by then, it will be up to me to handle all the foreign interactions. All of them. I'm a little nervous about that.
I'll definitely be maintaining this blog as much as I can while I'm gone, so look forward to it. And in the meantime, Otakon is coming up as well, so I'll try to actually post some pictures this year.
Showing posts with label preparation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label preparation. Show all posts
Back To Japan!
It's been a while since I posted here, huh.
I'm heading back to Japan. Most of you who actually know me probably found out through other means, but I've won an all-expense-paid 10-day trip to Japan, courtesy of the Japanese government, for a brand new youth cultural exchange program they're doing. They picked three American universities, and mine happened to be one of them. And they actually chose me from among all the applicants (along with 22 other students) to get to go!
I leave Monday. We'll be heading to Tokyo this time instead of Osaka, so I'll get to see a lot of new places. Since it's all planned by the government, every day looks like it's going to be completely packed this time. Usually we'll be visiting 3-4 different locations each day. This is going to be super busy, but should also be a lot of fun.
I don't know how much internet access I'll have there. I think I'll have some during the middle days of the trip, but probably not in the beginning or end. I'll be sure to take lots of pictures and post when I can. Look forward to it! :)
I'm heading back to Japan. Most of you who actually know me probably found out through other means, but I've won an all-expense-paid 10-day trip to Japan, courtesy of the Japanese government, for a brand new youth cultural exchange program they're doing. They picked three American universities, and mine happened to be one of them. And they actually chose me from among all the applicants (along with 22 other students) to get to go!
I leave Monday. We'll be heading to Tokyo this time instead of Osaka, so I'll get to see a lot of new places. Since it's all planned by the government, every day looks like it's going to be completely packed this time. Usually we'll be visiting 3-4 different locations each day. This is going to be super busy, but should also be a lot of fun.
I don't know how much internet access I'll have there. I think I'll have some during the middle days of the trip, but probably not in the beginning or end. I'll be sure to take lots of pictures and post when I can. Look forward to it! :)
Days 34-36: Preparation for departure and farewell
Once again, not a whole lot to say about these days. I didn't end up going out and doing anything exciting, although I did go into downtown Yokkaichi with Charlie for dinner last night. He took me out to a Chinese place. It helps that he speaks Chinese. There were actually a lot of Chinese people on the street there, too. It wasn't exactly a great neighborhood, but we were okay.
I did get out some to do shopping and such, but otherwise I've mostly been at home preparing to leave. I'm going to do one last bit of shopping this morning at Book Off and see if I can find a couple of good mangas with Charlie's help. I haven't bought any yet, but they've got really cheap ones, and reading will definitely help to improve my vocabulary.
After that's done, I'll get to the train station around 11:00 for the 11:13 train, and start my journey back home. It should take roughly 25 hours. That's a long trip. I've got three train rides, followed by three plane rides and a car ride before I get home. I'll be bringing my two suitcases, which each now weigh in at about 48 pounds, and my backpack, at about 25 pounds. At least the weight is a little better distributed than when I came to Charlie's house, but it'll still be a pain lugging it all around.
Okay, I'm going to finish up the last-minute packing (like with this laptop) and head out. It's been fun here in Japan. I hope to return someday. Bye!
I did get out some to do shopping and such, but otherwise I've mostly been at home preparing to leave. I'm going to do one last bit of shopping this morning at Book Off and see if I can find a couple of good mangas with Charlie's help. I haven't bought any yet, but they've got really cheap ones, and reading will definitely help to improve my vocabulary.
After that's done, I'll get to the train station around 11:00 for the 11:13 train, and start my journey back home. It should take roughly 25 hours. That's a long trip. I've got three train rides, followed by three plane rides and a car ride before I get home. I'll be bringing my two suitcases, which each now weigh in at about 48 pounds, and my backpack, at about 25 pounds. At least the weight is a little better distributed than when I came to Charlie's house, but it'll still be a pain lugging it all around.
Okay, I'm going to finish up the last-minute packing (like with this laptop) and head out. It's been fun here in Japan. I hope to return someday. Bye!
Days 27 and 28: Family restaurant, finals and the farewell party
First to finish up yesterday's events. For dinner, the family wanted to take me out to a restaurant as a sort of farewell gift. I didn't have any particular preferences, and I don't know much about the restaurants around here anyway, so I let them suggest some, and we decided on a family restaurant. I don't know the name, though.
When we got there, I looked through the menu and felt right at home. A lot of the stuff would have been pretty normal to see on an American menu. I ended up ordering a mixed plate with kind of a meatloaf, fried chicken similar to what I had at the izakaya, mixed vegetables, hashbrowns, corn soup, and french bread (sort of). And I got the juice bar, which is just unlimited drinks of whatever was there. The food was really good, and I ended up drinking three cups of Calpis water when I saw it was on the drink list. That stuff is really good. I've heard it's some sort of yogurt thing, but I don't think that's quite right. According to their website, it's a "lactic-acid" drink, so it's milk based in some way, but I don't know. Yukie thought it was really funny that I liked it so much.
Now on to today.
Despite the weather report saying 100% chance of rain through about 4pm today, it had already stopped before I woke up and it didn't rain at all today. That was a nice, unexpected boon.
I was a little late to school again, but it didn't really matter. They tell us to get there at 9, but class doesn't start until 9:20 or 9:30, and they usually don't give announcements until 5 or 10 minutes before that, so I didn't miss much. Anyway, we all had to fill out surveys about our host families, the school experience, the trip in general, and so on. We also returned the cell phones and ID cards the school gave us in the beginning, so I am now trapped in Japan without a cell phone. To be precise, I have one, but it only works in America.
In class, we each did a practice run-through of our survey result presentations and got a little feedback from the teacher, then did the real things in front of both classes, both teachers plus the program head, Kanzaki-sensei, and a couple of our Japanese buddies. I don't think there were any particular issues with the presentation. It seemed to run pretty smoothly.
After that, we paid our phone bills (mine was 300-some yen, by far the lowest. They charged 100 yen per minute), then went to lunch, which was the usual cheap kitsune udon for me. Kitsune means fox, but it's actually just tofu stuff. After lunch, I had my final kanji test. I'm not too confident in this one. I might have gotten 10/10, but I'm only really confident in 7 of them. This was one of the harder tests, and I didn't study much at all for it with everything else that's been going on. Oh well. Even if it's just 7/10, it's not as bad as I did on some of the early tests.
I came home and played piano for what will probably be the last time in Japan, then started packing my suitcases. At this point, everything's basically packed, minus what I'll be using tonight and tomorrow. I did manage to fit those figures in, but there's not really any room for more, so the rest will have to be shipped home. Well, maybe a couple small ones, but I don't know...
As I was packing, Yukie came in and told me that she had bought Taiyaki, which I vaguely remember telling her was one of the foods I wanted to try while I was in Japan. Taiyaki are fish-shaped pastries, usually filled with an, a red bean paste, but really they come with all sorts of sweet things inside. I of course had one, but I chose the custard-filled one instead of an, since I've had an before and didn't care much for it. It tasted really good.
Yukie also bought two bottles of concentrated Calpis formula for me to take home. Each bottle is supposed to be enough for 15 cups of the drink, so I'll be able to share it with everyone when I get back. She got two different flavors, though, one original and one grape, I think, which I've never tried. We'll have to see what it's like.
Around 6:00, I went to the farewell party at the school. I was biking over by myself, because Ranmaru had tennis at 6, so they'd be late. On the way over, I was going a little (a lot) too fast down the big hill right before the school, and came very close to being hit by a car when I went across a street on the hill. Like, within a few inches. Granted, he was already stopping anyway, so the car would have barely tapped me, but even still. I'd say it was about 80% my fault, although he was also pulling a little too far forward before stopping. Not like I'm likely to ever have the opportunity to again, but I don't plan to ride quite that fast when there are streets like that in the future. I roughly stopped my bike about 5 feet past the car, turned back and signaled that I was alright, saying "daijoubu" (which I'm sure he didn't hear), and continued on. I did get a slight scrape on the side of my knee from hitting the bike as I was trying to stop it, but it's nothing to worry about.
Ok, so anyway, the farewell ceremony closely resembled the opening ceremony, taking place in the chapel with much the same service. The difference was that this time, they presented us with certificates saying that we participated in the course and so on and so forth. I can only read about half of it.
Then we moved on to the party portion, and everyone toasted everyone (which I could actually participate in this time, since they had juice and not just tea) before moving on to dinner, which was all sorts of small foods. I stuck to dishes where people didn't have to use their own chopsticks to serve themselves, at least after the first trip, since I don't trust people to not use the end they eat off of. It was good, and enough to fill me up. They had a slideshow running most of the time on a giant projector screen, showing a lot of pictures that they had taken throughout the trip. It was fun to look at all those again. They also gave all the students a farewell package which included a CD, presumably with those pictures on it; a towel with the school's name and logo; and a bottle of... glue. I'm still scratching my head over that one, but whatever.
They also gave out prizes for the best presentations in the classes, one for the beginner class and one for the advanced class. My team won the prize for the beginner class. We each received an envelope containing... a cow keychain. But not just any cow keychain, oh no. This one has a button on its head, and when you press it, it moos and shoots blue lasers out of its nostrils. Seriously. Okay, maybe not lasers, but a really bright light. I really don't understand these gifts.
Most of the other students went to an izakaya after the farewell party, but I decided to come straight home instead. After all, I wasn't going to drink, and I was already pretty full from everything else, so I really didn't see the point in going to a buffet. I said my goodbyes and headed out. I rode my bike nice and slow on the way home.
So that's it for this house. I think I'll quickly take a few pictures of the rest of the house, since I never did actually do all that like I said I would, and then I'll get ready for bed and go to sleep. I have to get up pretty early tomorrow, so I should get as much sleep as I can. Goodnight.
When we got there, I looked through the menu and felt right at home. A lot of the stuff would have been pretty normal to see on an American menu. I ended up ordering a mixed plate with kind of a meatloaf, fried chicken similar to what I had at the izakaya, mixed vegetables, hashbrowns, corn soup, and french bread (sort of). And I got the juice bar, which is just unlimited drinks of whatever was there. The food was really good, and I ended up drinking three cups of Calpis water when I saw it was on the drink list. That stuff is really good. I've heard it's some sort of yogurt thing, but I don't think that's quite right. According to their website, it's a "lactic-acid" drink, so it's milk based in some way, but I don't know. Yukie thought it was really funny that I liked it so much.
Now on to today.
Despite the weather report saying 100% chance of rain through about 4pm today, it had already stopped before I woke up and it didn't rain at all today. That was a nice, unexpected boon.
I was a little late to school again, but it didn't really matter. They tell us to get there at 9, but class doesn't start until 9:20 or 9:30, and they usually don't give announcements until 5 or 10 minutes before that, so I didn't miss much. Anyway, we all had to fill out surveys about our host families, the school experience, the trip in general, and so on. We also returned the cell phones and ID cards the school gave us in the beginning, so I am now trapped in Japan without a cell phone. To be precise, I have one, but it only works in America.
In class, we each did a practice run-through of our survey result presentations and got a little feedback from the teacher, then did the real things in front of both classes, both teachers plus the program head, Kanzaki-sensei, and a couple of our Japanese buddies. I don't think there were any particular issues with the presentation. It seemed to run pretty smoothly.
After that, we paid our phone bills (mine was 300-some yen, by far the lowest. They charged 100 yen per minute), then went to lunch, which was the usual cheap kitsune udon for me. Kitsune means fox, but it's actually just tofu stuff. After lunch, I had my final kanji test. I'm not too confident in this one. I might have gotten 10/10, but I'm only really confident in 7 of them. This was one of the harder tests, and I didn't study much at all for it with everything else that's been going on. Oh well. Even if it's just 7/10, it's not as bad as I did on some of the early tests.
I came home and played piano for what will probably be the last time in Japan, then started packing my suitcases. At this point, everything's basically packed, minus what I'll be using tonight and tomorrow. I did manage to fit those figures in, but there's not really any room for more, so the rest will have to be shipped home. Well, maybe a couple small ones, but I don't know...
As I was packing, Yukie came in and told me that she had bought Taiyaki, which I vaguely remember telling her was one of the foods I wanted to try while I was in Japan. Taiyaki are fish-shaped pastries, usually filled with an, a red bean paste, but really they come with all sorts of sweet things inside. I of course had one, but I chose the custard-filled one instead of an, since I've had an before and didn't care much for it. It tasted really good.
Yukie also bought two bottles of concentrated Calpis formula for me to take home. Each bottle is supposed to be enough for 15 cups of the drink, so I'll be able to share it with everyone when I get back. She got two different flavors, though, one original and one grape, I think, which I've never tried. We'll have to see what it's like.
Around 6:00, I went to the farewell party at the school. I was biking over by myself, because Ranmaru had tennis at 6, so they'd be late. On the way over, I was going a little (a lot) too fast down the big hill right before the school, and came very close to being hit by a car when I went across a street on the hill. Like, within a few inches. Granted, he was already stopping anyway, so the car would have barely tapped me, but even still. I'd say it was about 80% my fault, although he was also pulling a little too far forward before stopping. Not like I'm likely to ever have the opportunity to again, but I don't plan to ride quite that fast when there are streets like that in the future. I roughly stopped my bike about 5 feet past the car, turned back and signaled that I was alright, saying "daijoubu" (which I'm sure he didn't hear), and continued on. I did get a slight scrape on the side of my knee from hitting the bike as I was trying to stop it, but it's nothing to worry about.
Ok, so anyway, the farewell ceremony closely resembled the opening ceremony, taking place in the chapel with much the same service. The difference was that this time, they presented us with certificates saying that we participated in the course and so on and so forth. I can only read about half of it.
Then we moved on to the party portion, and everyone toasted everyone (which I could actually participate in this time, since they had juice and not just tea) before moving on to dinner, which was all sorts of small foods. I stuck to dishes where people didn't have to use their own chopsticks to serve themselves, at least after the first trip, since I don't trust people to not use the end they eat off of. It was good, and enough to fill me up. They had a slideshow running most of the time on a giant projector screen, showing a lot of pictures that they had taken throughout the trip. It was fun to look at all those again. They also gave all the students a farewell package which included a CD, presumably with those pictures on it; a towel with the school's name and logo; and a bottle of... glue. I'm still scratching my head over that one, but whatever.
They also gave out prizes for the best presentations in the classes, one for the beginner class and one for the advanced class. My team won the prize for the beginner class. We each received an envelope containing... a cow keychain. But not just any cow keychain, oh no. This one has a button on its head, and when you press it, it moos and shoots blue lasers out of its nostrils. Seriously. Okay, maybe not lasers, but a really bright light. I really don't understand these gifts.
Most of the other students went to an izakaya after the farewell party, but I decided to come straight home instead. After all, I wasn't going to drink, and I was already pretty full from everything else, so I really didn't see the point in going to a buffet. I said my goodbyes and headed out. I rode my bike nice and slow on the way home.
So that's it for this house. I think I'll quickly take a few pictures of the rest of the house, since I never did actually do all that like I said I would, and then I'll get ready for bed and go to sleep. I have to get up pretty early tomorrow, so I should get as much sleep as I can. Goodnight.
Day 27: Drawing to a close
I just realized my day numbering has been off since the first week, so I went back and corrected all the titles since then.
Today was raining all day again. I got soaked from the waist down on my way home, despite my umbrella. I walked this time instead of biking.
We were going to do the archery today if it hadn't rained. It got rained out last week, and they moved it to today, then it got rained out today, so it's just not happening at all. That's one I was really looking forward to, too.
I can't believe how quickly time has passed/is passing. For some reason, all day I've been thinking it was Wednesday instead of Thursday, so when I just noticed what day it actually is, that made me feel as though it was passing even faster than it already felt like.
I leave here Saturday morning, but I don't have any of the actual details worked out. I think I'll take a train from here to Osaka, then a bus to Nagoya, then a train down to Yokkaichi. It's a longer trip than trains the whole way, but fewer transfers and cheaper. Once I arrive there, I'll meet up with my friend who will take me to his apartment where I can deposit all my stuff. Then I think we're planning to go out and get lunch somewhere, then we'll take a bus to Tokyo. I still don't really know what I'll be doing there yet, or how long I'm going to stay, but my friend can only stay one night, and he'll come back on Sunday night. I may or may not go with him. That depends on if there's anything else I really want to do there, and on how confident I am that I could find my way back by myself.
I should probably start packing everything up tonight, and make more solid plans about how I'm getting to Yokkaichi. My host family should be able to help me with that, I hope. I also still have homework to do, and a final test and presentation tomorrow.
Another round of quick observations:
Today was raining all day again. I got soaked from the waist down on my way home, despite my umbrella. I walked this time instead of biking.
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| A classic shot. I had to get this at some point during my stay. These mirrors are designed to help you see around corners so you can tell if cars are coming before you pull out. I've gotten used to using them somewhat when I ride my bike, and it's actually pretty helpful on the narrow streets. |
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| All the drainage systems were full of rushing water. |
I can't believe how quickly time has passed/is passing. For some reason, all day I've been thinking it was Wednesday instead of Thursday, so when I just noticed what day it actually is, that made me feel as though it was passing even faster than it already felt like.
I leave here Saturday morning, but I don't have any of the actual details worked out. I think I'll take a train from here to Osaka, then a bus to Nagoya, then a train down to Yokkaichi. It's a longer trip than trains the whole way, but fewer transfers and cheaper. Once I arrive there, I'll meet up with my friend who will take me to his apartment where I can deposit all my stuff. Then I think we're planning to go out and get lunch somewhere, then we'll take a bus to Tokyo. I still don't really know what I'll be doing there yet, or how long I'm going to stay, but my friend can only stay one night, and he'll come back on Sunday night. I may or may not go with him. That depends on if there's anything else I really want to do there, and on how confident I am that I could find my way back by myself.
I should probably start packing everything up tonight, and make more solid plans about how I'm getting to Yokkaichi. My host family should be able to help me with that, I hope. I also still have homework to do, and a final test and presentation tomorrow.
Another round of quick observations:
- Keyboards on Japanese computers are all different from the standard US ones. They have the hiragana printed on them, of course, but they also have a few extra keys here and there. One of the worst changes is that all the little symbols (!@#$%^&*()[];:'" etc) are in different places, so when I've had to use the computers to write things, it always takes a while to search for those. Also, the spacebar is tiny, and there's a button where the right side of it should be that changes it from English to hiragana/kanji, so it's really annoying when I keep accidentally hitting that. And apostrophe is something like shift+7. I never did figure out how to get an underscore.
- You don't hand cashiers money directly. Instead, you put it all into a tray next to the register. Once you've stopped putting money in, they'll count the coins one by one, pushing them with their fingertips as they go, and total up the bills, then pick it all up and put it away. When you get change, they'll take any bills first, count them for you while holding them up in front of you so you can see you're getting the right amount, then hand them to you. Coins are handed to you in a single pile, and generally not counted separately.
- Dryers seem to be rare. Looking at any apartment complex or on any residential street in the middle of the day, you'll see clothes hanging out on a line to dry.
- Meats are often served with all the fat, skin, cartilage etc. still on them. This is generally just eaten as is. I've only had bones in the meat twice: once at the barbeque, and once a couple nights ago in some fish. They apparently ate the fish bones, too, which I can't understand. Those things hurt when they jab you in the gums. I didn't eat those (well, I tried not to), and I took off most of the cartilage from the meats I had, but otherwise I ate it basically the same way they did.
Host family information GET!
With less than 2 days left before I leave, I finally got my host family's information. It looks like I'm going to be having a fun time with them. :) It's a young couple (early-mid 30s) and their small son. He should be especially fun. I always like little kids (provided they aren't constantly yelling and screaming. At me. Occasionally is fine).
They put down two things as their "interests/favorite activities:" Piano and reading. Now I definitely have to bring a lot of my sheet music to play while I'm there. They must have matched us up because I also listed both of those as my interests, piano first. They also say they have a dog, parakeet, and blowfish (?). Not sure why you'd have one of those, but okay. Almost the whole self-introduction sheet is in Japanese, so there are a few things I can't read, but most of it I can manage. Mine was almost all in English, so I wonder how well they could read mine.
Apparently, I'm supposed to bike 20 minutes to school each day. Hopefully they'll be providing the bike and helmet. <_< I'd half hoped I would be taking the train, just to get to experience that whole thing, but biking is fine, too, and should be a lot easier to get used to. I just hope it's not a hard ride, or I'll end up sweaty and tired every morning before I even start classes, and that definitely won't be fun. On the plus side, it's free, and I don't have to worry about train schedules.
Alright, so now I need to be sure to pick up some sort of small toy for the kid. I plan to do most of my packing today, and go out shopping tomorrow for some omiyage. I'm getting so excited! I haven't been able to calm down for a week!
They put down two things as their "interests/favorite activities:" Piano and reading. Now I definitely have to bring a lot of my sheet music to play while I'm there. They must have matched us up because I also listed both of those as my interests, piano first. They also say they have a dog, parakeet, and blowfish (?). Not sure why you'd have one of those, but okay. Almost the whole self-introduction sheet is in Japanese, so there are a few things I can't read, but most of it I can manage. Mine was almost all in English, so I wonder how well they could read mine.
Apparently, I'm supposed to bike 20 minutes to school each day. Hopefully they'll be providing the bike and helmet. <_< I'd half hoped I would be taking the train, just to get to experience that whole thing, but biking is fine, too, and should be a lot easier to get used to. I just hope it's not a hard ride, or I'll end up sweaty and tired every morning before I even start classes, and that definitely won't be fun. On the plus side, it's free, and I don't have to worry about train schedules.
Alright, so now I need to be sure to pick up some sort of small toy for the kid. I plan to do most of my packing today, and go out shopping tomorrow for some omiyage. I'm getting so excited! I haven't been able to calm down for a week!
One week to Japan
Just one week from now, I'll be in Japan, trying to navigate an airport and meeting my host family for the first time. I'm getting so nervous! I've never left the country before, aside from a couple hours in Canada seeing Niagara Falls. That hardly counts. This will be my first time going somewhere where I won't be able to reliably communicate with everyone. I mean, my Japanese isn't bad, and I'm a quick learner, but there's no way I can prepare for everything I'll want to say or that other people will tell me. And after all, learning is the whole point of the trip.
It also doesn't help that I've been learning the Tokyo dialect (the primary national dialect) but I'll be staying in Osaka. From what I've listened to before, it seems like almost half the words and phrases they use in the Kansai region are exclusive to that area, and I hardly know any of them. This will definitely be a challenge. On the plus side, they're a lot more direct in Kansai than the typical Japanese, so I don't have to be so worried about offending people if I don't do the whole "say no without saying no" thing properly. Although they might think of me as being all high-and-mighty for speaking only the Tokyo dialect instead of their own, but that can't really be helped.
I still haven't figured out what gift to bring my host family, and I haven't been told anything about them yet. I was supposed to hear something during this past week, but I haven't. I'll probably end up buying some generic box of chocolates or something if I don't find out anything soon.
That's it for now. Until next time.
It also doesn't help that I've been learning the Tokyo dialect (the primary national dialect) but I'll be staying in Osaka. From what I've listened to before, it seems like almost half the words and phrases they use in the Kansai region are exclusive to that area, and I hardly know any of them. This will definitely be a challenge. On the plus side, they're a lot more direct in Kansai than the typical Japanese, so I don't have to be so worried about offending people if I don't do the whole "say no without saying no" thing properly. Although they might think of me as being all high-and-mighty for speaking only the Tokyo dialect instead of their own, but that can't really be helped.
I still haven't figured out what gift to bring my host family, and I haven't been told anything about them yet. I was supposed to hear something during this past week, but I haven't. I'll probably end up buying some generic box of chocolates or something if I don't find out anything soon.
That's it for now. Until next time.
Omiyage, a gift for my host family
I'm trying to figure out what I should give my host family as a gift when I arrive. I don't know anything about them yet, which makes it kind of hard to decide on anything. I need something that is distinctly American. I could go with food, but there's not much American food that isn't just borrowed from somewhere else, and what food there is wouldn't survive the trip. I could get a decoration of some sort, like colonial-era glassware or something, but it would need to be small and I'd have to make sure to pack it extra carefully so it doesn't break. Anyone have any ideas? I'd appreciate some suggestions.
Coming ever closer
Only 3 weeks left before I leave, and most of that time is going to be extremely busy. I still have 4 finals to take (I finished 2 classes yesterday), and of course I still have to finish preparing everything for the trip. Got to register for the credits I'll be taking - I plan to do that today or tomorrow - and go to the orientation this Saturday. Then I've got a bunch of stuff I should buy before I leave, like a new backpack. I've needed one for years, because my current one is falling apart and hardly closes anymore. I'll definitely need something better if I'm traveling. So busy, and I am so not ready... >_<
By the way, what do you think of the background? Too flashy/gaudy? I chose it since it's summery, and related to Japan, so... yeah. And it was big enough to fill the space.
By the way, what do you think of the background? Too flashy/gaudy? I chose it since it's summery, and related to Japan, so... yeah. And it was big enough to fill the space.
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