I received more information about my upcoming year in Japan! Yayyy! I emailed the university and (politely) reminded them that I leave in a week, and they sent me all the information I'd been waiting for. :)
I've been assigned a studio apartment in a building about three kilometers away from campus. I have some issues with the distance (I'm used to living right on campus), but, to be honest, living in a cramped Japanese apartment is a dream I've developed over the past year, and I'm so glad I'll be able to experience it. I'm even looking forward to commuting on a bike... once I get over initial fears of 1) navigating a bike on streets (cars are big and metal and scary!), and 2) navigating a bike on the left side of streets ("OMG, all my knowledge of how to legally move on a street is now backwards!") I also have the option of taking the 地下鉄 (ちかてつ, subway) to school, but right now I'm partial to investing in a 自転車 (じてんしゃ, bicycle). It seems like the price of a bike and occasional maintenance would be a lot less than a year's worth of daily subway tickets.
I want to say more about the apartment, but I'm sure it's just a standard apartment, haha. I can't stop myself from saying this, though: I'll have a TV! I grew up having a TV in my bedroom, but I lost that luxury once I got to college. So, after two years of missing all my favorite shows (except one: LOST), I'm excited to once again have my own TV, even if all but a few of the shows will be in a language I don't understand well. :P
My level of Japanese comprehension is low, but I've made sure to review Japanese this summer. I've actually been studying a lot, so please forgive me while I toot my own horn for a little bit. I've been reviewing vocabulary, grammar, and kanji every day. Unfortunately, my speaking and reading (outloud) abilities have gone downhill, but now I know all but six of the vocabulary words in Genki 1. I know that's nothing to people who have studied Japanese longer, but I've been worried about not testing into the level of Japanese I should be in. Someone who studied abroad last year told me he tested into a class way lower than his actual level. (But I don't know how much he reviewed the summer before he went and if that could have affected his results.)
Speaking of studying Japanese, here's a website recommendation: readthekanji.com. I love the site. It's such a great way to learn and review kanji. They're broken up into the JLPT levels, and it's great motivation to look at your stats and see the number of kanji you know grow. Okay, I'm sure I sounded really nerdy just now....
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Saturday, September 5, 2009
The Prologue: Twelve Days
I'm sitting here in my parents' house, my home when college isn't in session, and it's twelve days until I leave for Japan. I've been counting down the days since I got home, and my departure has slowly gone from being about sixty-seven days away to twelve. Twelve is a lot smaller than sixty-seven, but the days are still crawling by....
From September 2009 until July 2010, I'll be studying at a university in Nagoya. Even though the school year will end in July, right now my plan is to stay in Japan and work until the end of August so I can get a flight straight to my college at the start of my home university's school year. That way I can save maybe $200-400, by not flying back home for a month and then flying back to college. (Hey, I'm a poor college student. Saving even $200 helps.)
Lately my nights have gone like this. I reread the following portion of an email for maybe the fiftieth time:
I don't know if I'll keep this blog going during my time in Japan. I used to be the kind of person that would spend hours and hours on LiveJournal, typing out entries about the insignificance details of my life. I've slowly been steering away from writing about my life over the past couple of years. That includes my personal journal, too -- I stopped writing in it a little over a year ago. I became embarrassed to write down my feelings, because then I could go back and read how I used to think and see how wrong I was. But this past year didn't go too well (when considering my emotional well-being), and so I thought I'd better start writing again this year, especially since I'll be in a foreign country for so long.
I was also hesitant to even attempt to keep a blog about my trip because I don't want to be another story where the gaijin who knows a smidge of Japanese goes to study in or travel around Japan, says, "Wow, it's so different here," and then goes back home. There are already so many blogs like that out there right now (no offense to them), and I don't think I could bring anything new to the table. Also, my year in Japan isn't just a study abroad experience. This is also my chance to spend time with my long-distance boyfriend. We're planning out our post-grad future together, and right now that future includes living in Japan. So, living in Japan for a year is testing my ability to live in Japan long-term, in a way. It's a chance for me to prepare for my future, I guess. I don't know if what I'll have to say are things people will want to read about. I don't feel comfortable writing about my relationship with my boyfriend, and without that, my blog will probably be white noise against other blogs.
Well, we'll see what happens. :)
From September 2009 until July 2010, I'll be studying at a university in Nagoya. Even though the school year will end in July, right now my plan is to stay in Japan and work until the end of August so I can get a flight straight to my college at the start of my home university's school year. That way I can save maybe $200-400, by not flying back home for a month and then flying back to college. (Hey, I'm a poor college student. Saving even $200 helps.)
Lately my nights have gone like this. I reread the following portion of an email for maybe the fiftieth time:
Details of your accommodation, including your room
number, will be notified by the beginning of
September.I don't know if I'll keep this blog going during my time in Japan. I used to be the kind of person that would spend hours and hours on LiveJournal, typing out entries about the insignificance details of my life. I've slowly been steering away from writing about my life over the past couple of years. That includes my personal journal, too -- I stopped writing in it a little over a year ago. I became embarrassed to write down my feelings, because then I could go back and read how I used to think and see how wrong I was. But this past year didn't go too well (when considering my emotional well-being), and so I thought I'd better start writing again this year, especially since I'll be in a foreign country for so long.
I was also hesitant to even attempt to keep a blog about my trip because I don't want to be another story where the gaijin who knows a smidge of Japanese goes to study in or travel around Japan, says, "Wow, it's so different here," and then goes back home. There are already so many blogs like that out there right now (no offense to them), and I don't think I could bring anything new to the table. Also, my year in Japan isn't just a study abroad experience. This is also my chance to spend time with my long-distance boyfriend. We're planning out our post-grad future together, and right now that future includes living in Japan. So, living in Japan for a year is testing my ability to live in Japan long-term, in a way. It's a chance for me to prepare for my future, I guess. I don't know if what I'll have to say are things people will want to read about. I don't feel comfortable writing about my relationship with my boyfriend, and without that, my blog will probably be white noise against other blogs.
Well, we'll see what happens. :)
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