Japan rocks!

Alright so I took notes along the way but I think I am just going to paraphrase here because there is SOOO much to write!

Flight: The flight was definetely a trip that I would not want to make again any time soon. Which is good because I don't have to do that again until December. All together the trip took 16-17 hours. 5 hours from Baltimore to San Francisco and then 11 hours from San Francisco to Kansai International. The flight from BWI to SF passed pretty easily and I ended sitting next to two very exciting people: a guy from the army and a woman from the marines. The flight from SF to Kansai took an interesting turn when I allowed a Japanese mother to change seats with me so she could be with her kids. She was SO nice and her kids were adorable! For most of the flight I talked with Ellen and Laura. Jen was farther away from me so I couldn't hear her much. But Ellen and I kept commenting on how cute the kid next to me was. He slept most of the flight miraculously!!

Arrival: Surprisingly after we got off the plane checking in with customs went pretty smoothly. Unfortunately I left my pillow behind on the plane and while walking through customs the guy there seemed very unhappy and angry. Not the best kind of person to work with. After getting through all that we found the Kansai Gaidai guide pretty easily. We mulled around in the airport for a bit, waiting for the bus, and then took about a one and a half to two hour bus ride to our seminar houses. I tell you, carrying a backpack, sweatshirt, another bag, and two large luggage cases was tough. I almost fell over once I got into my room. I was so happy to rest, lol.

My dorm: Ok, my apartment mates rock. One of them is a girl by the name of Yui, she is native Japanese, another is Daryn, 100% Korean but grew up in America, Hui (who just arrived yesterday) who is from Singapore, and a girl from Russia but who has an Irish accent with her English because she studies in Ireland. Pretty fun group and very friendly. We all get along very well. It makes me very sad that once Orientation Week is over Daryn and Hui will have to leave and go do homestay. v.v I plan on getting their email and phone numbers though so we can keep in touch and hang out still.

Kansai Gaidai: I love LOVE the campus. The walk is somewhat far from the seminar houses: about 30 minutes, but it is great exercise and definetely makes you appreciate the cars you left behind at home. The campus has everything you need on it: classes for learning, vending machines for lots of great cold beverages, and a McDonalds, and convenience store where you can buy everything from school supplies and food to cellphones and travel insurance! Great, huh?!

Japan: Fantastic, all the people on the streets are very nice and although the weather right now is stifling, the wonderful vending machines every few feet and friendly faces more than make up for it.

Sorry for not writing everything! I will update more in the future!

Leaving in about three hours...

Alright so I finally fell prey to what everyone else seems to be doing just before they leave for Japan: creating a blog so that others may follow them on their journey. I was always partial to not having blogs, or diaries, or any sort of journal because in the past I have tried to keep them and failed miserably. However, this time is slightly different, maybe because of the peer pressure (what with everyone else doing it and all) or the fact that this trip is something I have waited for my entire life, studied for my entire life, and perhaps learned everything I can about the culture for. This trip is the culmination of a lot in my life: my passion for Japanese, my heritage which, although not ethnically Japanese, has a lot to do with Japan because 1: my grandfather served in World War II and afterwards was posted in Japan (oh and he spoke Japanese fluently), 2: my father was born and spent most of his formative years in Japan and the Japanese school system, and 3: my uncle is Japanese and I have several half-Japanese cousins.

*a stroll down memory lane, if you will...*

Japan is a destination that I perhaps started planning for back in sixth grade when I saw the first episode ever of Sailor Moon on TV. Mind you it was dubbed and very poorly, might I add, which I didn't find out until later. I actually began my interest in Japanese way after this moment. At first I just thought Sailor Moon was another American show, yes I was very dumb at the time. I had never heard of it before and the only way I found out about its Japanese origins is because one of my half-Japanese cousins in Hawaii, we were in Hawaii when I found out about Sailor Moon, happened to have just recently gotten over an obsession with Sailor Moon herself. She filled me in on the details I had missed and even gave me my first Sailor Moon merchandise, a very large wall scroll, which I still have to this day hanging in my room. Thank you Jennifer, you don't know what that meant to me at the time and how it has affected me to this day.

So after I found out about this I still watched the English version, a shame yes, but I didn't even watch the episodes in order. There were no episode numbers on the VHS tapes (yes, VHS, wow I am old) that I bought from the stores and so I had no clue really as to what episode came first, last, or in between. So here I was just watching whatever whenever I pleased when one day my dad and I went into the store to find some more VHS tapes and all we could find were these Sailor Moon movies subtitled in English. At this moment I had no real interest in Japanese but I loved Sailor Moon so much, and had to get my little hands on anything and everything relating to it, that I told my dad I didn't care if it was in Japanese so long as I could own it. And well, ladies and gentlemen, that is where my fascination with Japanese started. Little did I know that afterwards I would become so entranced by this language that it would become my focal point, my career goal, and my major in college.

Now, I can barely listen to anything dubbed and almost always prefer the Japanese to the English. I don't watch much anime anymore but I still do love Sailor Moon, it was my first anime and first exposure to Japan so forgive me. And Sailor Moon is a constant reminder of why I love Japan. Sailor Moon brought so many great things for me, opened so many doorways. In fact, I think my interest in Japanese brought me closer to my father's side of the family (i.e. my grandfather who spoke Japanese fluently and sadly is no longer living). I have even decided, as a tribute to my grandfather, and because none of his other grandchildren love Japan like I do, to accept my aunt's offer of these very nice teacups my grandfather received as a gift from a Japanese friend. The teacups have his family name written on them in katakana. She says they are my dowry for when I get married, lol.

So I guess this is it, I am headed out to San Francisco in three hours or so and then on to Osaka, Japan. Wish me luck and I hope to keep you all posted on the journey that lies ahead of me. Thank you Japan, for everything.