Feelin' Bloggish

Okay, there's no skating around the issue, we all know I am incredibly lazy when it comes to updating.

That said, I haven't chronicled much about my life in Japan because I was too busy enjoying it. And now that I'm back in New York, I need to make up for all the posts I've neglected to write up. Being in Japan is definitely an important part of my life that I want to remember, so I'm going to post about it in my blog. Even if it happened months ago. And I can't remember it as clearly as I used to.

And I'm gonna be sneaky about it and change the dates of my post so that they are more or less chronologically in order. Ohohohohoho... Alright, my main point is not to deceive anyone (otherwise, I'd do it w/o saying anything), but for convenience's sake. I don't want to cram four months into two posts like I do when I'm on vacation; it just doesn't do it any justice. Also, I don't want a million posts about Japan scattered around the summer months in case any other recent stuff I blog about gets lost in the sea of reminiscence.

But in the end, it's my blog, so I'll do whatever I want with it. I'm sure the five or less people who come here don't care, do they? ... *crickets chirp*

Good. And also, if anyone comes to my blog looking for info about studying abroad in Kansai Gaidai University, this should make it easier on them too.

That said, I'll be updating this post with the posts I've written, the date it was written on, and the date I changed it to.

First, here are the posts that I wrote while I was still studying abroad:
February 7, 2010 - What to do?
February 14, 2010 - Holiday
March 3, 2010 - Hina Matsuri
March 7, 2010 - Kimono Practice
March 22, 2010 - Spring Break
April 4, 2010 - Nara

New Updates:
2010.07.22 January 21, 2010 - At the Airport

After two weeks of midterms, I finally get to relax for spring break in South Korea!

I was so pressed for time these last two weeks!
1st week:
Tuesday: Negotiation midterm
Wednesday: Psychology midterm, SP JPN test

2nd week:
Tuesday: SP JPN oral exam, Globalization "panel of experts" (talked about tuna for ~8 minutes)
Wednesday: Psychology 2-page report due
Thursday: SP JPN midterm, Globalization 8-page midterm due
Friday: WR JPN midterm and oral exam

For the first week of midterms, I had a lot of reading to catch up on. Before that, I didn't even open the textbook for two of my classes

For the second week, it was all Japanese class midterms. For the speaking class, it was grammar and listening, plus an oral exam where I had to make plans for spring break at a travel agency for 8 minutes.

Then for the writing class, I had to cram for kanji, and the oral exam was reading a short passage from one of the chapters from the Genki 2 textbook (my professor is one of the authors for Genki 2).

I also had a 8-page take-home midterm for globalization due Thursday that I finished right before class

As for vacation plans, me and my friend Alice were thinking about Kyushu, but it turned out that going to Korea might be a better deal. But we stalled on Kyushu for so long that we couldn't get the tour we wanted, since this time of year is when Japanese students graduate and go on their trips.

We ended up buying a plane ticket for Korea for around $300, and we're gonna rough it in hostels. But there's still last minute stuff to take care of, like the re-entry permit, tomorrow at the airport. I'm a bit worried, but hopefully all goes well!

Today, okaa-san (my host mother) decided to help me try on a kimono. We can wear kimonos for the graduation ceremony, so it was a practice run.

I first put on the tabi socks.

Then there are two layers of fabric, and a lot of different kinds of rope and belts to tighten the waist area.

It was so fun!

She said the sleeves were a bit short, and that she can rent (from her friend who owns a shop) a furisode with long dangling sleeves with is better suited for my age.

Okaa-san gifted me with this yukata and obi belt. The yukata seems to be the same shape as a kimono, but it is made of cotton instead of silk. Also, you don't need an extra layer under it, and the waist isn't as cinched.

Hehe, not the most flattering photo.

The back is so cute!

I've been in Japan for two weeks already, and I don't even know where to start! The troubleshooting, the orientations, my first impressions, there's just too many things to talk about!

I took photos of random stuff too, from vending machines to sporks in my ramen bowl. Should I backtrack and post about what I did before until I get to the present day?

Thanks to a bunch of random incidents, my parents thought it would be best if we left for the airport four hours early.

My daddy was so sad, he wouldn't even look into the camera.

Sam, me, and Antonia. We all go to Baruch, and Antonia was in my Japanese class.

We met other students going to KGU at the airport. Here, we've stopped over at Incheon Airport in South Korea, and had an opportunity to dress up in hanbok costumes.

At Kansai International Airport (KIX), waiting for other flights to land, so we could all take the limousine bus to the dorms.

Since I'm a homestay student, I was only there temporarily staying at Seminar House 1 for the first week. Most of my friends were in Seminar House 3, although some would leave for their homestay families as well. Here's what my dorm looked like:

Three futons. They are surprisingly comfortable. I slept near the paper doors (shōji), and I was afraid I'd poke a hole into it and wouldn't get my deposit back, 'cause I kept banging my arm into that thing when I slept.

Haha, I was tired after waiting at the airport for hours, so I just threw my stuff all over the place. But as you can see, there's a table, and in the corners, two desks for each of the students that would be staying there for the semester.

Closets, and not pictured is the air-conditioner/heater. If you don't count the futons and the one table, the room is pretty much evenly divided down the middle.

The first night, I had the room to myself. The following days, my roommates from Germany and New York arrived as well.

Unfortunately, I didn't get to take a picture of the rest of the facilities. There's a lounge, a kitchen, laundry room, bathrooms and showers, etc. The kitchen utensils are locked away for the first week, so I bought some spoons and forks at the 100 yen store (Japanese equivalent of 99 cents store). But you can boil water and microwave food. The showers have some kind of water saver thing going on, where you have to press on the handle every so often for the water to come out. Either that, or I didn't stay long enough to figure out how they worked, lol.

[Disclaimer: This post came from the future...!]

"Dear Sarah:

We are happy to inform you that you have been officially admitted to the
Asian Studies Program at Kansai Gaidai University for the spring
semester of 2010."

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!~
XD XD XD XD XD

Let's hope everything after this goes off without a hitch!

School started weeks ago, but I haven't updated much due to my super-rush to complete my study abroad application by the deadline of October 1st.

I've always considered the United Kingdom, France, Japan, Holland, and Australia as places to study abroad in, and somewhat in that order too. UK and AU because they speak English, but AU's hot and has high rates of skin cancer, so I bumped it to the back. NL 'cause of my relatives, FR 'cause it's near my relatives and I learned the language before. And of course, JP because I'm learning it now, and because I was really into all that Japanese stuff when I was younger (still am, to a less childish extent).

But at the end of August, I suddenly realized I'd be running out of time and courses to study abroad. I finally had my heart set on Japan, because I've learned Spanish and French but can barely speak it now (reading it's still good though). I love learning languages, so I'm not gonna let my Japanese slip away. Come on, I had to learn all those characters, a whole new frickin' alphabet for gods sake!

Since Baruch has no exchanges with Japan, I'm applying for Kansai Gaidai University through SUNY Albany. KGU is in Osaka, and about 2.5 hours from Tokyo by train. Of course I'd like to visit Tokyo, but really, I can't even afford to live in Manhattan! I don't wanna trade one concrete jungle for another.

I'm so excited but worried about the competition. The KGU site says it's fierce, but I don't know if they're trying to seem desirable or something. At least, that's what I tell myself to be more confident, lol.

So far, I've got a draft of my statement of purpose done, and varied parts of the application (both online and on paper) completed. I have two teachers giving me a recommendation. Even if I don't make it, I'm still happy at attempting it on my own. Plus, there's always next year!

Wish me luck!