I think I'm learning Japanese,I think I'm learning Japanese,I really think so.

I've come to the end of my first week of Japanese 101 at Santa Barbara City College, and I have to say it has been almost everything and somehow absolutely nothing like I expected it to be! Surprisingly though, I'm already getting the hang of writing and reading hiragana (one "alphabet" of Japanese characters), and I even find it refreshing and relaxing to practice the different strokes of the characters. What's so shocking to me is not only how difficult it is to memorize the characters and be able to translate them into the syllables that make up a word, but then on top of that having to be able to memorize what that word actually means (and I'm only learning ONE of the alphabets so far! There's still katakana to learn!). I've definitely got my work cut out for me.

My professor is pretty great. She's a middle-aged woman from Japan who has definitely had a lot of life experience, and she's got some funny little quirks about her (like the fanny pack she wears while teaching and the Pokemon pencil pouch she leaves on the table in front of the class). She makes us sing songs about little bears rivaling against fried shrimp (?) and watch those oh so entertaining beginning language videos from the 80s. Class is always pretty amusing.

So I'm thinking about taking an additional 2 unit course that lasts 4 days (but all day long each day). It's almost like a full Japanese culture and language immersion workshop. The days include hands-on experience practicing and watching presentations about speech synthesis, origami, chigiri-e art, calligraphy, anime, tea ceremony, kimonos, flower arrangement, sushi making (and eating!), Japanese music and theater, and so much more! It's four full days of almost everything Japanese I've wanted to experience and try, so I'm hoping this will be a cool introduction to the culture before I go to Tokyo (and also that it's not too much fun so that it's spoiled for when I get finally there!).

Anyway, here's a few "fun facts" I learned this first week:
*The number 4 and the number 9 are the unlucky numbers (like 13 is to us). The reasons? The word for 4 can also mean dying, and the word for 9 can also mean suffering. Don't stay on either of those floors in a hotel!
*My name pronounced in a Japanese accent is cherushi raian. Ha!
*Santa Barbara City College is pronounced Santa Barbara Shitti College. Hehe.

We'll see how much I can actually keep stored in my long-term memory to bring with me to Japan, but I know even this little bit is going to make my transition so much smoother! I'm getting more excited now than ever!

A Quick Note

So I just found out during my stay in Japan, Sophia University hosts an annual music festival (student music groups) and a dance festival (student dance groups)! And I can join any one of 250 extracurricular activity groups, including filmmaking, Ikebana (Japanese art of flower arranging), modern dance, skiing, scuba diving, and travel groups, as well as a ton of volunteer opportunities! Okay, only I would get this excited over this...
Events & Organizations

One Step Closer

So, it's official now! I signed my contract to "accept" my acceptance into the program, and with $2000 down (eeek), I'm definitely going abroad! I think I've finally passed the extreme anxiety stage I've had about the trip for the last couple months, and now the excitement is resurfacing once again.

I also just finished writing a letter to my home stay family (whoever they may be...I don't find out anything about my living situation until I land in Japan) about my personality, lifestyle, family and friends, as well as what I hope to gain from the experience. It got me all excited, but this was definitely a difficult task, to explain myself sufficiently in one page, worrying not only how my personality could be interpreted on paper, but also how it would be once translated into Japanese for my family to read of course. It's really important that I be extremely honest about who I am so that I will be matched up with the perfect family for me, but it's difficult to reexamine who you are and portray exactly who you think you are in words. I'm sure I did a good enough job though, and this really got me out of the nervous slump I was in and made me realize I really am one step closer to this experience. It really just hit me that I've now reached out to my family in Japan, that they are a tangible entity and not just a dream, and that I will be meeting them and living with them very soon! Japan is real and all my daydreaming will be coming true before I know it! I almost don't want to count down the months...I'll get all nervous again!

Accepted!

I've now officially accepted by Sophia University in Tokyo as of this morning! It's scary, now I have to make flight arrangements! eeee

Decision: Japan

Sometime last year, sitting in my little apartment in San Luis Obispo, I made the brave decision to make a great change in my life. Living the "SLO life" for as long as I have, and really even just the American life, has made me want to break out of this safe little environment and jump into the most pleasantly drastic situation I can. I dreamed of traveling across the world to study, but most importantly, become a real part of a completely different culture than my own that I so deeply admire. I wanted so badly to immerse myself in an environment where I could really develop into the intelligent, world-conscious person I've always dreamed of becoming. I wanted to start my life story in a sense; to create and forever hold hundreds of invaluable experiences, making a real impact on my own life and possibly others.

I've always admired Asian cultures of all kinds and have felt very close to Asian way of life. Of course, this is what I think I know...I'm sure I'll be extremely shocked once I actually experience it. I've always yearned to be a part of it, though, as if it were a part of my own heritage (except, too bad I'm anything but Asian haha). I figured I'd be terrified out of my mind if I were to simply visit the region as a tourist, and that I might be more respected as a resident living alongside the people. However, I am well aware that I will never be fully accepted as "one of them" and will always remain an outsider, but I'll sure as hell get as close as I can. So, I considered Thailand and China, but at the end of the day I could not get zen gardens, cherry blossoms, and Buddhist temples out of my mind! So Japan it was, I decided, and CIEE's Tokyo trip was what I landed on. This is the program's website.

What really sold me on this trip was the huge range of classes they offered. When I officially decide my schedule of classes, I will post it. Also, I'm able to live with a family to get the full, authentic Japanese experience, which I never thought in a million years I would have the courage to do, but with the encouragement of CIEE alums I'm now more excited than ever! Up until the moment I submitted my application from the moment I thought up the idea to do so, I would think of nothing but Tokyo, and I can honestly say I'd never been so excited about anything before. I watched Lost in Translation more times than I can remember. I immediately bought books on the Japanese culture because I was fiending to learn all I could. I know all this excitement is still there in me, but the nerves are definitely emerging. I think I've felt the worst of it, the cold feet and all, but fear still lies on the surface. I'm nervous to leave my family, friends, and boyfriend of 6 years for so long and to be somewhere so far from comfort in almost every form imaginable, but something inside is pushing me and I know I will never feel more gratified than if I go through with this. So when people ask me why I chose Japan, I always hesitate because I really don't even know how to begin explaining. I know that when I come back, I'll know exactly why. I'm looking for purpose, direction, and bigger goals in my life, and I hope I can take that back and even more with me to guide me for the rest of my life.

I hope this blog to be a memoir for myself, documenting the whole experience from start to finish (and hopefully being updated every day once I actually arrive in Tokyo...only assuming I get Internet access in my living situation). I also hope this reaches anyone interested in studying in or traveling to Japan, because I know I would have LOVED to read someone's personal experiences while making my decision. And of course, I hope family and friends will read along while I'm abroad to share my adventure with me as much as possible. I expect to be thoroughly amused by many aspects of the Japanese culture, and I'm pretty computer savvy, so count on seeing lots of hilarious videos on here in the future.

I still have yet to hear back about my "official" acceptance from Sophia University, where I will be studying in Tokyo, however they've assured me enough to believe my conditional acceptance means I'm pretty much good to go. I'm supposed to find out any day now! My next post will be about all the program details for those who want to know (it's all very exciting!)

Sayonara