Well this is it. It has been tough to come to terms with writing this post, because after I finish typing and hit the publish button, it's over. The experience is gone. My study abroad tenure has ended, and another chapter closes, one that I wish could stay open for just one more day. All good things must come to an end though, so without further cliches, let's get down to it.
Basically, this post will just list some of the highlights of Japan, along with some of the things I could do without, so enjoy! Highlights first:
1. Karaoke (totally brought me back into the music world, I didn't realize how much I missed it)
2. Speaking/Thinking in Japanese (the challenge, the rush, the sense of achievement, incredible moments)
3. Japanese food (although I have had some pizza and other American goodies, I could really go for a bowl of ramen right now :-P)
4. Japanese people (I feel like I didn't go into enough detail on this subject on my blog, but these are really kind and fascinating people. Some have racist feelings towards foreigners, some don't, nonetheless they are very interesting. Needless to say I kept the whole female thing off the blog, but let's just say that Japanese girls and courtship in Japan is very, very interesting to say the least, but you'd have to talk to me in person for the details)
5. Purikura, hilarious and a lot of fun
6. Sightseeing (needless to say, I saw some amazing things in Japan, but you can go back to the other posts for more details)
7. Always having an extra seat next to me on the bus or train (hey, racism has its perks)
8. In such a stoic society such as Japan, I found this more of a return to form in terms of my identity. I really felt like I could be an individual, but at the same time, this experience was very humbling. I learned to find my place in the system, and that I would have to be a more forward person with the locals. Aside from asking for help on a survey or English homework, Japanese people do not approach the foreigners that often, so it was left to me to meet new people, which I think I did more of in my last two months.
9. Classes (interesting and pretty easy for the most part)
10. Public transportation is just flat out incredible in Japan, much love to the Shinkansen (bullet train) as well.
11. Devotion to the geekdom of arcades and nerdy stuff, I had a real nice coming out party for my inner nerd.
12. The 5 dollar coin, awesome
13. Melon Soda
14. C.C. Lemon
15. Creating the feeling of home in a place 10,000 miles away from where I was born
16. My wonderful speaking partner Ayuna
17. Keizu Denki...YASUI!
Ok, so those were some quick picks, and I'm sure you all don't understand some of them (nor should you), but hey, this blog is also a memory for me too haha. Anyway time for the lowlights:
1. Racism, as much as it didn't bother me it is still inexcusable.
2. Passive-agressivism, it gets semi-annoying (moreso when it happens to fly over my head, which is all too often).
3. The inability of a Japanese person to choose something to do (we always have to choose, burns me up).
4. People in my program were either solid or awful, kind of a tough distinction.
5. Green tea is still not my thing, and I'm still iffy on seaweed. If Japan has all this other amazing food, why don't they bring that over instead of green tea, yuck.
6. Last and certainly not least, prices. Japan was wicked expensive, it kicked my wallet's ass often.
That's about it for lowlights, nothing too serious thankfully.
In the end though, I cannot wait to go back to Japan. I loved my experience so much that I am now defining my career ambitions on companies that will allow me to work abroad in Japan, or at least ones that have strong ties to Japan to keep my Japanese training up. In a way, it changed my life. My commitment to Japanese language has been steadily increasing ever since I started it back in High School, and while I was losing my confidence due to the difficulty of the Tufts' program, I feel like it is back in full now. I am really looking forward to going back to Tufts to show my new skill set off. Until then, I guess I'll be studying all summer to not lose what I have learned.
I guess with that, I have reached the end of my blog. It is a weird feeling to say goodbye, but in a way, this chapter needs to end. My time has come and gone, and now I am left to prepare for the next significant chapter in my life. I don't intend to delete this blog though, so who knows if I will bring it back to life years down the road. Here's to hoping I do.
Sayonara
