Friday, August 26, 2011

8.26.11

I now officially have a packing list. It may be too early to start thinking about what exactly to wear in Japan...but I laid out some clothes to see what is most versatile.
We have two exchange students from China, one at my moms and one at my dads. They are both very good bassoonists. They have been here since Tuesday and their English has already improved! I keep thinking soon I'll be in Japan and trying to speak Japanese...
With jet lag and having to constantly think hard just to be able to communicate - being awake must be tiring.

I had not really listened to a bassoon before, but I was zoning out listening to them practice...it is a very beautiful sound. I'm glad it's nice to listen to since they practice several hours a day:)

I bought mini toiletries yesterday... yeah!

Saturday, August 20, 2011

8.20.11

I'm going to be writing more these next couple days because I'm so excited that I have a blog! Personally, having a blog seems weird...who wants to read about me?

I started thinking about more things I'm looking forward to.

It is my Mom's birthday today, so we went out for a sushi lunch. Sushi, tempura- yum!
And all I could think about was Conveyer Belt Sushi. Sushi literally floating before my eyes so I can grab whatever I want, stack up the plates and enjoy.

I also am excited to revisit places I've gone in the past, mostly from when I was in 5th grade. My grandfather took Elijah (my brother), my mom and me to some kind of garden/bamboo forrest/waterfall place. That's very vague because I don't remember what it was called or defined as whatsoever. I just remember it being incredibly beautiful...

I have to be careful of how much I film. Since it is so addictive I could end up with 2 months worth of different clips! Unfortunately I have a bad habit of filming minutes and minutes of passing scenery while I'm riding in a train or a car...I think I get bored and I resort to filming. I guess I'll have to bring a book.


Friday, August 19, 2011

Also, this is one of my most recent creations, since I can't dance I filmed and edited it!



a month until japan

I only have a month left in Oberlin before I head to Japan.
It's pretty confusing, I don't really know how to feel about it. I'm nervous. I've never been away from home for that long and I've never traveled alone. I am also excited.
Soon I'll be talking in Japanese, eating a lot of sushi, sleeping with the best pillows on earth, smelling tatami mats, eating mikan, drinking Qoo apple juice and riding on shinkansen. Not to mention visiting my family and friends.

The part that worries me the most right now is buying a train ticket and using it. Since America has hardly any public transportation, I'm not used to the system. Going to big cities like NYC would be good practice, but hopefully I can quickly adjust to the intense, bustling train stations.

I'm not yet concerned about what I'm going to do. Mom and Michael will be going with me to Japan for a couple weeks. They are doing their own trip but we will be visiting family together at first. Right after that I will go to my first WWOOF farm for a couple weeks. We will just see what happens after that!

I've heard mostly good things about taking gap years to go abroad, that those who do come back are more focussed and dedicated to school. Other people say that gap years are bad because people get a taste of freedom and never want to go back. I'm already excited to return to Oberlin College, I have my heart set on cinema studies.