When getting to Japan we decided taking a taxi to our hotelroom would be the best idea... It was not. When people say Tokyo is expensive they mean it is EXPENSIVE. We took one taxi ride, it took us almost an hour from Narita Airport to Shibuya and the amount was 30,000 Yen. Which is $300 USD. We were completely shocked at the amount. Now this was our fault, but it does make for a funny story. It's also amusing that our first transaction in JPY was about a 2-3 days worth of work. Speaking of JPY that's another thing I wanted to talk about. If you come from a country with a dollar somewhat close to the USD then you can just take the last two zero's off an amount in JPY and you have the "dollar" amount. Each zero basically represents a cent with the currency actually looking pretty cool. I'll be back later with more to post but I thought this might amuse some people. The Gakusei- J

Leaving for Japan I get to do what I call the falling behind dance. I get to fall behind on entertainment news from the USA. Surprisingly all the other news makes it to me overseas, but I find it easier to escape the Kardashians, random 10 minute stars, and "must hear / see" tracks. It's a really interesting process.

Thinking about this makes me think about the reach of American Cultural Imperialism, and how in some places Asia has made a much bigger soft power push. It's a lot easier to be enculturated by other cultures and to lose to touch with USA culture than one would think. Here we are bombarded with pop culture on the street, in the car, even some places at schools serve us up a heavy dose. While overseas it is available, but you have to seek it out. I for one, like experiencing the other cultures I am going to be part of! I won't be seeking out these places until I feel homesick.

In this way, I am beginning the dance of falling behind. So when I come back, I will have to catch up, and that is completely okay. As a long time traveler and Ex-pat I'm used to this dance. Those of us who travel often fall behind in one world... but it's okay, because we live in more than one.

~ The Gakusei J

I have been asked a few times, "Why Japan." Mssu offers a huge number of different sister schools and exchange programs, so why did I pick Japan?
The first reason is that I have loved Japan since I was a small child. There was a song called "Haru Ga Kita" (Spring is coming) that appeared on a Raffi tape when I was younger. I would always wake up when the tape was finishing to listen to this song, because the language seemed so amazing to me. As I grew older I grew to love Japanese more and more. I would beg to be allowed to learn the language, and always was told I had to learn more practical things first. When I was 13 I purchased a learn at home computer software that taught me about 100 words and a few greetings. It was one of the most amazing things ever to me. Then when I was 16 I was finally allowed to start taking Japanese class. I took classes until I was 18 and then I fell away for a while. Finally this last year I have come back to Japanese and been studying to my full potential. Going to Japan is just another step in learning Japanese.

The second reason for my going to Japan is what I want to do with my life. I want to learn about the different myths and legends that span Pan-Asia. I want to know where they started, how they spread, and what parts of culture they reference. Going to Japan will let me learn more about the culture, and get better at the language. Both of these are necessary if I want to pursue my ideas at a graduate level.

Finally the last reason is because I have to. To graduate from MSSU I need to go on a Bi-lateral exchange. This is because I am International Studies major. I love traveling so this really isn't a hardship. Actually one might say I chose the major because of this requirement.

So in closing, I chose Japan because I feel Japan is a key to my future, my present, and my past.

I hope to make many friends, have many new experiences, and share many things with all of you. So come on~ Let's go to Japan!

~The Gakusei J

My husband and I live a semi-nomadic lifestyle when it comes to traveling. I haven't lived in one place more than 2 years for over 11 years now. I've gone to New Zealand, Korea, Canada, 11 different states, and even spent some time in Australia. One of the things I have learned is clutter has a way of catching up with me even when I think I am just going to keep it to two suit cases this time. With this in mind we have been packing this week... and it's been hectic.

My husband thinks he can get everything he needs into one bag, thereby offering me the use of the our 3rd bag instead of myself only getting two. I find myself wanting more than this. Part of this is our musical instruments (Saxophone for him, Violin for me), and our computers. I want so badly to bring these things but they take up a lot of space as well. So when I think I am packed I have to go back through my stuff again and ask if I really need all the clothes I am taking, or if I need as many books as I packed for 1 year in Japan.

Either way, I have been de-cluttering for the better part of a week and I've gotten rid of 3 boxes of clothes, found 3 boxes of books to donate to places, thrown out a whole Web City trash can of stuff, and have an entire room of furniture waiting to be sold. Overall it's a little stressful, but I love the feeling of condensing all of my stuff. I love the feeling I get when most of my life fits into two bags and I maybe have some room for things I buy as well. Maybe this time will be the time I keep everything in order and don't have to purge when we are leaving Japan? Somehow I doubt it... but I am trying to learn to be satisfied with everything I have.

In other news I got my visa, the Japan visas are the prettiest visas I have ever seen! Even if my picture is horrible, I look like a scared bird. >.< 27 days to go until Japan! Hope to see you all in my travels. :)

~The Gakusei J

Booked my ticket! I leave September 8th and arrive September 9th. I'm super excited to finally go to Japan and see what I've been wanting to see since I was 4. :)

~The Gakusei J

I'm supposed to make a blog for when I go over to Japan. So here it goes.

I'm a student at MSSU going to Gakushuin on Bilateral Exchange. I got my acceptance letter 3 days ago, haven't booked my ticket yet. I will be in classes starting September 24 2014.

Lets go to Japan!

~The Gakusei J