Today I had an epiphany...one that I probably needed to have about a month ago lol. I'll get to that in a minute but let me give you some updates on the day :D. 

In approximately 1 week from tomorrow, I will be halfway through this quarter. It's hard to believe I have already been here 1 month. There has been a lot of ups and downs during this past month and I thank everyone who has been there to support me. Classes are starting to become more demanding and I'm continuing to work to find the perfect balance between work and leisure. I'm already starting to work on final projects and papers to make sure I don't fall behind lol :P. 

Yesterday and today was spent doing mostly homework. Most of my classes require readings (INTA problems) so that's fairly time consuming. I'm also trying to pay extra attention to my Japanese class. I'm really aiming for a "B" in the class. I also went to Mass today which is always interesting. The priest's English is still not so great but he tries really hard and I give him a lot of credit. I also finally went grocery shopping. I woke up this morning to realize I had no food for breakfast or lunch so that had to happen. I even went on a limb and bought this pasta/sauce combo that is in all Japanese but looks yummy. I hope to attempt to cook it this week sometime without burning down the whole building :). 

Anyway, back to the epiphany. Recently, I've found myself listening to a lot of new music. I find that music can find the words and strength that I need to get through anything. I've listened close to the lyrics and relate it back to what I'm going through. While I listen to the music, I usually break down and cry. I don't do it intentionally and I try to fight back the tears but it's better to let it out than bottle it up. As I've continued listening to music, I have looked at ways to better adapt to my current situation. I'm here for another 3 months and being this depressed isn't helping anyone. 

That's when I stumbled upon an interesting article. It talked about the way I had been looking at my current situation and how I needed to look at my situation. As you've seen through my blogs and through me talking, I've expressed how I'm not super happy being here and there are a lot of times when I wish I could be back home. Looking at studying abroad this way is depressing but also completely negative and I feel probably brings down most people I talk to about it. Instead of looking at it as I'm stuck here, I need and am going to start looking at it as I will soon be back. I will enjoy the time here while I have it but will look forward to the opportunity to be reunited with those I miss and care about. Thinking about this experience in a more positive light I feel will help me move forward but will also help those around me cope with me not being around. I'm going to try my best to look at the positive from now on. As a side note, I'm really sorry to anyone who has had to deal with my extreme negativity. Part of this experience is to help me grow and mature as an individual and sometimes, you have to learn things the hard way. Thank you for the continued support. I love and miss you all. :) <3 

Sorry I haven't blogged recently :(. I've been busy trying to get used to classes. So let me update you on what's up :). 

Classes are starting to pick up now. It's crazy that professors are talking about midterms already when we just started classes two weeks ago. I guess that's what happens when you have a quarter system lol. Everything comes up a lot faster :P. As far as the classes themselves go, not too much has changed. I still really enjoy my World Systems class. The professor cannot stop having side conversations with the Americans and she now makes us interact with other students :P. It was cool the other day being able to talk to students about their history experience. Very insightful for sure. I'm still worried about my Japanese class. I haven't gotten a perfect score on any of my assignments yet and it's kinda nerve-wracking. The grading method is somewhat confusing so I hope I'm doing ok but I never know :/. My other classes are going well, just busy. 

I'm still doing kickboxing which is helping my stress some. It is a lot of fun and is helping me try to stay in shape. Also, I have discovered the awesomeness which is the Pacific Cafe. They have delicious ice cream as well as awesome crepes. I have to resist spending every yen I have there :P. 

So physically and academically, things are going alright. School will always be stressful no matter what and I handle it the best I can. I have to admit that right now emotionally, I'm not in the best state. I'm all over the place. Days run together and emotions are everywhere. There are things that make me happy but at the same time, I always find myself in this dark cloud of frustration, anger, and sadness. I think part of it is homesickness. As I've expressed before, I don't think I'll ever get over being away from home, especially with as much stuff that is going on. I feel that while being here is a great opportunity, I'm missing out on so much more back home. I find that I have also become more passive and sensitive as this goes on. Things that typically don't bother me annoy me the most and I just find myself lacking the ability to care. I ask for your continued support as I get through this exchange. It isn't easy and I'm trying to make the best of it. :) <3 

Hey everyone! Thanks again for the ongoing support of the blog and I hope you enjoy my posts. Please feel free to comment :) 

So today marks my first full week of school done. I am so exhausted. It has been extremely difficult to get used to going to classes again and having to do hw. It's an adjustment I have to make quickly that is for sure :P. 

Classes are still going pretty well. I am in love with my professor for Global History and World Systems. She is the best. She loves talking to the American students and just has the greatest sense of humor. I really enjoy going to her class. My hardest class is still my Japanese class. The structure is so different than what I am used to. I had my first quiz in there the other day and I passed. I wasn't really proud of the grade and I know I can do better. I just need to focus and study like never before. 

In going to class this week, I have already started noticing some differences between the American and Japanese education system. One of the first things I noticed is that students here can show up to class whenever they want without penalty. I have been in classes where people (both Japanese and international) show up a half an hour to an hour late for a 95 minute class. In addition, teachers don't seem to mind when students talk during class. They can have side conversations without being called out (except in the class with the American professor :P). Finally, I've noticed that the comprehensive knowledge of students here is not so developed. They appear to focus on certain subjects that pertain to them specifically and do not try to seek out further knowledge. For instance, in one of my classes, the professor showed a picture of Hurricane Katrina and a student immediately tried to say "typhoon". While I didn't take this as ignorance on the student's part, I think they literally thought it was a typhoon because that is what affects them here. I want to note that I do not necessarily find these as weaknesses or problems with the education system here. I simply find it different than what I am used to in the US. 

Along with everything going on here, it has been rather difficult to hear about the things happening back home. My heart goes out to the people in Boston and Texas that have forever been changed due to the events of this week. However, I want to remind everyone that while these tragedies are horrible and inexcusable, please do not forget that there are terrible events happening all over the world. People are suffering each and every day and those people deserve just as much sympathy and prayer as any other. 

It is reasons like this that I am an International Affairs major. Why do we live in such a violent world today? Why do terrible events like this happen? Is it preventable? Who do we blame? My job is to help provide answers for these types of questions. Sometimes, it isn't about the science or the numbers. Answers have to be found by looking through years of history and culture. This is what I love to do and I truly believe I made the best choice in deciding to study International Affairs. :) <3  

So I'm really sorry I haven't posted in a couple days but nothing super exciting has happened :P. 

I've been going to my classes and am trying to get back a relatively normal schedule. It's so strange to be just now starting my Spring semester lol. Anyway, my classes are actually fairly interesting. I find it humorous though that all of my teachers know who the exchange students are. They have no problem asking for the "American" perspective on things. I'm also really enjoying the material I'm studying. My most interesting class so far is my Global History and World Systems class. It's basically studying the history of the world through globalization as opposed to studying each individual civilization and putting together a puzzle. My hardest class is for sure Japanese. Because of the level I am taking, the professor rarely uses English at all so you've got to hope that you understand what he is trying to explain. 

I'm have also really enjoyed kickboxing! It's such a great workout and I'm meeting all kinds of people there. In fact, today alone, two different guys from the group saw me and talked to me for a bit. It was great to feel like I was included :). Also, I've lost weight since I got here (Wooo!)! I'm trying to get back down to where I was last Summer which will take a good amount of work and energy. 

On top of this stuff, I'm working with Vanessa to plan some things to do for our quarter break. Right now, it looks like there will be LOTS of shopping involved although a trip to the aquarium isn't out of the works either :P. I'm really looking forward to exploring some more of the local area. 

In addition, the homesickness is going away for the most part and I'm starting to enjoy being here. I know for a lot of you, it seemed that I wasn't super excited and that I was really miserable and for a while I was; however, I'm finally adjusting to life here and I'm glad that I decided to do the exchange. It is rough to be away from friends and family and that feeling will never completely go away. It's also kinda hard to embrace life here when I still have so much going on back home. I'm trying my best to have fun here while also continuing to keep my responsibilities in ATL. If you ever feel like I dropped the ball or missed something, please let me know. I'm only human and I will make mistakes. :) <3 

Thanks to everyone who has been reading my blogs! I really appreciate it :D


Yesterday was my second day of classes. It went WAY smoother than my first day. The teachers are all really nice and they are truly passionate about what they do. In these first couple days of classes, I've noticed some interesting differences from GA Tech. The first of those differences is the demand in workload. Here, the teachers warn you that they give lots of hw which in their minds is 20 pages of reading. I look at this as a break from my usual 40 pages :P. Also, my teachers here are giving us most of the questions for our finals in advanced; if only Tech would adopt that same mentality. Finally, I feel like here I have a lot more presentations I have to give which is a nice change from having to mostly write papers back home. 

Today, I had a fun day of adventures with my friends down at YouMe town (a mall). We shopped for a while which included hitting up a lingerie sale (you can't pass up $5 bras :P) and checked out other sales they were having. We wound up at the arcade where we went at took purikura (a photo booth/photoshop combo) which are really popular for both guys and girls. It's so much fun decorating the pictures! After that, I played the Kit-Kat arcade came once. I didn't win anything but I pushed the Kit-Kats further so I was determined to come back later and try again. 

After that, we went to dinner at Mos Burger which is a burger chain in Japan. The burger was sooo delicious. I had fries and a milkshake too. Rather satisfying dinner to say the least. We followed that up with another trip to purikura and that's when I played the Kit-Kat game again. I managed to get enough candy that I knocked over a bunch of Kit-Kats and other goodies! It was AWESOME! I now have a Kit-Kat stash for the rest of the year :P. Overall, it was a very fun and successful day of shopping and hanging out with friend :). 

________________________________________________________________________

On a completely unrelated note, I want to address some issues I've had lately (aka if you don't want to hear about my personal problems, you should stop reading now). I know the saying is, "The past is the past, you can't change it so move on"; however, while the quote may seem very simple and straightforward, past experiences shape who you are as an individual and I truly believe that. In my recent past (a la 4 years and less), I've had "friends" lie to my face and stab me in the back repeatedly. As a very trustworthy individual, this has done a LOT of damage to my self esteem as well as my ability to trust people. It is something that I struggle with daily and I try very hard to move past; however, I do have times when doubts will come in to my mind and I will question your loyalty. I'm sorry if this has happened to you and I promise it's not something that should be taken personally. Like I said, I'm trying very hard to trust those around me but it's hard when you've been hurt so much in the past. 

All in all, don't take this as me asking for sympathy or justifying my actions. I know it isn't fair for me to question peoples' integrity but I do have to look out for myself and I don't want to find myself in a similar situation to my past. 

<3 

Time to update on the past couple days. :) 

Monday: Twas an interesting day indeed. It started out the best though; I had the opportunity to be skyped into Chapter. It was great to see everyone's faces and watch them tackle Thomas's computer. Additionally, watching him try to read what I typed is always humorous. There were some tough points though. I'm not going to lie, I completely broke down when my brothers sang the hymn. Listening to the words and wanting to be there led to an emotional overload :P. 

I followed that up with registering for classes and studying. Registering here is sooooooooo different then at GA Tech. Here, you have a week schedule brought up and you have to click on the class you want and hit submit then hit apply. Needless to say, I lost a class because I lost the click war. It all worked on in the end and I wound up with a decent schedule. 

Tuesday: Spent the whole day studying and chilling. 

Wednesday: Yesterday, I had a decent amount of fun. I started off by studying Kanji which isn't the most delightful thing in the world. I then got to attend the gym orientation which was a 15 minute video. It was actually kinda funny. After that was a group trip to the Daiso. For those who don't know, the Daiso is a hundred yen store a la Dollar Store. I had to get school supplies and some other small things. We followed that up with a trip to Tokiwa which is the department store in the city. I actually got to look around and they have some nice stuff. If I wasn't broke, maybe I'd  get some stuff. 

After that, we went to Jolly Pasta. That was literally the best part of yesterday. Here is the thing. Lots of groceries in Japan are super expensive including fruit, yogurt, and cheese. For a couple slices of cheese, it's easily 6 to 10 dollars. As a result, we were all really happy when we went to this pasta place and could get lots of cheesy deliciousness. I got a bacon, tomato, and cheese pasta along with cheese fondue. It was soooooo yummy! Final stop was at the grocery store when I picked up some last minute meals :P. 

Today: First day of classes. Let me tell you, I was really ready to call it quits after this morning. It was rough. I didn't realize until last night that I needed a clicker for today. So, I left my apartment at 8 am to try and see about borrowing one. I walk to the Admissions Office to see if they can give me more information; they don't open until 9 am. I walk to where I was supposed to go to possibly borrow a clicker; they don't open until 9:30 am. I decide that I will just suck it up and pay for a clicker so I head towards the ATM; doesn't open until 9 am. 

After reading the professor's email, I had determined that we didn't have to have a clicker until the next class so I tried to put that behind me. So, I get ready to pull up Google Calendar to see where my first class is. I know for a fact that my computer battery cannot last 30 seconds without being plugged in so I try to find an outlet; I find an outlet only to discover that I do not have the wifi password to use wifi. It's now about 8:30 am and I have my first class at 8:45. I have to run to another building where they have the classes and rooms posted and push my way to figure out where my first couple classes are. I manage to make it to my first class. 

In general, classes weren't too bad today. My teachers are all pretty decent; the one I'm most scared of is the American one (go figure). He is just really strict so I have determined I will not make any movement in his class. My Japanese class went surprisingly well. I felt more confident talking in this class which was really awesome. Also, in my Identity and Politics class, I'm going to talk to the teacher about doing my report on Olympus Has Fallen (terrible movie but has exactly what I need for my argument).

Some things I've learned over the past few days: 

1. Laptop

• I need a new battery
• Most people don't use laptops in class so I'm actually writing notes this semester :P

2. Cell phone 

• For the love of cheese and crackers, I NEED a smart phone like desperately especially with my crappy laptop battery 

3. Kickboxing

• I did kickboxing for the first time tonight. A lot of the guys told me I had a hard punch which was cool. I have some bruises on my hands and feet and I have a feeling I'll be sore in the morning :P 

4. 

5. Brothers 

• I love all of my brothers dearly and miss them so much. I'm praying my best friend Genie starts to feel better so we can talk again <3 AEA

Hey everyone! I know I haven't posted in a couple days but I have my reasons :P. I wanted to give some people the opportunity to catch up as well as there hasn't been too much interesting stuff happening lately. 

The past two days were spent mostly studying Japanese. I also did some shopping in town. Today, I had to register for classes. That was interesting to say the least. The system they use is not as technologically savvy as GA Tech's. Their system requires you to click the classes and save A LOT! I actually lost out on a class because I forgot to save :P 

It was super stressful too. I was really worried I wasn't going to be able to get enough major classes. Fortunately though, I waited and was able to snag others' spots who dropped. My schedule still has me taking 7 classes total. Most of the classes involve politics lol. I'm really excited though for my strategic decision making course though! It involves a lot of foreign policy and decisions about war and sanctions and nerdy INTA stuff :D. 

There was also an optional orientation about the health care system here in Japan. It quickly turned into sex education. The one thing us exchange students found the most entertaining was how adorable their condoms are. They literally decorate everything here. One came in a cute heart carrier and the other in a butterfly. All the girls thought they were the adorable. Of course, the guys were laughing at us. 

I don't start classes until Thursday so I have more time to study Japanese. You may not a see another blog post until then so sorry in advanced :P 

Also, I would like to take a chance and give a shout out to all the people that have been supporting me through this exchange especially my boyfriend Thomas. You put up with me complaining and whining probably way more than you should and I'm really really sorry for that. You and others have been so kind and encouraging and I can't thank you enough for it <3

Today was awesome!! It started out kinda rough though :/ I woke up with a pretty awful stomach ache which wasn't too fun. I also spent some of the morning reviewing more Japanese. I never realized how awesome Genki books were until now lol. After that, the fun stuff began. 

So a group of the exchange students got together to go to the Monkey Mountain. We ate lunch in the cafeteria and then headed to the Farmer's Market to get cheap produce. Once that was finished, we took a bus down to Beppu Station. We had some time to kill to wait for the bus that could take us to the mountain so we stopped in Mister Donut. I got Jr. Donuts which were super yummy :) 

After killing some time, the bus showed up and we were on our merry way. We get to the Monkey Mountain and it only costs $5 to go. Anyway, right as you start walking up this mountain, monkeys show up out of nowhere. We walk around and are taking pictures. Suddenly, we see this poor Japanese women being attacked by a Mommy monkey. It was pretty scary lol. 

As we head up further, we get to the monkey congregation where most of them chill. One of the workers tells us that is about to be feeding time and that we should watch. Here is what feeding time consists of: a worker has a cart full of yams and he runs with it and a back door releases the yams. As soon as this happens, mass chaos ensues. There are monkeys everywhere. They take their food and run. There were fights over food, there was screaming; it was super intense. After feeding time was universal cleaning time. Literally every monkey was getting groomed. It was cool to see them act as a synchronized society. We definitely got our $5 worth! 

We finished up there and headed to You-Me town. We ran into Vanessa and Ellie. Today happened to be Vanessa's birthday so I chilled with them for a bit. We did some shopping and I picked up a couple things including an awesome new watch and umbrella! We followed that up with a cheap and delicious dinner and ended the night with ice cream from Baskin Robbins. I was really proud of myself because I tried a flavor exclusive to Japan (Dainagon Azuki) and it's a sweet bean ice cream. It was super yummy and tasted a little like coffee to me. :) 

A rather successful day if I do say so myself <3 

Today was a combination of interesting and boring. I had to wake up at 5 am to register for classes at Tech which wasn't too fun. I then had to get back up at 7:30ish to get ready for a mandatory health exam. It was amazing how organized they were during the health exam. 

After that, I went back to my place and studied Japanese and napped til about 4ish. I then started getting ready for our AP House Entrance Ceremony. It was so much fun! It started out with an orientation that I thought was going to be boring but turned out to be really awesome instead. The RA's from the houses made a video describing the rules and it was hilarious. 

Following the orientation was a buffet celebration! There was so much food and such good food. They had shrimp fried rice, different styles of chicken, french fries, finger sandwiches, and delicious drinks. I had the apple juice :) It's literally the best thing ever. The apple juice is made from Fuji apples so it's sweet and crisp and so great. The french fries we also perfectly seasoned. 

Before we could stuff our faces, the RAs had us do a toast which was really cute. After that, the consuming began and it was awesome. We also got to mingle which was fun too. I'm getting to meet more people and more people are coming to talk to me. I already feel like I am able to speak a little more confidently and my reviews are definitely helping. 

Sooo after eating came the performances. The Taiko group as well as the Indonesian performers from before did another gig. It was cool to watch it up close this time. After that was all RA performances. Each houses' RAs performed a number and then some of the groups came together to do additional numbers. The finale was "We Will Rock You". Overall, it was very entertaining to see them put themselves out there and not care about what we thought :) 

Tomorrow will hopefully be a little more exciting. I'm going to the Monkey Park and Aquarium since the weather will be nice. It should be a lot of fun! <3 

Finally got the news that I had been waiting for! So, I met with the Japanese adviser here at APU to discuss whether I should be in Foundation II or Foundation III. I explained my situation to her and how if I took Foundation II, I would receive no credit and also be forced to take 12 classes here to fulfill Tech requirements. I explained to her that I was determined and that I knew I could do well in Foundation III. While she admits I probably won't get an "A", she knows I'll at least be able to pass the class. I know that these next couple days are going to be filled with lots of hard work and studying (I even went and bought the Genki I textbook and workbook) but it'll payoff and I will be on track for classes. (I'm in Foundation III! :) ) 

Having this happen has some pros and cons. The pros include the fact that I will no longer have to take a million classes over here. As of right now, I'm planning to register for 7 classes (6 major, 1 Japanese) for the semester. This will keep my work light so that I can spend as much time as possible focusing on my Japanese. This has also freed up some more time for me to possibly join clubs and organizations which I'm looking forward to! 

Here comes some cons. So I am happy that I will have my shot at Foundation III. I know I can do it but I do have some concerns. The tests here count a LOT more than they do at Tech and I have terrible test anxiety. I'm hoping though through lots of studying and practice, I'll become comfortable and won't stress too much at test time. Also, since I want to do well and continue to improve my language skills, I do not know if it's the best decision to join the APU Wind Orchestra. They meet for a total of 12 hours throughout the week including Saturdays and that is a huge time commitment. By being apart of it as well, I would likely not be able to do any other clubs as their meeting times are slightly awkward and conflict with most every other club. I really hate that I wouldn't be able to be apart of something awesome like that; however, I do have to look at my current situation and evaluate what will help me be most successful. 

In other random news, I just found out that Tech finally offers a certificate in Scenarios, Models, and Military Games. INTA majors were told about this our freshman year and I've been eager to pursue it. So, I'm planning on adding that to my major once I get back home. :) 

For now, things can start to calm down some hopefully :) <3 

Pretty boring day today. I unfortunately missed the Wind Orchestra rehearsal so I'll have to try and go on Thursday :(. Other than that, I sat through some typical orientation stuff and chilled around my place. I managed to work a copy machine and a washing machine today which were in Japanese so that was kinda neat. 

I still have no updates on my classes. I'll likely be emailing/harassing advisers starting tomorrow to figure out what I'm going to do. I've also been thinking about changing up my hair. Right now, it's pretty dull :/ and in my opinion doesn't look good. I'll probably experiment with some temp stuff but nothing too crazy lol :P I'm also contacting sports groups to try and get more exercise. I'll keep you updated on how that goes! 

Anyway, feel free to Skype or Facebook me :) I still get lonely on occasions <3

Today was amazing! The entrance ceremony was boring for the most part but it also included some of the highlights of the trip thus far. So, we get to the location of the Entrance Ceremony and we pretty much have time to socialize and meet people. I took lots of pictures with people in their national costumes! My favorite though still has to be the kimono. They are so elegant and beautiful, if only I had the money to afford one lol :P 

Once that was done, the ceremony itself was pretty standard. Important people get recognized, really important people get to talk, etc etc. One of the more annoying things was the fact that a lot of the information was directed specifically at Freshman or was information that had already been provided for international students.

Anyway, after that was done, we had a break before the performances started. Once they started, everything changed. The first group that was up was Indonesian Dancers. They performed with such speed and precision that I was sure I would probably kill someone if I tried. Next up were a traditional Japanese dance group who put a modern twist by creating their own music and outfits. That was really cool and fun to watch. 

Next up is probably one of my favorite things in the whole world: Taiko Drums. Taiko drumming just looks so intense and fun that I may consider trying it while I'm over here. While they were performing, I could help but be reminded of the countless times I heard the GT drumline going hard before a football game. 

Next were some demonstrations by a variety of clubs at APU. This included a choir, double dutch, Korean and Thai drum groups, as well as the Chinese dragon dancers. That was really neat to see for the first time up close. I never realized how much agility was needed to perform that kind of stuff. 

Finally, saved the best for last: the APU Wind Orchestra. Unfortunately, the group wasn't mic-ed very well so my recording isn't very good; however, it was still awesome to hear them perform. The first number they played was The Jackson 5, "ABC" and I instantly thought of the show we marched this past season. Just hearing that made my heart all warm and fuzzy inside (it also helped that the trombones were pretty much the focus of the ensemble :P). The following number was a song I've heard before but I don't know the name of (it's probably something really popular and I'm just dumb and don't know it :P).

 Anyway, hearing them perform was just amazing and it made me miss everyone back home. I went ahead and emailed their sponsor to see if I could somehow perform with them. Unfortunately, my horn did not travel with me but I'm always game for learning a new instrument. I also have a class conflict with one of their rehearsal days but we'll see what we can do. 

After getting home from the ceremony, I had dinner with Vanessa who is super awesome. She then took me shopping at this really cool store where I spent more money :) I now get to spend some time tonight doing my nails!