IT'S THE FINAL COUNTDOWN!

Well, it's almost time! My classes are finally finished and now I'm just waiting to head back home. Let's talk about finals first. My finals all were decent. I had one in each class and they were pretty fair. I'd say Japanese was the hardest out of them all but that is kind of what I expected. Oh also, before finals I forgot to mention that Germany (my team :P) won the diplomacy game! It's the first time Germany has ever won and I was really fortunate to get to work with such awesome people. 

So. getting back, Friday after finals, my Japanese class went out for dinner (apparently customary here in Japan) at a Korean restaurant (talk about irony). It was a blast hanging out one last time and getting to talk without all the stress of school. There also happens to be a Fireworks Festival going on this weekend so we got to walk around that a bit. All the girls dressed up in their beautiful yukatas (kind of a summer kimono) made me super jealous. It was really great to see that right before I headed back. 

Today was a very bittersweet day for me. I got to hangout with the Kickboxing circle one last time. They had a beach bbq for us that was loads of fun. The group made me give a speech/toast in Japanese which was probably super terrible :P. We then hung out and played in the water and ate lots of delicious food. Then, there was some beach volleyball and a typical Japanese watermelon smashing. Essentially, you put the watermelon on the group and one person gets blindfolded. You spin that person around and then they have to try to smash open the watermelon with a wooden sword. (Here is an example of it on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnPFLca_xZA)  I was lucky and hit it on the first try! We finished up the trip with some ice cream and final goodbyes. It was really hard to say goodbye to such a good group of people. They have been there for me and have kept me laughing all semester and there aren't enough words to express my appreciation. I am truly going to miss them! 

More updates!

I'm so sorry that I haven't updated in a while. This exchange is catching up to me and I've been busy doing work. The past couple weeks have been interesting for me to say the least. Last weekend, I went to a kickboxing competition for the first time! It was an absolute blast. Watching my friends compete was so exciting and they all did such a great job! I will say though that it is a bit scary watching from outside the ring so I can't IMAGINE what it is like inside the ring. 

Anyway, so then yesterday, to celebrate the fights and competitors, a group of us from the kickboxing group went to a beer garden. The location of it was so cute and quaint. For about $20, it was all you can eat and drink for 2 hours. Needless to say, I was entertained the entire time. The people in the kickboxing circle have such great personalities and know how to party. They had me laughing the whole time! 

Today brought about the realization that everything that has happened these past several months is all about to change. We had a closing ceremony (not finished yet, finals next week) today to celebrate the end of the exchange and it was definitely bittersweet. My Japanese teacher went to give a speech and teared up a bit. I cried a little bit this afternoon. I'm sad that all the amazing people I have met here and the experiences I have had will be done in 2 weeks. Having people starting to say goodbye is so rough--these are people who have helped me grow and been my support. When I started this exchange, I didn't think it'd be as influential as it has been. I figured I'd just get through it and it'd be done but it has turned out to be so much more than that. 

To my friends here at APU, thank you for the experiences you have given me. I look forward to as many adventures as we can have in these next two weeks. To my friends back home, I can't promise you that I am the same person I was when I left back in March. When you go through an exchange like this, you have a chance to grow and learn about yourself and I can say for a fact that I have done that. :) 

Update

Hey Everyone! Sorry for the delayed post but here are the updates :) 

Midterms for this quarter are officially done! I had two and they both went decently well. My Japanese class is still going great also. My grades have definitely been better this quarter as opposed to last so that is always good to know. I'm also down to 25 days left here. Crazy to think that I've been here since March and that this adventure is already coming to a close. Ultimately, I'm ready to be home though. This exchange has given me awesome opportunities, however there have been some really challenging aspects as well. It'll good to get home and relax :) 

Having said that, there is something I want to address. Recently, I've had a couple people who have been quite insincere in their interactions with me. If you are one of these people, please stop. I'm not a charity case. If you don't genuinely care about my well being, don't waste your time or effort. There are plenty of people who do care and those are the people I choose to spend my time on. 

That's all for now :) <3