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. :)