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But, I am coming home for Christmas, and I am tweediddly humpty dumpty happy about it! Now back to planning for my 8 hour layover in Hawaii!
Gotta pack and clean the cage!
待てない待てない～
日本の真中のどこかに行けないかなー！☆ でも実は九州以外ほとんどどこでもいいと思
分かったら皆を教えるよ♡
I don't even know what to feel yet, except that I'm not quite ready to "grow up". ;)
Just chugging through it like always, finishing up projects and prepping for finals. I'll know tomorrow if I can grad with honors (maybe, I think).
Then two weeks and K is back to Japan, I'll be home with the folks, hopefully get a part time job to get some extra cash so I won't be too broke when I get to Japan in August. And then, man...I'll be working this time! What a bummer! I've been a student all my life and now I'm not? Weird, just weird. I'll be applying to grad schools in a year or two, once I've narrowed down what I want to study. But hopefully by then my Japanese is bad ass enough to get by in Japanese grad school - I'll go regardless, but I don't exactly want to struggle through it (I'm lookin' at you, kanji)
*poop* My head's all floppy. =\
If I had a garage, I'd have a garage sale. Lots of stuff to get rid of before the move. *phew* floppy.
- Location:home
- Mood:
drained - Music:twinkle, twinkle, little star
Congratulations! It is our great pleasure to inform you that you have successfully passed the 2nd stage of the screening process for the 2008 JET Program year and are now on the final short-list for ALT/CIR candidates. "
OMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMG
With flying colors, well above the 60% pass level, no less :)
*beam*proud!*beam*
Next step: the Final Challenge: Level 1
Ok, interview. I'm hella tired, cuz I drove to Miami and back today for a 30 minute sitting. It really wasn't all that scary or special. I had it at 5:30pm, the interviewers looked pooped, and besides sort of tripping over the second reading test they gave me (the first was way easy), and a few moments of word-barf / rambling, nothing too bad. Just hope it was worth a few hundred bucks on a suit and that miserable drive!
I kinda feel it went 50/50, although I don't know who my competition is. So, I'll be applying to other stuff like mad after this as a backup. ^_^
Regardless, I'll get to Japan in the Fall with or without a job. ;>
- Location:home sweet home
- Mood:
relieved
life as of late:
(beginning morning:) oversleep, miss the bus, late for first class, tired for second class, want to die on Wednesdays (6 hr block of classes), come home around 4 (6ish on Wed), check mail (bills? only bills.), piddle around on the internet, procrastinate, shit! it's already 8:00, start studying, get distracted, crap, it's 10 now!, more studying/homework, stress about jobs and life etc etc., 2am: shower, poop around on the computer again, sleep.
I feel like I'm so busy, but not really doing anything~ poop~
I wanna play WoW again! :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( :( lol~
I might have to incorporate it into my weekend schedule so that I don't go nuts. Cuz I really need something else to distract me (other than stumbling around the web and internet window shopping lol)
Gotta prep for that interview!! aaaaaaa~~~
<3
I got an interview with the JET Program! /nervous /nervous
I applied as a Coordinator of International Relations (aka. bilingual secretary ;D). I've wanted this job for a few years, so...hope it goes well! I think I'll just walk in to the interview like I already work there, and they'll be like, "hey, don't you work here already?" and give me a plane ticket and zoom! back to Japan I go!
I have to start studying now...Japanese, company info, job description, and...what did I write in my statement of purpose, again?
*crossing my fingers*
<3
- Mood:
chipper
http://youtube.com/watch?v=pljZszV4XU4
It's in Japanese...but if you read Chinese follow the subtitles!
In other news, I have had this super demon cold for all too long. But, the clinic gave me some meds that knocked me flat out and killed my cough! (I was coughing so hard I made myself throw up...gross, right?) So, should be all better in a day or two. Finally.
In other other news, the people at JET need to hurry up their application reviewing, cuz I want to know if I can go to their interview. They're holding me up! I can't decide whether or not to go to the ECC interview because of them! And I can't wait too long...plane tickets get expensive at the last minute...
http://www.menshealthsa.co.za/index.p
- Mood:
pissed off
!!!!!!
*headexplodey*
I'm so doomed.
Other news is that deodorants may be linked to breast cancer! (http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/fac
See you soon~
Lauren visited Japan yesterday and we met for a day, went to Osaka to walk around, went to a "food amusement park" (styled as 18th century Japan) in Osaka and then a stroll through Dotonburi, a part of Osaka that's lined with restaurants, game centers, gambling centers, and some shops and stuff. Mostly we just talked and talked ;) It didn't really feel like she'd been away for so long or been that far away at all. *sigh* She took pics, so when I get those I'll post~
Tomorrow starts my exams. Speaking exam in Japanese. Should be fine! Then reading exam on Monday, Speaking class' written exam Tuesday, Body&Communication essay due on Wednesday, History exam on Friday. To be honest, since it's all coming to an end, I'm just kind of...bleh. I want it over and done with and I'll take my B's and go home. I think since it's the end I'm just kind of getting down and losing interest. Oh well~
My ex-host family wants me to go a barbecue on Saturday in the mountains. I'm trying to get out of it. lol~ Well, since I've managed to get out of everything this semester and not see them since Xmas, then I should prolly go since I'm leaving soon. But, since exams are next week I'm only going if they can get me to a train station by 3pm. No way I'm putting up with them allll day.
And the secret is here: http://www.everything2.com/index.pl?nod
Why didn't I know this before? Well, I'm lazy!
Anyway, simple as pie! THANK YOU INTERNET!
/end
(((btw sorry for the gigantic post!)))
Gifu
http://pics.livejournal.com/pandafactor
Went to this onsen during Spring break, and wowowow was that great! Thanks to a friend, on the way to the place we got there in around 3 hours by car, and then maybe another 2 hours by train. It should have been 3 or 3.5 hours, but we got on the wrong, faster, train, and then they charged us like 3 times the price. Damnit! Next time we double check!! Anyway, the onsen was really relaxing, with a tub in our room looking over the mountains (and crispy cool March air), and the public tubs looking over more mountains and the town below. There was a sauna, too, but uh, that was really wayyy too hot! The food was 100% Japanese, which meant that I could only eat half of it, and only like half of that half, hehe~ At night someone brought us the most comfy futons ever with giant blankets and pillows. Just simply amazing! Everyone needs to go to one of these... To keep costs down, our return trip was between 6 and 7 hours on a train. Not so bad, since we were with friends, and the train went through the mountains and passed over a beautiful turquoise river. It reminded me of the color of rivers you see on those miniature train sets with perfect landscaping..
Yoshino
http://pics.livejournal.com/pandafactor
Traveled 2 hours Northish to get to Yoshino, a really famous spot for Cherry Blossoms. The mountain sides are completely covered with these trees, so when they bloom the hills turn pink. Really great view, peaceful and smelled so sweet! And, we ended up climbing a mountain, which made us hungry, so we ate Cherry Blossom ice cream (mmmm! Tastes like a flower and strawberry mix!), fish on a stick, some weird pasty candy (eww..) and a whole bunch of other junk food. We also stopped at a little cafe with bad service to eat ice cream with sweet beans and coconut squares (which was yummy enough to make up for the bad service lol) and soba (nooooodles).
Mt.Hiei
http://pics.livejournal.com/pandafactor
I climbed a mountain! Woo! My history class went on this trip to see a temple at the top and some little sights around there, and so we could relive the climb monks used to make in the old days. Well, to be honest, the history stuff was interesting, but I really only went because I wanted to climb a mountain. ;) We were lucky, the weather was beautiful, cool, and the forests and views of Kyoto below us were beautiful as well. We started up the mountain around 10:30 and finally reached the other side around 6pm. *phew* Long day, and I hurt afterward, but it was worth it. Everyone climbed at their own pace, which was generally slow, but I wanted to have alone time like some mountain man or something so I trudged ahead and was alone for most of the day. I brought along a big walking stick that my prof found when we first started, and that was actually really useful. I at first thought that the "trail" my prof mentioned would be like a dirt path or something really simple, but it turned out that the "trail" was actually just a beaten down path through the forest that people had been using for the past few hundred years. So, it really was a climb!
Fushimi Inari
http://pics.livejournal.com/pandafactor
This place began me and Mike's one day Kyoto extravaganza (getting a bunch of sightseeing done in one day). It's famous for it's huge lines of red gates that go through the mountains all the way to the top. I was really surprised though, because I thought that it was just one big line of gates somewhere, but in reality it was almost endless. Lots and lots of stairs. LOTS of stairs. We made it about mid-way, getting passed up by monks jogging up and down the mountain, before we decided that we'd spent enough time walking up stairs, it was only 10:30 and we were already beat, so we gave up and went back down, and headed to our next stop.
Ginkakuji
http://pics.livejournal.com/pandafactor
Earlier, I posted pictures of Kinkakuji, the golden pavilion. This is it's counterpart, the silver pavilion. At least, it was supposed to be silver, but it was never finished, leaving it kind of run down and dumpy looking. But the gardens surrounding it are really beautiful, and we came to this place on a gorgeous day, so even if the pavilion was kinda poopy, it had other things to make up for it. I don't know how it is on weekends normally, but we came on a Sunday before a Monday holiday, and it was jam-packed! The road leading up to it was packed with lines of people so that you really couldn't move, and you ended up walking slowly behind a few hundred others. The shops up the street were packed, lines were huge, people people everywhere! And, that road was reallly long, and it was getting warm, so we stopped halfway for some vanilla and green tea ice cream. Mm...
Heian Jingu
http://pics.livejournal.com/pandafactor
One of the more famous, but less exciting places to see in Kyoto. The highlight of this place was its "fortune trees" (see pics) and a few Geisha walking around. Outside the temple grounds are swarms of carriage men (someone remind me what these are called...) that pull you around in a little two-seater on wagon wheels.(oh! Rickshaws!! *ding*) We also got stopped by a group of people demanding hugs, holding signs that said "free hugs" and videoing them hugging people. When asked "why are you hugging people?", one of the girls answered "because I'm happy!". Uh huh. Ok......
Kawai Kanjiro's House
http://pics.livejournal.com/pandafactor
We visited this on Mike's request, since he's learning pottery. The man was really famous for his pottery, but after seeing it I was pretty unimpressed and admired his house instead. If I'm ever rich, I'll build a house like that.
Sanjuusan Kannon (1000 Kannon Hall)
http://pics.livejournal.com/pandafactor
Pictures weren't allowed, so Google helped me find some to show you the inside. Just. Wow. One thousand people-sized identical statues of Kannon, with people-sized statues of various gods lined in front, and a gigantic centerpiece. Breathtaking. Beautiful. and...scary. Lines of bronze statues are really pretty, but hundreds of identical ones staring at you and surrounding you is kind of creepy. Also, the gods statues had glass eyes, so they shimmered and looked wet and alive. *shudder*
Yasaka Jinja
http://pics.livejournal.com/pandafactor
Found this after much trouble of comparing a map of Kyoto to our surroundings, which don't look much alike. This temple is in Gion, which is "old Kyoto", with a very old, Japanese atmosphere, and if you're lucky you can spot a Geisha running away from mobs of cameramen. Nice place, but I felt uncomfortable walking around there with camera and souvenirs in hand, as tourists don't seem to be welcome for anything but their money. Especially to the Geisha, who seem to constantly be badgered and stopped and hassled by foreigners. So we scurried out and went shopping :)
Ahh! Done!! *phew*
Well, that's about it for travels. I've got nothing big left, as the end of my trip is nearing and I'll be back to Florida and school for a while. I've finished all of my souvenir shopping, and yes I probably forgot about you, so don't expect much ;) . What's left is a trip to Osaka for a walk through a 1800's styled food theme park, and a trip to the restaurant "Absinthe", where Kaz and I are going to see what the green stuff does. Don't worry, our wallets (erm..I mean common sense and good judgement) will keep us from downing too much, hehe. ;) And after that? Finals, packing, paying airport fines for heavy bags, and then...home!
<3
Christmas: http://pics.livejournal.com/pandafactor
Okayama (Kaz's hometown): http://pics.livejournal.com/pandafactor
Kinkakuji: http://pics.livejournal.com/pandafactor
Asuka: http://pics.livejournal.com/pandafactor
Osaka Aquarium: http://pics.livejournal.com/pandafactor
http://pics.livejournal.com/pandafactor
Osaka Sky Building (a date! oh no! 11/29/06)
http://pics.livejournal.com/pandafactor
Tokyo (12/15-12/19/06)
http://pics.livejournal.com/pandafactor
10-22-06: Jidai Matsuri (Festival of Ages)
10-25-06: Elementary School Smash
11-12-06: Osaka Castle, and the Day My Head Exploded
↓↓Just scroll down↓↓
This week has been craptacular! Finals! UGH! Spent all weekend, as in 10am to midnight both days, cramming for my Japanese tests, which turned out to not be too painful, and then today came and I found out that all the things I thought were important to concentrate on for my Asian Law class were the exact opposite of what my prof thought was important. First time in my life I've ever considered writing "I don't know" as an answer. Ugh. Well, I got an A on the midterm but my mid-midterm grade remains a mystery so my possible final grades range from an F to a B (he's not that nice). Woo, go me. Anyway, Japanese tests were fine, tomorrow's Pacific Rivalry (Asian political/economic relations n' stuff class) should be easy, that teacher likes it when we regurgitate what he told us in class. My essay is a bit, ok a lot, of rambling, but it's relatively on topic, and I answered the questions he asked, if in a bit of a convoluted way that's characteristically me, I would say.. On top of that, I don't actually believe he's going to read them. Seriously.
Briefly, because it's late, a schedule for the next few weeks, I'll explain later, right? Tomorrow: last final of the year! Friday: meeting with Lauren for the last time this year :( then leaving for Tokyo in the evening, staying in Tokyo for 3 days, returning on Tuesday. The next day (20th) I'm moving out from my host family's house. I'll be screaming "freedom" like Ol' Mel in Braveheart (which is still my favorite movie ever btw). That night is the "yay school's over!" party with my frisbee friends. 9 day break in which I PROMISE I'll update EVERYTHING. promise. Then I'm being dragged to Okayama for New Year's to meet Kazuki's family. I'll be clawing the ground the whole way. Shouldn't be terrible, but I'm so nervous, and I don't want to gaijin smash the family New Year's party. Urf. After that, nothin' till the end of January. I'll probably be roaming about doing stuff, of course, but no major trips or anything planned.
In another story that may or may not have an ending, a exchange student friend I have works at a bar/restaurant place across from the school, and asked me yesterday if I'd be interested in working there maybe one day a week, doing simple stuff like serving beer and giggling and stuff. Hahaha, well, I'm not too thrilled about working, and I'm not too thrilled about serving beer, but I think it'd be a rad experience, and I'll get to practice Japanese and giggle a bunch. But since I'm going to be busy till the beginning of next month, I'll wait and talk to the owner about it then.
Btw, grandpa: Dad says you're bugging him because I never update! SO, get in touch with me on aim/msn, mmmmkay! ♥
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