Music is another huge part of my life. I connect it to everything- my mood, friends, events and other things going on in my life, and now with my blog! I have been trying to figure out a way to incorporate music into my blog for a while and I think I have finally figured it out. Periodically I will have a song or two at the top of my post, feel free to play them as you read my blog (or just listen to the lyrics) because the songs I have chosen connect to what I am writing about and how I am feeling in some way. A few of my friends (who are also going on exchange) and I have been brainstorming a playlist of music that we feel connects to us as friends, how we are feeling as we prepare to leave for exchange, and what we hope to experience while on exchange. I hope you enjoy this slightly different twist with my blogging.
Somewhere Only We Know- Glee version
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sR2uxRQ7Wac
The Call- Regina Spektor
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNsQewlFtEs
I officially have a two week count down! That gives me only 14 days to go shopping for last minute items, pack, and say my goodbyes. 14 days is not a lot of time to say goodbye when I have so many people I love and care about and would like to see one last time before I depart for a year. I have already had my first few run-ins with saying goodbye. Let me tell you, goodbyes are hard and no fun. They have been very sad but necessary. I know I will return and see most of my family and friends again next summer but there is still the fact that things are changing. I have never liked change, even as a little kid. Now that I am older, obviously I realize that change is unavoidable and just a part of life, which I accept. There have been a lot of changes taking place lately (for better and for worse) and looking ahead there is an entire year of changes waiting for me. I am very excited to discover what the future has in store and I can't wait to start my adventure!
As my departure approaches, there is still a strange underlying feeling I can't seem to get over. It is like I haven't quite accepted the fact that this is really happening. I have been researching, planning, and reading blogs for rotary youth exchange since 10th grade and now my own exchange is almost here! I don't know if I will be able to truly accept the fact that I will really be living in a different country for a year until I am on the plane.
In my last post I said I would most likely do an updated blog as I learned more information. Speaking of planes, I'll start with my flight schedule. I am scheduled to leave Minneapolis airport early in the morning, have a couple hour layover in Seattle, then fly directly to the KIX airport in Osaka, Japan. I'll leave Minneapolis August 15th at 7am and arrive in Japan on August 16th around 3:30pm (with over 16 hours of traveling in total), talk about crossing some time zones!
I have also learned more about my daily life for this next year. I will have two host families (as of now), the Akegami's and the Hirakawa’s. In the Akegami family (my first host family) I have an "otousan" (おとうさん=dad), an "okaasan"(おかあさん=mom), a 19 year old host sister who is attending a university, and a 16 year old host sister who will be leaving for Minnesota on August 25 on her own rotary youth exchange! I will live with this family until early April when I move in with the Hirakawa family. I don't really know anything about my second family except that I have one.
As for school, I will be going to Kanan High School starting off as a junior this fall and continueing on with that class into the beginning of their senior year in the spring (school in Japan is April to April). I'll have an hour commute to school by bus and train, thankfully my 16 year old host sister has offered to show me the way the first couple of times. I will actually be going into her class, so she told her friends to talk to me and help me! It was super kind of her. I guess my teachers have also offered to help teach me Japanese, which is a huge relief. My school is co-ed and has school uniforms! It might sound strange but I am really looking forward to having a uniform. 1. It is only for a year, and will be something different than I am used to 2. It will help me blend in a bit at school. The more I can fit in from the start the better I will feel and hopefully adjust (and be accepted for that matter).
And that concludes my massive blog of the day! It was a long one but now I feel I have summed up everything that has happened in this past month. I will try to keep my blog updated as I actually begin my travels.
Sayonara from Northfield.
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