Monday, January 7, 2013

First post in Japan!

I made it!!!

I can actually say that I am in Japan! There's been a lack of updating due to a lot of movement via changing the planes, riding the train, moving in etc. There was another post I was supposed to finish, but I never got around to doing it because of all of the moving. Well to begin...

I had two layovers, one in Los Angeles, and the other in Seoul Korea. The layover in Los Angeles was terrible, I was already exhausted because the trip was in the evening and I had to wait three hours and I arrived at the airport around 9:35pm so that's around midnight.

The trip to Seoul wasn't any better, but the food was delish! They offered two Korean dishes, and I tried both because I figured having an open mind to food would create a mindset to try new things in Japan(mind you I already decided to eat a lot healhtier in Japan, because of all the dishes with the various vegetables and it's tasty-ness...anyways...)  The dishes they offered was Bibimbop and Sole Fish. I've never had any, but I definitely ate it!



Bibimap
 




Sole Fish


On the way to Japan...
I met someone who was going to the same program as I, and we decided to become buddies. I was actually a little excited to have someone to travel with. When we got to Japan the lines through immigration was terrible and then we had to go to another line because we had certificates. It was such a bummer!  We didn't come from the airport until 12pm. From there my new buddy and I traveled from the Nagoya Chubu airport to Hikone all by ourselves!! 

I can also say that I am proud of myself because I did most of communicating to get us where we needed to go!

I haven't taken Japanese for a semester, and most of the information I did learn I mostly forgot, but having to ask for directions, get my ticket back from the machine, and tell the taxi driver where to take us, I think I can say that I did pretty good! I got us to where we needed to go way before the other students arrived( my buddy and I already ate, unpacked, showered and were in bed. The rest of the students didn't get to campus till around 10pm. 10 points for us!)

I will post pictures in another post, but I just wanted to share some details to update the blog!

-Aki

5 comments:

  1. Hey Claire!

    I'm glad to see you made it to Japan! Sticking with blogging while you are abroad is going to be a tough challenge but stick with it!!! You will not regret it later!!! :-D I am excited for your upcoming adventures and new experiences and I will be constantly looking for updates!

    Good luck, have fun, and don't worry about being homesick! Anytime you have a bad day remember you're having a bad day in JAPAN! ;-)

    Kayla

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    1. Thanks Kay! You know you were my inspiration for creating this blog!! So far it has been a little difficult updating, but I am trying!! :D

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  2. Claire (or Aki)! I didn't get a chance to say good-bye:( It sounds like you're having a good time so far, despite the long and exhausting travel time. I'm glad you arrived safe and sound and I look forward to reading all about your many adventures in Japan!

    <3
    Laurie

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  3. Its wonderful to be able to practice Japanese! Omg! The hard part is remembering what to say and how to get your point across, especially after a long break.
    That's how I feel now! I am going on semester two without a traditional Japanese practice. Sad day...

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