Japan, Take Two

We dropped Tom off at the airport last night and it was somewhat surreal. I think he's right, he has no clue what he's getting into. :-)

I leave in roughly a week, so I'm starting to pack and review grammar for the entrance exams. Quite a few people have asked me: Why Japanese? Why Japan? In hindsight, it was somewhat of a random choice. I can remember going to the assembly in middle school about the languages the high school offered. I hated French by that point, and Japanese sounded more interesting than German. (Sorry, Dave.)

It's hard to believe, but after this year, I will have studied the language for one-third of my life. I really liked the classes in high school and even got the chance to spend the summer after my sophomore year in Toyama, on the Sea of Japan. College Japanese has been tough and tedious, but I've kind of been brain-washed to enjoy it. Hm, maybe that's how Classics majors feel ...

My initial motivation in studying abroad in Japan was to learn to speak the language better, but now it's more similar to Tom's. I'd really to get to know the Japanese people and culture as best as I can. I will be attending Nanzan University in Nagoya (名古屋の南山大学), a Catholic school in a major city between Tokyo and Kyoto. I look forward to hearing from Tom, Dave (!), and Luke, and to share some of my experiences.