Orientation and BIG NEWS!

Last night was the orientation for all the students who are going to Japan on the year program and I finally got to meet the other 16 people I will be traveling/studying with. (not including all the other EAP students outside of our campus though). Keio had the most student, 6 of us, and most of the other universities had 1-3 students attending. We got to meet with past Japan study abroad students who had gone to our respective universities and talk with them about all the ins and outs of their experiences. So cool! It made me even more excited (and nervous) to talk with them and see how it has changed them for the better. I can't wait to improve my language skills, be immersed in the city culture, and really feel what it is like to be Japanese (since I am). I also got to meet the other students who are going to Keio; Danica, Brian, Cambria, Elaine, and Sadie. Also got to meet Lukas in person (facebook friend) but we only barely waved across the room. :( The orientation lasted about an hour and a half (we ran over time because we were so busy talking), and was overall really helpful for my mental preparation. I do somewhat feel intimidated though...all the students besides me have taken at least two years of Japanese and while I am rather advanced vocabulary wise for someone in the 1 series, there are people who have taken beyond the 100 series. Holy cow. Hopefully i can hold my own.

In other news...I GOT THE SCHOLARSHIP I APPLIED FOR! I'm SO excited. I was nervous about it the entirety of the last few weeks, since I heard I got into the top 8 chosen by EAP but knew there would only be 5 chosen in the end. We weren't supposed to hear about it until tomorrow, but my adviser emailed me today telling me that I got it! I immediately emailed my mom and Mrs. A to tell them the news. This makes life SO much easier. I'm still waiting on the other scholarship, but really, this makes a huge impact. Hurrah!