Time to go!

Hello to you all and welcome to this blog I’ll be (trying to) keep up to date while studying abroad in Japan. The departure will be this week, Thursday to be exact, and I’ll be staying there for about 7 months. But, as you’re reading this, you’re most likely a friend who already knows. :)

About the title of this blog, forgive me and my love for quotes. And for Lord of the Rings.

The summer vacation has been quite uneventful. Besides getting a visa and plane tickets, I didn’t really think about Japan much. I’ve been hanging around the house, being lazy, until about two weeks ago when I suddenly realized September 22^nd was coming closer. My parents, I think, felt about the same. Not that we’re sobbing (“I’ll miss yououou”), after all, I’m only leaving for a few months.

Everyone seems so excited about me going there to study, I keep getting congratulations, advice and invitations to meet up and have fun once I’ve reached Japanese soil. I’m very, very excited too, but I also can’t help feeling nervous about it. Despite all the advice, I only have a vague idea what to expect. I didn’t think I’d actually get to study in Fukuoka and to be honest, the information I received was late, unclear and by times confusing. A lot I’ve heard from fellow students, like about the Yakkan Shoumei, a document that allows you to bring more than a month’s supply of medicine to Japan. I had no idea the thing existed until they told me. On the other hand, I’m pretty bad with administrational things, so maybe I just didn’t notice.
Travelling alone is also something new to experience. I’ve been on planes before, when I was little – sleeping and getting candy from the stewardess – but I’ve never been up in the sky by myself. A new city is a bit of a challenge as well, as I easily get lost.
Also, I’ve never been in Japan. All knowledge I have about it is gathered through the internet and manga. The language I’ve studied from books and courses. I probably sound a bit unnatural, now I’ll have the chance to find out.

And I won’t be going alone! A. and J., two lovely girls from the same university, will also be studying in Fukuoka’s Womens University. The three of us will be taking the same planes to Japan, which is a relief. And you know what they say, three is a company. With J. I’ll return to rainy Belgium in March (A. is staying there, that lucky woman :D).
Originally we’d be a company of four people, which is even better, but that was cancelled because one girl couldn’t come. The girl in question is a very close friend who is absolutely obsessed about Japan, it’s a bummer the university didn’t let her in.

Right now what’s left for me to do is to pack my suitcase (which turns out to be a bigger task than expected) and other preparations. I’ll be there soon!