行く前には。。。 Before Going...

The interim four weeks between finishing summer school and setting out on my adventures abroad is drawing to a close. Today is Tuesday, which means that I will be leaving the US in less than five days, Yikes!

It's interesting the questions that I get asked when I tell people that I am leaving to study abroad in Japan. There are two main ones, the obvious yet very appropriate, "Are you excited?" and the one that makes me wonder what people think of me, "Are you scared?" My answers will follow, but first, why do people ask if I am scared? I understand that Japan is very far from my home, about 5,500 miles to be exact, and I also understand that Japan does not speak English, my first language (who knew!). Furthermore while my skills in Japanese get better everyday, I still am below par. On that basis I can understand why someone would ask if I was scared, but somehow it still seems somewhat of a strange question to ask, to me anyway. The way I seem to see it is that each person who askses me that question sees me as somehow incapable. I believe that I am smart enough to make the right decisions, to make the best of my time, and most importantly to be safe and ultimately...survive. Perhaps people just honestly care for me, and would be scared if they were in my position, and are thus acting humanely as humans tend to. And perhaps I can't see that because I am an asshole. You decide :)

Now to get to the answers to those questions. Am I excited: not really. As unusual as that may sound, I feel as if I have been working/studying non-stop since school began last year in September, and I have not had a single break. I am therefore very in need of relaxation, and am really enjoying my current state of leisure at home. I suppose the right answer to that question is, I am excited, but not ecstatically so, I am however starting to get anxious. Am I scared: not even a little. I have been planning this trip since I was in middle school. For what ever reason I have had an infatuation with all things Japanese for as long as I can remember (who knows why, the best answer can be found here: http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.com/2008/02/07/58-japan/). As far as I am concerned, this is one of my life capstones, And I feel as if I can die contentedly after my trip is over. As long as I make it to Japan I have nothing to fear (this doesn't mean I wont play it safe). This is why I see this question as such an unsavory one.

Now I have to say thank you to some people. First, to all my friends. You have all been so enthusiastic and have helped me through my journey up to this point, especially Red. I still remember booking my airfare, and the two day process that Red and I took to determine the best day (Which I decided would be two days before I officially have to arrive). Thank you so much for all the good wishes and the support. For those of you that made it up for Rage (which was very few) Thank you so much! I had a blast that weekend, including the near death tire escapade. Also thanks for the Birthday/Goodbye party which came after D9 and before Ice Skating. I still have two horrible bruises from the Ice skating by the way. I also want to say thanks to Ray, my roommate, who I coincidentally ran into at the train station in Los Angeles on Sunday. He has gone through a lot of crap with me ditching him to study abroad. For example having to worry about apartment rent and so on and so forth. He's a great guy and I am glad that he could be my roomie :)

And thank you most importantly to my wonderful parents. They have been along my side through everything and they are wonderful. I could go on and on about them :]

One thing that is quite funny is my mothers infatuattion with me looking good while I am abroad. She recently told me that I do not know how to dress myself, and so she has been taking me around buying me cloths. The purpose of these cloths is so that I can do nothing other than look pretentious while I am abroad. thanks mom.

日本にいるまでに、
Until I Am In Japan,
Cary

Yokohama, the second largest city in Japan, and my four month home away from home. The tallest building in the picture is also the tallest building in Japan and 56th in the world Furthermore it houses the second fastest elevator in the world, traveling at 41ft per second, allowing access from floor 1 to 69 in 40 seconds. In addition, I am sane :]