Schools out!!!

Ahhh! Finally! As of today, I have offically completed my lovely junior college years at Diablo Valley College.

The past 6 weeks I have been taking my final required classes to complete my transfer to San Francisco State University, an English lit class and a pyschology class. i wouldn't have had to take the english class if i had only taken a critical thinking english class instead of a critical thinking sociology class >.< doh! but oh well, i have enjoyed both classes, even though it has ment a lot more writing.

true to fashion i am adored by every english teacher i have (except for that bitchy woman in high school... i hated her so much). I don't know why English teachers seem to consider my writing mild genious... i think it's ok most of the time, sometimes i'm impressed with what I have created. just like my art, though i haven't done that in a long while.

What has been really interesting though is that because of the massive heat wave that has hit my area (120'F!), there have been some massive electrical problems at my school so they cancelled ALL classes for two days. Two days, and this is supposed to be finals week! I didn't care though, because my pysch class ended on that day and the teacher Pitner emailed us and told us that he had to leave town and would all just get As on the final! ehehe, Paul Pitner you are an awesome man.

With my mind no longer on DVC or English work, hopefully i can refocus on preparing for studying abroad and studying Japanese.

Ganbarimasu~!

Another hurdle cleared

So after months of waiting, this study abroad process (ha! maybe circus!) is getting less nebulous and more certain... i really, officially am going to Japan, and now i am really, offically a student of Waseda University ^_^ yes!

This letter helps me get my visa from the japanese consulate... helps, but doesn't make it easier. I had a bit of a run around on Friday trying to get everything done... i don't know why, but they want a picture of you with a white background and no smiling... i guess government is a serious business and no time or place for happiness. just look at the DMV people ^_^

I also opened my CitiBank account that i will use in japan. me and my mom open one together so it will be easier for her to send money. hopefully my host family will be near an Citibank atm (i hear there is one in Ginza) so that i don't have to go to so much trouble to get money.

The more "offical" things like getting this letter or opening the account get done the more i feel like my trip, no not trip, 日本に新しい生活 (new life in Japan), is coming quickly... i went to a japanese grocery store this weekend and i bought nothing, not even my favorite ミルクティー(milk tea), thinking, "this is overpriced, i'll be in japan soon anyways."

huh. so soon... it's really coming, and it's coming soon........

i look forward to it, but am not overlooking the good times i am still in the process of making here at home.

Every New Beginning Is Some Other Beginnings End

...So says the band Third Eye Blind . You can take a step forward to the future without leaving something behind.

I am stepping forward to my future, a future that is sure to be at least in part in Japan.

what am i leaving behind...? Family, friends, my boyfriend, my junior college DVC, a way of life that i have know for 20 years, my dependency, and hopefully my misconceptions and sterotypes.

...and i'll probably forget to take some things with me, like enough socks or patience ^_^

So welcome to my Blog, A Twist of Fate. This is ment to chronicle my life for my upcoming year aboad in Japan studying at Waseda Universty in Tokyo, and beyond. By recording my life, both in writing and in pictures i want to better understand myself, my environment, and those who affect me.

They say that these are the best years of your life. Maybe, maybe not. But no matter what happens i want to remember them, and make them memories to never regret.

So, to my shining future...Cheers and Kanpai!