It's Off to Japan!

My application is off to Japan I mean.

Finally, I got my interview done. (I waited months longer than everyone else because all of the volunteers were busy in the Greater Puget Sound Area). My full application is being processed by AFS Japan right now and I should be accepted within 4-6 weeks.

The only thing I'm a little worried about is my shoulder. When I was born, the doctor screwed up and did some stuff he wasn't supposed to, which resulted in a nerve being torn apart in my right shoulder. I'm left handed now, but I had to have major surgeries on my shoulder and I have lots off issues and loss of movement in it. It doesn't stop me from living a normal life though, I just can't do push-ups or have a super heavy backpack and several other things, but mostly I've learned to adapt. AFS USA got a doctor to write a medical recommendation to AFS Japan for me, so hopefully they'll still accept me! They can't say anything until the application deadline, which was moved to October 10th, so all of us students in the US have to wait until then, sadly.

I also applied for a full scholarship (called the Yoshi Hattori Memorial scholarship, in memory of a Japanese exchange student that was shot and killed by an American). If I got it, I would get all $14,000 of the tuition covered for me! I'm praying that I'm at least a semi-finalist. I should know in the next week or two.

To apply, I had to write four different essays. The prompts were questions such as:
What is the responsibility of an exchange student abroad and when they return? Do you believe in gun control? When have you displayed leadership? Why do you want to be a exchange student?

I think I answered all of them well and to the best of my ability, so we'll just have to see!

That Much Closer...

I just sent in my first tuition deposit! It was $900, but I already had that money so it was no problem.

Right before he pressed submit, my dad turned to me and said "This is a huge deal, are you sure you want to be away from home for 11 months?" Why ask that now? I am so ready. It's all I can think about. I'll finally be able to leave how I've always lived and go find myself while doing what I love to do!

I feel really close to Japan now. THIS IS HAPPENING. For real! I feel like I'm in some sort of dream.
I'm going to submit everything except the interview tomorrow, and then I'll be yet another step closer to the Rising Sun.

One of my favorite quotes is:

"Making a big life change is scary...But you know what's even scarier?

Regret."

I first saw it on a post on tumblr, in one of the exchange student tags, and it's proven to be very true so far. I'd rather live my dream and plan my future than sit back and relax in my warm cozy American home. As much apprehension and nervousness I feel as the departure date nears, the excitement I have will always trump it.

I'm ready to see the world!! 

Almost there with the App

Today is the 4th of July, or Independence Day for the U.S.

Soon, my application will be sent to Japan...I think.

My TB test was.....negative! I am allergic to the medicine though so the injection site on my arm was all itchy and they thought a lump was there. (15mm lump = positive) Thankfully though it was only 10mm, so I'm fine.

My blood type is O+, and the most common in the world, so that's good, too.

In Japan, many people think that blood type can dictate your personality. Studies have shown (with a different blood typing method than ABO) that certain blood types can cause higher anxiety, but they haven't found a link to personality. Japanese people are so interesting. I love learning about their traditions.

I checked what O+ is just to be sure, and here's what one website said: 

"If people with Type A blood are Clark Kent, Type O people are Superman. People with Type O blood types are said to be outgoing, confident and passionate with very dominant personalities. It’s said that public figures are often Type O, like politicians and baseball players."

Apparently, we're also known to be ruthless, self-centered, and cold, so I don't quite know how I feel about that! :)

Check out what you are here: http://www.tofugu.com/2011/09/21/true-blood-personality-and-blood-types-in-japan/

It's pretty fun!

Anyway, I just need to send in my deposit, which I will definitely do today or tomorrow, and then I need an interview....but the interviewer is not e-mailing me back. It's getting frustrating but I'm trying to be patient.

Needles. Yuck.

I think I'll be able to send in my revised application later today!! Then all I'll have left is the $900 deposit and an in-home interview. Oh and don't forget the scholarships!

Miraculously, my mom got me into the doctor's office about 10 hours after I asked her to call. This appointment is for my TB test and I'll also get my blood typed, and that information will go to the  Japanese High School that I'll be going to. ♥

If you know me, you know I hate needles. I get super stressed out whenever I need a new vaccine, and my parents are required by me to get me the flu mist instead of the shot It's weirdly ironic because my mom is a nurse and my dad is a veterinarian and I'm okay with giving shots...I'm just not happy with receiving them. But who is? When I had surgery, both times I made them knock me out with the gas anesthesia before they gave me an IV. ^^;

Oh well, this needs to happen. So far I've had about three shots for Japan if I count what I got before I went in February. But, if I want to go, I'm going to have to brave a few needles. I can do it! TB tests aren't even supposed to hurt that much, anyway. (Let's hope people haven't been lying to me about that the whole time).

Waiting for AFS

Hey everyone! I hope you're all having a great Summer :)

Well, my application is almost finished!! I have a doctor's appointment left (I need my blood type and  a TB test) and also I have to get an in-home interview from an AFS volunteer...I'm pretty sure that it will help with choosing a host family for me, so I'm not nervous about that! :) Oh and I also have to pay the $900 deposit, but I already have that money so that's going to be a breeze.

Next, I'm going to apply for the scholarships that AFS is offering. There are 3 (2 half, 1 full) and they are merit-based and need-based. I'm really praying that I can get one because student exchange is not cheap!! Wish me luck.

I'm also praying that I get Japan. If it fills up early that would suck, but I sent in my application the first time super early and all the volunteers keep praising me for that so I think I'm good. I'm just really excited and grateful to have this opportunity.

Hey everyone! I hope you're all having a great Summer :)

Well, my application is almost finished!! I have a doctor's appointment left (I need my blood type and  a TB test) and also I have to get an in-home interview from an AFS volunteer...I'm pretty sure that it will help with choosing a host family for me, so I'm not nervous about that! :) Oh and I also have to pay the $900 deposit, but I already have that money so that's going to be a breeze.

Next, I'm going to apply for the scholarships that AFS is offering. There are 3 (2 half, 1 full) and they are merit-based and need-based. I'm really praying that I can get one because student exchange is not cheap!! Wish me luck.

I'm also praying that I get Japan. If it fills up early that would suck, but I sent in my application the first time super early and all the volunteers keep praising me for that so I think I'm good. I'm just really excited and grateful to have this opportunity.

For those of you that haven't talked to me much about Japan, want to know more about it, or don't know me personally:

An article about me in my local newspaper: http://www.thenorthernlight.com/news/article.exm/2014-01-22_funabashi_exchange_inspires_student_to_travel_abroad

About me!!:

I plan to teach ESL or be a liaison/ambassador for the U.S. in Japan when I am older, so I want to start following my dreams now.

I believe that world peace can only happen through understanding each other's cultural and personal differences. We can help by traveling. Not as tourists, but as learners. I want to help make this dream of mine come true by breaking stereotypes and overcoming language and cultural barriers. That's only one of the reasons why I want to study abroad in Japan.

I also want to go to Japan because I'm extremely interested in foreign language and culture, and Japanese is my favorite language. I've been to Japan before and I lived with a Japanese host family for ten days in February of 2013. The Blaine High School wind ensemble went to Funabashi, Chiba (A large city next to Tokyo) to perform in the Funabashi Music Festival (dubbed "the festival of a thousand people") as the foreign guests. It was actually the fourth time that our band had gone, but since I was a freshman at the time it was my first!

I've traveled a lot in my life, but mostly to tropical places such as the Caribbean or Hawaii. And of course I've been to Canada since I literally live so close I could throw a rock over the border, but this adventure to Japan was my first time out of North America. And it was amazing.

Some pictures of my trip:

^ My good friend Yurika and I (She's from Soshin Gakuin,  a Christian girls school we visited and played at in Yokohama. They came to Blaine to visit us in March of 2013!)

^ Playing my flute on Tokyo TV

^ Hanging out with  other students in Tokyo Disneyland!

My whole life, I've always loved Japanese culture. My dad lived all over Asia for a year while he was in college as part of a study abroad trip, following Buddhism from the spread to the source. He taught me to use chopsticks and to say "konnichiwa" and "arigatou" and "hai!" from before age 5. He also taught me to love Japanese food :)

In April 2012, when I auditioned for the Blaine High School wind ensemble and made it in, I found out that we were going to go to Japan and I was overjoyed! It was too good to be true, I thought. When I went to Funabashi, I never once wanted to leave, and I was heartbroken when it came time to step on a plane and go home to my tiny town of Blaine. But then I realized I had to go back and find myself, so I decided to move to Japan as an exchange student in order to better immerse and surround myself with their culture, language, and people, among other things!

And there you have it! Hopefully I'll hear from you in the future. Ask me any questions you have, please!