An Explanation and An Intro (Part II)

I had originally meant for this blog to serve as a way for me to share my experiences abroad, not only with my friends and family, but also with a larger community as well - particularly my home campus (Wash U) - to act as a fun, open way for other students to learn about the whole study abroad experience. Obviously, that didn't quite work out - as I explained earlier, I had no internet connection at my homestay house, and my precious internet time at school was eaten up by things like homework and email. In the end, I simply wasn't able to utilize this blog the way I wanted to, something I really regret.

But don't give up hope, dear readers (however few of you are out there)! Since this can't be an active journal anymore, I thought I'd turn it into a retrospective instead. The good thing is, it's been less than a semester since I left Japan, so my memories are still fresh. The downside is that I may not be able to convey all of the initial enthusiasm and excitement I felt when I was in the midst of my program, but on the other hand my time back in America and back at Wash U has given me time to reflect and get some perspective on everything. Hopefully the entries will be more structured and informative and less messy and stream-of-consciousness too, now that I can look back on my semester as a whole. So enjoy reading, and hope you can all learn something! And as always, pleeaaase feel free to leave some comments or questions! This blog is linked to my main email address, which I check multiple times a day and will continue to use, so you'll always be able to reach me. I'd be super excited to get an email from a future study abroad student years from now :D

出発進行！