kombanwa minna-sama!

Hello all from Japan!

It is around 10pm Japan time here on the 24th, and I am on one of the computers that is provided at the youth hostel we are staying at.  We arrived at the airport around 4pm on the 23rd, and basically chilled out and exchanged money until our bus got to the airport around 7pm.  While we were waiting, some of us rented phones,　some got food, and others tried to nap (I would have napped since I didn’t get much sleep on the plane, but I wanted to make sure I could pass out later.

We got to the youth hostel around 8pm (it was raining outside unfortunately) and went up to the 18th floor where it was located.  It is in a large, multi-purpose high rise that has a couple of convenience stores, some offices, and the subway in the basement.　　The main lobby is on the 18th floor, and the 19th floor can only be accessed by stairs from the 18th floor (since both floors are the youth hostel).  We are staying on the 19th floor, which has two wings—one for males and one for females—separated by a main lobby where the dining area and computer area is. 

I am staying in a room with Liz, Colleen, Sarah and Crystal.  It has 4 lockers on either side of the room when you first enter, then the two bunks, and a small table area (with a roll-out for the 5th person in our room).  It actually is really nice and has a great view).  The funny thing is that we have curfew—you have to be on the 18th floor by 11pm, because the fence will roll down on the entrance and WILL NOT open until 6am the following morning (NO EXCEPTIONS!).  Also, 11pm is lights out—meaning that all of the main lights　will go out and you can’t turn them on again unitl 6am as well.

Before going to bed, I went to take a shower in the public shower area.  Basically, you put your clothes in a cubby, and go naked into the bathing area (I cheated and brought my towel).  You then have a choice of a sititng shower area (sit on a stool and shower with stalls only separated by a small divider), or a western-style shower.  I opted for Western, but I will try the sit-down one before I leave!  They also have a small bath that you can sit in—only catch is NO towels or swimwear!  Basically, you can’t be too shy : P

I didn’t really sleep well the first night—still adjusting I guess—so I voluntarily got up at 6am (can you believe it mom?).  I finished some homework, ate breakfast and got ready to go.  We bought rail passes and used the subway to get to Rikugi-en, which is a Zen garden.  It was really pretty and had unique landscaping.  We also sat down and had class in one of the verandas.  I was silly enough to not bring my coat, and sitting in the shade in windy, mid-50’s degree weather was a BAD idea.  At least the sun came out later!

Afterward, we travelled to a department store where there were 8 floors of clothes, jewelry and other goods—as well as 2 basement floors of foods to choose from.  After picking out lunch (I cheated and got spaghetti), we went to the roof to eat (BEAUTIFUL!).  After going through the stores and realizing how poor I am (Gucci anyone?), we went back to the Hostel for a few hours off—I did some homework and took a nap.

Then we went down a road full of restaurants and were pretty much told to go ahead and choose somewhere to eat.  Me and 4 others went to a Ramen place (REAL ramen, not that cup stuff : P) and I got a bowl of noodles and broth with pork on top, white rice on the side and pot stickers.  VERY good!  It was pretty awkward trying to order since everything was in Japanese, but luckily they have big pictures to point at lol.

Lastly myself and my dinner group went to the convenient store to buy dessert (I ended up buying a cocktail and a can as well heehee).  After that and a little more exploring, I am now in my current position on the computer!

Sorry for such a long blog—hopefully you guys find it interesting!  I will have post pictures in the next entry!

おやすみなさい！ (goodnight!)

Dani ^_^

It’s about that time…

Hello again!

It is now 5:50am, and I have successfully made it through the night awake!  While we aren’t officially leaving until 6:30am, I feel that I am already on my way.  The poster I did for my door is finished, so anyone at Hiram that wants to track where we are can go to my dorm room door (Miller 304) and see the map and the descriptions of the areas we are going to!

I finally got a hold of my friend Christian (he’s one of the hardest people to get a hold of LOL) who be meeting up with our group while we are in Kyoto.  All that’s left now is to stay up until we leave Chicago-O’Hare for Tokyo-Narita—then I will take a Dramamine and pass out for 8 hours (hopefully)!

So for now, I will say goodbye to everyone in the US (well Ohio anyway…) and hello to Japan in about a day!

Ohayo-Gozaimasu! (Good morning!)
Dani ^_^

Less than 12 hours ‘til liftoff!

Hello lovely people,

It is now a little after 11pm and I just finished my last Resident Assistant Duty as a student at Hiram College—REALLY WEIRD!  I am all packed and finished with journals, so all that is left is to chill and wait for the actual trip to start!  With that in mind, I am staying up until we leave at 6:30am with others that are going to Japan with me, as well as other friends of mine that want to chill with us until we leave.  We will most likely be playing Magic Cards, Mafia, watching movies, eating junk food, and the sorts.

I am SUPER PSYCHED to go, but I am still slightly apprehensive.  I’ve been dying to go to Japan for a long time, and now that I am going I want it to be all that I hoped for.  I just want to have a good time and not think about jobs and such for awhile…

Don’t get me wrong—I’m still going to check my E-mail as much as I can to see if I get a response from the companies I already talked to, but I don’t want to think about the prospects of it until I get back.  This will be the first place I write in if any good news comes my way!

Either way, I’m sure it will be a very unique and life-changing experience!  That’s all for now—time to enjoy the last night here before jet-setting to Japan!

For those at Hiram reading this, have a fantastic 3-week and enjoy the coming of summer in Ohio!  For my family and those close to me, love you all!

Dani ^_^

Noctournal Nature

Hello lovely people,

So, I haven’t written since January…whoops!  The last time I wrote was before OhayoCon—which was fantastic by the way!  It was a bit stressful to get 18 people together and gather their information and budget for all of it (since it was an anime club function), but luckily I had my friend Mike to help me with it.  He’s the President and I’m VP/Treasurer of our college’s anime club, but I find that we cover each other’s jobs. 

In the end, the whole trip was a great success.  Everyone had fun, suffered from lack of sleep, and got back in one piece!  I succeeded in dressing as Itachi from Naruto and a Steampunk Gothic Lolita—though I’d like to improve my Gothic Lolita costume as time goes on (perhaps I’ll get some pictures on here soon).  I just pre-registered for this year’s ColossalCon at Kalahari Waterpark which will take place in early June.  It is a great con, and this year will be my 8th year participating in it!  Can’t wait!  Pre-register lasts until May 8th, so if you are interested, go here and register!

Also, I am quickly approaching the end of my college days.  I formally graduate May 15th with a BA in Communication.  SO CLOSE!  It’s very surreal to think that my 4 years passed by SO quickly.  I’ve enjoyed all of it, but I have to say that this year has been the best.  I ended up with an awesome floor as a Resident Assistant, and I have to say that while I was nervous about it in the beginning, it turned out quite well!  My floor likes to prank me a lot (or people in general I should say), and I’m glad they can take pranks as well (April Fools Day was pretty EPIC ^_^).

I also ended up finding a great group of people that I can hang and nerd out with.  My floater nature stuck with me, and I find that I still gravitate to many different groups of people.  For example, I’ll go shopping with a couple of girls one day, and then hang with my anime/VG friends while watching Soul Eater and playing Magic Cards.  And yes, I have significantly added to my nerdy side—this year especially.

Anyway, the main reason for the title of this post is the fact that it is 4:50am and I am WIDE AWAKE >_<  I have been in the habit for the past week of staying up late (due in no small part to the fact that I didn’t have finals last week and had a lot of free time) and it has continued into break.  In the long run it is beneficial, since I am travelling to Japan on Thursday for another 3-week abroad.  I CANNOT WAIT! 

Whether it is excitement or other influences, my body has started to keep me awake later into the night while knocking me out during the day.  I was so sleepy around 3pm today, so I planned on only taking a short nap (about 30 minutes).  However, not only did I not hear my alarm go off, I slept for 3 hours!  Therefore, my current predicament arose.  I’ll appreciate it when I don’t get horrid jet lag in Japan (it’s 12 hours ahead of us), but right now it’s a big pain.  Oh well…

In case I didn’t mention before, my best friend is getting married in May!  With that in mind, I picked up my bridesmaid dress and shoes.  They are both a “pool” blue color, and I think it’s very pretty.  I just have to hem it up to my knees since it’s too long (curse of being short).  Here’s a picture of the dress. Be sure to click on the bright blue color (second from right square) to see the exact color.

Last thing is looking for a job.  I decided to get a job directly out of college, but today’s economy is showing its “lovely” colors : (  As many had already predicted, it’s REALLY HARD to get a job right now.  I have turned in at least 15-20 applications, had gone through about 5-6 interviews.  A couple of them sound very promising, but I’m just getting nervous as summer draws ever closer.  I guess we’ll see as time goes on.

WOW it’s late!  Perhaps I should try to get some sleep before the sun rises…  I’ll keep you all updated with Japan before and during the trip!

Dani ^_^

It has been a long while…

Hello all!

So, it has been a long while since i’ve been on here : P  oops!  Well, since then, I have done quite a few different and new things:

Gone back to school:  I went back after the summer for my senior year at College-quite a year it has been thus far!  I am a resident assistant for an all-first year floor with my friend Dakota, and I very much enjoy it!  I like getting to know them and also being able to help them and council them when need be.  The only thing that sucks is the whole “shoot the messenger” thing when you have to bust someone for alcohol or other silly things : (  Other than that, I am always keeping myself busy with going to college events (dances woot!) and working with video game and anime club!

Conference at Kent: Some of you may or may not know, but I wrote a paper with two professors about the rhetoric of the Dalai Lama (Tenzin Gyatso) and then discussed the implications of Chinese-Tibetan relations from the viewpoints of Hu Jintao (Chinese President) and the Iranian government structure.  Altogether the 30 page paper was accepted at the CEIS conference for intercultural research and communications at Kent State University and my professor asked me to present it there—really scary!  I think I was the youngest one there since experienced professors, researchers and graduate students are usually the ones that present and conferences such as those.  I felt a little out of place since I’m still an undergrad, but it was a valuble experience for me.

New changes: Since it is the new year, I am realizing more and more how quickly life flies by.  I will be graduating in May from Hiram and then going straight into the job force with a communications degree.  I have started searching for jobs so far (surprisingly there are a good amount of jobs to apply for, but not as many entry level), and hopefully someone will give me a job!  Since I don’t have a lot of money on my own to rent an apartment straight out of college, I will most likely be at home for the first few months until I have accrued enough to make rent for an apartment and still have a bit left for bills and such.  It’s somewhat strange to think that college went by so quickly! 

In other news, I have been accepted on the study abroad trip to Japan with my college! SO EXCITED! I have ALWAYS wanted to go to Japan, and now I am finally able to in April!  There will be TONS of pictures up once I get back in May.

Also, our anime club will be going to Ohayocon (anime convention) in Columbus at the end of this month.  I have finally finished planning the trip with my friend Mike, and I can’t wait for it to go!  I will be in costume (yay nerdiness!) and will be going as Itachi from Naruto (http://www.yinyincscloset.com/eBay/Naruto/Uchiha%20Itachi/Itachi.jpg) and as Steampunk Gothic Lolita (an example of the fashion style: http://i667.photobucket.com/albums/vv34/Cirrus_Maximilian/Steampunk/lolitaofsp.jpg)

Well, that’s about it so far!  I have 5 more days before I have to go back to school from break—hope you all have had a wonderful holiday season!

Dani ^_^

It has been a long while…

Hello all!

So, it has been a long while since i’ve been on here : P  oops!  Well, since then, I have done quite a few different and new things:

Gone back to school:  I went back after the summer for my senior year at College-quite a year it has been thus far!  I am a resident assistant for an all-first year floor with my friend Dakota, and I very much enjoy it!  I like getting to know them and also being able to help them and council them when need be.  The only thing that sucks is the whole “shoot the messenger” thing when you have to bust someone for alcohol or other silly things : (  Other than that, I am always keeping myself busy with going to college events (dances woot!) and working with video game and anime club!

Conference at Kent: Some of you may or may not know, but I wrote a paper with two professors about the rhetoric of the Dalai Lama (Tenzin Gyatso) and then discussed the implications of Chinese-Tibetan relations from the viewpoints of Hu Jintao (Chinese President) and the Iranian government structure.  Altogether the 30 page paper was accepted at the CEIS conference for intercultural research and communications at Kent State University and my professor asked me to present it there—really scary!  I think I was the youngest one there since experienced professors, researchers and graduate students are usually the ones that present and conferences such as those.  I felt a little out of place since I’m still an undergrad, but it was a valuble experience for me.

New changes: Since it is the new year, I am realizing more and more how quickly life flies by.  I will be graduating in May from Hiram and then going straight into the job force with a communications degree.  I have started searching for jobs so far (surprisingly there are a good amount of jobs to apply for, but not as many entry level), and hopefully someone will give me a job!  Since I don’t have a lot of money on my own to rent an apartment straight out of college, I will most likely be at home for the first few months until I have accrued enough to make rent for an apartment and still have a bit left for bills and such.  It’s somewhat strange to think that college went by so quickly! 

In other news, I have been accepted on the study abroad trip to Japan with my college! SO EXCITED! I have ALWAYS wanted to go to Japan, and now I am finally able to in April!  There will be TONS of pictures up once I get back in May.

Also, our anime club will be going to Ohayocon (anime convention) in Columbus at the end of this month.  I have finally finished planning the trip with my friend Mike, and I can’t wait for it to go!  I will be in costume (yay nerdiness!) and will be going as Itachi from Naruto (http://www.yinyincscloset.com/eBay/Naruto/Uchiha%20Itachi/Itachi.jpg) and as Steampunk Gothic Lolita (an example of the fashion style: http://i667.photobucket.com/albums/vv34/Cirrus_Maximilian/Steampunk/lolitaofsp.jpg)

Well, that’s about it so far!  I have 5 more days before I have to go back to school from break—hope you all have had a wonderful holiday season!

Dani ^_^