So, I made it! I made it through my first flight alone to Chicago, and then I was surprised to find out that Dr. Clark`s group was going on the same flight to Nagoya!!! I wasn`t able to sit next to any of them, but it was very nice to see some Rose peeps there anyway. The company was very welcome on my 13 hour flight. I got to Nagoya with no troubles at all! My host sister picked me up at the airport and took me to their house.
My host family is so kind!! They have been going way out of their way for me, and I really appreciate it.
I`ve been able to converse mostly in Japanese. My host family is very helpful.
Well, we`re going to go explore a little bit of Nagoya. I`ll update you all more later!
Rose peeps - I still miss you bunches!! Have great summers!!!
Tuesday, May 31, 2005
Monday, May 30, 2005
Almost there . . . I can smell it!
Well, I figured I'd write one more before I left. Tomorrow, I leave at 9:09 am from the Fort Wayne airport. Of course, this means I get to get up at 6, do last minute packing and jump on the flight. Hurry up and wait - that'll be the next few days for me.
Finished up packing today. My car is fully packed for Fast Track. You see, I changed my flight schedule so that I'll fly into Indy instead of Fort Wayne, and my parents are going to leave my car there that day, so that I can pick it up and drive straight to Fast Track. This is all not until July 16 - the magic day when everything happens - I leave Japan after I arrive in Chicago (because of the time change - I'm not crazy), and then I have to change airlines, along with rechecking back in and going through customs, get on an airplane to Indy, then finding my car somewhere in the parking lot, hopefully fitting all my bags in my car, then driving to Terre Haute, unpacking, and being up the next day for the beginning dinner. Actually, July 16th for me will be a 38 hour day for me (24 + 14 hour difference). It shall be fun.
Tomorrow will also be a big day for me. It'll be the first time ever that I've been on a commercial plane by myself, and in the same day, I'll have a 13 hour international flight across the Pacific. I'm a little nervous about the connection in Chicago, but I have over 2 hours so I hope I'll be okay. I hope there's no weather and nothing gets delayed.
Thanks to grandma and grandpa!!!
To my peeps at Rose - I miss you all and have fabulous summers!!
Oh just a note, if I don't update this in within a week, it probably means that I was wrong and I won't have internet connection, which will ruin my world, so we'll just keep hoping for the best.
Finished up packing today. My car is fully packed for Fast Track. You see, I changed my flight schedule so that I'll fly into Indy instead of Fort Wayne, and my parents are going to leave my car there that day, so that I can pick it up and drive straight to Fast Track. This is all not until July 16 - the magic day when everything happens - I leave Japan after I arrive in Chicago (because of the time change - I'm not crazy), and then I have to change airlines, along with rechecking back in and going through customs, get on an airplane to Indy, then finding my car somewhere in the parking lot, hopefully fitting all my bags in my car, then driving to Terre Haute, unpacking, and being up the next day for the beginning dinner. Actually, July 16th for me will be a 38 hour day for me (24 + 14 hour difference). It shall be fun.
Tomorrow will also be a big day for me. It'll be the first time ever that I've been on a commercial plane by myself, and in the same day, I'll have a 13 hour international flight across the Pacific. I'm a little nervous about the connection in Chicago, but I have over 2 hours so I hope I'll be okay. I hope there's no weather and nothing gets delayed.
Thanks to grandma and grandpa!!!
To my peeps at Rose - I miss you all and have fabulous summers!!
Oh just a note, if I don't update this in within a week, it probably means that I was wrong and I won't have internet connection, which will ruin my world, so we'll just keep hoping for the best.
Tuesday, May 24, 2005
Yay!!!
I'm really excited right now! I just heard from my host sister! Wait let me explain . . .
I went to Japan after my freshman year of high school with New Perspectives: Japan. I went with my high school Japanese teacher, Mrs. Semba, and with a few other students. Within the two weeks, we saw sights for a few days in both Tokyo and Kyoto, and we had a homestay in Nagoya for 8 days. Now, up until a week or two ago, I had not realized that my homestay was in Nagoya, which is where I'm flying into, but I had mom dig up a bunch of stuff, and she confirmed my suspisions.
So then, I was really excited, and I emailed my host sister because that's the only email address I have for them here in Terre Haute. I didn't know if she'd answer though because she's 26 (すみません！）, and she worked at the business that I had the email for about 4 years ago. I wasn't sure if she still worked there. But last night, around midnight, I recieved an email back from her.
She said that the family was happy to hear from me, and they'd love to see me when I come. I'm so excited! They're an awesome family, and I really regret not keeping in contact with them. It will be so neat to see each other after 4 years, and see what we've all been up to. Plus, this means that my worries about getting around Nagoya from the airport to the station will be alleviated!
It seems life, in this respect, has been going very well! Minus the fact that I haven't studied for bio yet, so I'd better go work on that!
Finally, the excitement of going to Japan has come to me!!! I can't wait!!!
I went to Japan after my freshman year of high school with New Perspectives: Japan. I went with my high school Japanese teacher, Mrs. Semba, and with a few other students. Within the two weeks, we saw sights for a few days in both Tokyo and Kyoto, and we had a homestay in Nagoya for 8 days. Now, up until a week or two ago, I had not realized that my homestay was in Nagoya, which is where I'm flying into, but I had mom dig up a bunch of stuff, and she confirmed my suspisions.
So then, I was really excited, and I emailed my host sister because that's the only email address I have for them here in Terre Haute. I didn't know if she'd answer though because she's 26 (すみません！）, and she worked at the business that I had the email for about 4 years ago. I wasn't sure if she still worked there. But last night, around midnight, I recieved an email back from her.
She said that the family was happy to hear from me, and they'd love to see me when I come. I'm so excited! They're an awesome family, and I really regret not keeping in contact with them. It will be so neat to see each other after 4 years, and see what we've all been up to. Plus, this means that my worries about getting around Nagoya from the airport to the station will be alleviated!
It seems life, in this respect, has been going very well! Minus the fact that I haven't studied for bio yet, so I'd better go work on that!
Finally, the excitement of going to Japan has come to me!!! I can't wait!!!
Wednesday, May 18, 2005
Turning to the dark side . . . kind of.
こんばんは!!!
So, here it is . . . Sami's first public blog . . . just for the summer of course. I figured since I'm going to Japan, and I've been yelled at by multiple people that I should send them postcards and letters and such that I'd go ahead and see if I can blog during my trip. This way you can all stay updated on what I'm doing, and I can hear from you. It seems a heck of a lot easier for me to stay in contact.
I know I'm going to miss all of you so much this summer, so I hope to hear from all of you.
Here's my current dates:
Wednesday, May 25 - Finish my horrible Biology final and then pack up all day, and hopefully, I'll leave either Wednesday night or Thursday morning.
Monday, May 30 - Leave from Fort Wayne to Chicago (AA flight 4404: 9:09 to 10:02 am), and then from Chicago to Nagoya, Japan (AA flight 27: 12:45 pm to 3:45 pm - 13 hours!).
Tuesday, May 31 - Arrive in Nagoya, Japan at 3:45 pm.
Wednesday, June 1 - Go on some train from Nagoya to Kanazawa
Friday, June 3 - First day of KIT
Saturday, July 16 - Last day of KIT; leave from Nagoya to Chicago (AA flight 26: 6 pm to 3:45 pm (Yes, it's 11:45 long and I arrive before I leave on the same day . . .) and then from Chicago to Fort Wayne (AA flight 4271 : 8:53 pm to 9:46 pm)
- then drive from Fort Wayne to Terre Haute
Sunday, July 17 - Fast-Track Begins!
Saturday, August 20 - Fast-Track Ends!
Okay, just to make it clear to anyone I might have not explained it to previously.
I took four years of Japanese in high school, and I passed into the last level of Japanese, 6, here. Of course, I can't resist a trip to Japan, and I wouldn't mind increasing my skills in Japanese, since I can't take it here anymore, so I jumped at the opportunity for this KIT program.
KIT is a 6-week summer program for "designed to give participants a rich experience in improving Japanese communication skills, learning basic terms and expressions useful in the fields of science and technology, and understanding Japanese culture and society. " (See the website - http://www.rit.edu/~aep/studyabroad/kit/) KIT stands for Kanazawa Institute of Technology, which hosts the program. So for 6 weeks, I'll be living in a Japanese apartment, sleeping on a ふとん (futon = mat on the floor - very uncomfortable in previous experiences). I'll be not only improving my speaking and listening skills in Japanese, but I'll be working with Japanese students on engineering-type projects. In all honesty, I don't know exactly what I'm getting myself into, but I'm hoping to have a good time!
I'm actually pretty nervous about the whole situation right now. As if anyone couldn't tell, I'm a little short on time, and I'm supposed to take a train from Nagoya to Kanazawa, and I don't have the slightest bit of confidence in that matter. I'm going to be all by myself getting to Kanazawa, and my faith in my Japanese isn't very high. Everyone says that I know more than I think, I just hope that that's enough.
Okay, then after that, I'll be a counselor for the Fast-Track Calculus program at Rose. I did it last year, and it's pretty insane. We cover a years worth of Rose-Hulman Calculus (15 credit hours) in 5 weeks. It's pretty much math boot camp, but I like math, and I overall enjoyed Fast-Track, so I've chosen to pass on the "joy."
If anyone ever has any questions, I'll always be happy to answer!
So, here it is . . . Sami's first public blog . . . just for the summer of course. I figured since I'm going to Japan, and I've been yelled at by multiple people that I should send them postcards and letters and such that I'd go ahead and see if I can blog during my trip. This way you can all stay updated on what I'm doing, and I can hear from you. It seems a heck of a lot easier for me to stay in contact.
I know I'm going to miss all of you so much this summer, so I hope to hear from all of you.
Here's my current dates:
Wednesday, May 25 - Finish my horrible Biology final and then pack up all day, and hopefully, I'll leave either Wednesday night or Thursday morning.
Monday, May 30 - Leave from Fort Wayne to Chicago (AA flight 4404: 9:09 to 10:02 am), and then from Chicago to Nagoya, Japan (AA flight 27: 12:45 pm to 3:45 pm - 13 hours!).
Tuesday, May 31 - Arrive in Nagoya, Japan at 3:45 pm.
Wednesday, June 1 - Go on some train from Nagoya to Kanazawa
Friday, June 3 - First day of KIT
Saturday, July 16 - Last day of KIT; leave from Nagoya to Chicago (AA flight 26: 6 pm to 3:45 pm (Yes, it's 11:45 long and I arrive before I leave on the same day . . .) and then from Chicago to Fort Wayne (AA flight 4271 : 8:53 pm to 9:46 pm)
- then drive from Fort Wayne to Terre Haute
Sunday, July 17 - Fast-Track Begins!
Saturday, August 20 - Fast-Track Ends!
Okay, just to make it clear to anyone I might have not explained it to previously.
I took four years of Japanese in high school, and I passed into the last level of Japanese, 6, here. Of course, I can't resist a trip to Japan, and I wouldn't mind increasing my skills in Japanese, since I can't take it here anymore, so I jumped at the opportunity for this KIT program.
KIT is a 6-week summer program for "designed to give participants a rich experience in improving Japanese communication skills, learning basic terms and expressions useful in the fields of science and technology, and understanding Japanese culture and society. " (See the website - http://www.rit.edu/~aep/studyabroad/kit/) KIT stands for Kanazawa Institute of Technology, which hosts the program. So for 6 weeks, I'll be living in a Japanese apartment, sleeping on a ふとん (futon = mat on the floor - very uncomfortable in previous experiences). I'll be not only improving my speaking and listening skills in Japanese, but I'll be working with Japanese students on engineering-type projects. In all honesty, I don't know exactly what I'm getting myself into, but I'm hoping to have a good time!
I'm actually pretty nervous about the whole situation right now. As if anyone couldn't tell, I'm a little short on time, and I'm supposed to take a train from Nagoya to Kanazawa, and I don't have the slightest bit of confidence in that matter. I'm going to be all by myself getting to Kanazawa, and my faith in my Japanese isn't very high. Everyone says that I know more than I think, I just hope that that's enough.
Okay, then after that, I'll be a counselor for the Fast-Track Calculus program at Rose. I did it last year, and it's pretty insane. We cover a years worth of Rose-Hulman Calculus (15 credit hours) in 5 weeks. It's pretty much math boot camp, but I like math, and I overall enjoyed Fast-Track, so I've chosen to pass on the "joy."
If anyone ever has any questions, I'll always be happy to answer!
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