SUPER LATE POST!

CHECK OUT THIS VIDEO! It made me so excited to go to Kansai Gaidai. This guy documented his entire trip and edited it wonderfully! 

Sorry everyone for being the worst blogger ever! 

I have been extremely busy, and life has been crushing me with never ending stress! So let me give y'all a quick overview of what my life has been like for the last couple months... 

so I've been working over 40 hours a week at the hell hole I call Starbucks, going into overtime is awesome and everything, and I'm not gonna complain about the paychecks, but I'm also leaving the country for a year and I've barely been home to see my family and friends. PLUS I still am dealing with paperwork, summer classes, and trying to find my plane ticket. Lets just say a lots been going on. 

Overall the paperwork hasn't been too brutal, the worst part is dealing with what I like to call the "prep" work to leave. 

I have to land at Kansai International Airport (KIX) on either August 23, 24, or 26 between 9am-5pm..... it turns out that all the flights that leave Charlotte land after 6pm. It turns out that I'm going to have to leave the 21st and get a hotel the night of the 22nd to get picked up at 9am the next morning. Thankfully the hotel is connected to the airport, which will make my life 2000x easier. 

on another note... I've been planning some big trips that I want to take! I am planning on seeing Hokkaido (northern Japan) which is expensive. I've been looking at this ferry that leaves from Osaka and takes you to Sapporo, Hokkaido, It looks around $120 one-way, plus I would have to pay $30 a night for a hostel in Sapporo. My other option is visiting Seoul, Korea, which is very tempting and about the same price as Hokkaido... so I'm very torn between the two. 

I also joined a Kansai Gaidai facebook page and have already connected with different students that I will get the opportunity to study with! It's cool that there are tons of people going from all over the world, and I cant wait to meet people from all over the world. 

Well hopefully I will get time to write a post as I am packing and preparing everything for my trip!

The rare word "NO"

Okay, here goes another culture fact: Japanese people hate saying "no".

Remember this when asking to do something or permission, they usually try to talk their way around actually saying no. For instance, one day during my first trip in Japan I had a dress on that, in Japanese standards was a little too revealing, and when I asked my host mom "is this outfit?" the reply I got was, "Yes it is cute... but I think it would look much cuter with a jacket"

...... it was over 90 degrees out.....

This is how my host mom basically told me that the outfit was not cute and not appropriate for going outside, but because the Japanese are kind and avoid direct confrontation she hinted that I should not wear the outfit "as is". 

You will see that in different situations, they may not directly say "no you can't" but rather "I don't think that is the best idea" or something around those lines, maybe even more indirect than that. Being Americans (or whatever nationality you may be) we are used to hearing "NO" and that is that, and when someone says "maybe" that signifies that it possibly could be a yes, yet in Japanese culture a "maybe" usually is their way of avoiding a direct "no". Many Americans tend to keep pushing for a direct "yes" or "no" answer, which can add stress and annoyance to the Japanese person. 

Now not all Japanese are the same, obviously, I am just using the basic stereotypes. I have met many Japanese that will tell you "yes" or "no" directly, especially if the questions are yes and no questions, but many Japanese, with more difficult questions, will tend to beat around the bush. 

ON ANOTHER NOTE: 

SO SORRY for the late post, and not being constant with my postings, I have been incredibly busy with applications and school, and I promise to post more, especially once i'm in Japan! 

More posts to come! 

Selling artwork!

So I have decided to begin selling my artwork to help fund my study abroad trip to Kansai Gaidai in August! So far I have gotten over 10 orders in ONE DAY! I am beyond thankful and excited, for money is hard to come by these days. I am planning on traveling a TON my year in Japan, and I am hoping to save over $3000 for my trip, and I only have 5 months to do so! If you all are interested please feel free to check out my artwork page on Facebook! Hopefully this will help me get some money saved, plus working at my job all summer full time! If you check out my page, please like and share my page!

I RECEIVED MY ACCEPTANCE LETTER!

I FINALLY received the dreaded letter, and was ecstatic to see that I was accepted to the Kansai Gaidai study abroad program! I am now on the second part of the study abroad application process. I now have to send materials directly to Kansai Gaidai and attend a pre-departure orientation in April... Which is just around the corner! This whole emotional roller coaster ride has all been worth it. It's hard to grasp the concept that I will be in Japan in only 5 MONTHS... that's the blink of an eye! Now I need to focus on getting the proper materials sent to Kansai Gaidai and making all A's in my current courses. I will post my pre-departure materials on the blog after I attend! I also need to find some time to post another helpful tips post rather than these quick posts about my personal life! On an end note, I was introduced to this amazing video through a friend and I thought I should share (: Please leave me comments and suggestions on what I should post about next! I'm thinking about some interesting culture shock stories!

Quick Update

Sorry for the late post, I have been so busy with midterms and college I have had NO time to blog! 

I just wanted to give everyone an update on my application status for my study abroad trip to Kansai Gaidai. Soon (hopefully within the next couple weeks) I will get an acceptance letter (or the opposite) in the mail, and I am quite nervous, I shouldn't since I am almost guaranteed into the program, yet there is still this lingering nervous feeling in my stomach. I think the thought of not being able to be in Japan for a year is pretty heartbreaking, since it has been 2 years since I have been back and its killing me. All I can think about lately is being back in Tokyo and seeing my previous host family! Thankfully, if I don't get into the program I will still travel there this summer and visit for over 2 months then apply again in the fall for spring semester. So stressful! When I receive an acceptance letter it will feel amazing to relieve all this stress! Anyways, good luck in school and life for anyone who read this! sometime next week I will post another culture blog! So keep an eye out for it! (: 

P.S. THANK YOU! I have had amazing traffic and feedback for the blog, and it means the world to me, especially since this is my first blog! You guys are awesome! Leave me some more comments <3

Budget Travel in Japan... IT IS POSSIBLE!

Everyone loves Denny's!? Their special this day was $10 entree with soup or salad...
Isn't Denny's supposed to be cheap??? Not in Japan!

So I am sure you have heard through the grapevine how expensive Japan is... and this was not a lie! I found a pretty cool website called Numbeo.com where you can calculate the average cost of living in your town compared to another town, HERE is my comparison with Tokyo and Charlotte, NC. There were a few things that costed more in Charlotte... but sadly only one or two. Big cities such as Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto (especially tourist locations) are more expensive then small towns in places like Chiba. 

The goal of this post it to let you know a secret. A big problem with Japan is that it is a very expensive trip, and although so many people wish to visit, there is one problem MONEY. I am here to tell you, I CAN MAKE IT CHEAP. Trust me, I have been a struggling college kid, and believe it or not mommy and daddy did not flip the bill for my previous or future Japan trips. My first Japan trip was $6000 for 2 months including transportation, school, meals, spending money... EVERYTHING. I was 16 and went through and amazing program called LABO, you have to be 18 or under and it is worth it! My first trip I also went a little crazy with spending money, I didn't know how to properly budget myself (gimme a break I was 16) and ended up buying unnecessary things. My second trip was $2000 for a month. I do get my trips a lot cheaper since I stay with friends, so that $2000 only included a $1300 airfare ticket and food and travel. To save money I discovered some easy tricks to enjoy the experience but to also avoid spending unnecessary money. 

Tokyo... Clothes and food and pretty much everything is ridiculously overpriced, and being all foreign and touristy we want to get sucked into cool looking restaurants and expensive stores. AVOID THIS. I love to sight-see around Tokyo and visit some awesome stores, but I avoid actually buying things in Tokyo. To save money on food I will eat cheap meals at the 7/11 or little convenience stores, the food is cheap and surprisingly delicious! I could eat a lunch for about $3 and be completely full. For clothes shopping I would recommend traveling outside of Tokyo and looking at department stores, or in my case some thrift stores (which are still not too cheap). Harajuku can be considered the only exception to buying cheap clothes in Tokyo... but I tend to hate Harajuku for various reasons. The clothes are reasonably prices, with many stores offering generous discounts, but the clothes tend to be cheaply made. I bought a dress and a few shirts, and the dress was falling apart after wearing it once, and thankfully my Japanese host mother can sew! 

For lodging my recommendation is HOSTELS. Now I know what you are thinking, I thought the same, I thought that they were tiny nasty dorm rooms where you all slept in one big room together and shared a bathroom with strangers. Doesn't sound very appealing right? No. I personally have not stayed in a hostel, but a good friend of mine recently traveled all over Japan (on a strict budget) before a trip to Australia, He stayed at a few Hostels and LOVED IT. He said every single one was amazingly clean, the staff was extremely friendly, and he made some amazing friends from all over the world. I did some research, since I am planning on doing some major traveling while I am in Japan for a year, and fell in love with some hostels! They are incredibly cheap and some even include breakfast and some include dinner with a small fee! You are given the option for a private room for a little extra (usually with a shared bathroom only) and the prices range from $10-50 a night, with $50 being the most expensive I saw. There was even a hostel in Nikko (that I 100% plan to visit and stay at) that used to be a ryokan with onsen (hot springs) and that with $20 a night you get to stay at the hostel AND use the onsens... this is an amazing deal! Ryokans with onsens are typically $100-150 a night, and to be able to stay for a measly $20 blows my mind. Anyways, hostels are an incredibly cheap option, and with the hotel prices in Japan, can save you an enormous amount of money. HERE is the site to find hostels. 

Another option is a homestay. Although this option usually appeals to a younger age group (usually high school or college) it is for all ages. HERE is the link to find homestays. I had an amazing experience with my homestay, and these homestay families I have looked at seem to have just as amazing reviews, plus they are cheap and allow better insight into the Japanese style of living and culture. 

These are just a few quick tips to budget travel, I would estimate with A LOT of traveling (I mean you would be in Japan so you gotta see all you can!) and budgeting food to at most $10 a meal... you can look at $700-800 for cheap private room at a hostel (not the cheapest option), high travel costs, and spending money of about $150 for the week added in. Airfare not included. Honestly that is not bad rates, and you can cut the costs down by just exploring Tokyo and its surrounding areas! I truly believe that anyone can afford to travel to Japan if they want to badly enough. Work hard and start saving those pennies as soon as you can! It is achievable and it really is such a fantastic place to visit, I absolutely love it there (hence why this will be my 3rd time). 

Here is my summary for cheap budgeting tips: 

• Eat at 7/11's and convenience stores or cheaper restaurants
• Stay in Hostels instead of hotels and save hundreds of dollars, if you are a student youth hostels are a great option to (you must have valid student ID or be a certain age)
• Don't buy clothes in Japan, shop in surrounding areas like Chiba at department stores and thrift stores
•  Homestays are a good budget travel, and breakfast us usually included, and a home cooked Japanese meal is offered with an additional charge (usually $5)

Check these songs out!

I stumbled upon this song by a Japanese band called ALTIMA. Its pretty awesome, I like her voice and it has good flow, and here are some other awesome songs that I recently started listening to! 

(P.S. isn't this ADAMS- Dizzy love a hilarious video?? He is trying so hard....)

Tell me what you think about these! Also the band "The Pillows" are pretty awesome!