This is my first time writing a journal entry that has not been for school. So, please bear with me.
I am departing for Japan this upcoming Friday (August 15th) and have been eagerly counting down the days until I leave. I’m currently finishing up packing my bags and compiling my gifts for my host families. Earlier in the year and based on what everyone told me, I was expecting to experience some sort of nerves or homesickness as I was about to leave. But, I haven’t had any other thoughts or emotions other than “I want to leave already”. Even though I’ve flown plenty of times before, this will be the first time that I will be traveling alone and I’m pretty excited. However, I do have my longest ever flight, taking 14 hours and I am hoping that it’ll go smoothly.

I’ve been trying to spend a decent amount of time with my friends before I leave. While I was at the movies yesterday I realized how odd it’s going to be, to not be around people who I’ve known for the majority of my life. But, right after the movies while I was petting one of my dogs, it dawned on me how short of a time I will actually be spending abroad. This revelation only further cemented my desire to do as much as possible and make my exchange as valuable as possible.

While I just stated that I haven’t had any doubts or worries, that was a lie. I am pretty nervous about 2 things: my language competency and living without any dogs for the first time in my life. I just had my final language tutoring session with Carson (a UF student who is minoring in Japanese and is also participating in an exchange to Japan this upcoming school year) and while I’ve been diligent about my studies, I’ve only been truly learning Japanese for 6 months now. I think the thing that I am struggling the most on is definitely Kanji. I am currently using flashcards to try to learn them, but it’s really slow and difficult. Even though my current Japanese is severely lacking, I’m planning on/hoping to take and pass the JLPT 3 test. To be able to do this I am going to try to be like a sponge and try to communicate with as many people as possible in Japan.

Now, regarding my nervousness about not living with any pets. I was laying in bed staring at my ceiling, listening to my dog snoring and then it hit me. This is going to be the first time in my life I will be away from my dogs for an extended period of time and on top of that, living with no pets at all. I’ve had dogs ever since I was born and it’s going to feel really different not having someone waiting and overjoyed when I arrive at home. But overall, I think I’ll be fine and get used to it in a few weeks.

On the other hand, ignoring the minor worries I have. The thing that I am most eager for, other than school and becoming fluent in Japanese, is meeting new people, especially my host family and club. I’ve been in communication with them since June and am really excited to finally meet them. They seem like wonderful people and have been very considerate and welcoming.