The Fab Four

I have been meaning to write the four months report for over a week so its a little late coming. Sorry, but here goes.

January proved to be a mucho busy month for the tiny one. The trip to Hong Kong was a much needed break, only because I was so afraid of feeling awful during the festive season, more due to the fact of missing home and the strangeness of being in a foreign country thousands of miles away. I was also glad that I'd signed myself up for the homestay, because that was a really educational experience and gave me a little glimpse into Japanese domestic life. My host family, the Tsuji, were lovely and really made me feel at home.

The Hatachi Seijinshiki was just completely surreal! It was an amazing opportunity to be part of Japanese traditions, though I was so nervous about what I was expected to do. I nearly died when I found out that there was over an hour of conversational time while we were expected to mingle and chatter before the official ceremony. Thank God for Yuki-san and her boyfriend for taking me under their wings and keeping me company.

After that, it was a matter of one exam after another, with all the deadlines thrown in too just for fun. So, head down, laptop on, while I wrote a lot of jibberish just to get the submissions in. The biggest achievement is that I passed Japanese with 74 percent in my final exam! I am thrilled, over-the-moon. I worked damn hard for that. And I got 90 percent on the history finals!

Emotionally, January was a brilliant month. You know the ol' saying, what doesnt kill you only makes you stronger. Making it through Christmas and New Year was a real accomplishment, and I never felt the depths of despair that I was fearing. Sometimes I really do think I worry too much for my own good! It was so much fun to spend time with everyone because we knew many of our dearest friends were leaving. We had to eek every last drop out of every moment, well, I guess a bit like life really. So, t'is with great sadness that we bid adieu to Sven, Felix, and Carl. Japan will not be the same without you, darlings.