Strange Korea

Strange Korea

all over campus you'll find these in the bathrooms...

this thing is supposed to make a flushing sound when you push the button. ???

 Another curious thing about the bathrooms are the soaps…

 awesome idea! Even though Korea is supposed to be one of the safest countries in the world, this is a nice way to care for students safety. This might actually be a good idea for HPU as well. How about a safe walk to the bus stop?

when it comes to food there are all kinds of strange things!

Sweater Weather

           So, it’s been a while since I’ve posted here and the reason is because I have been sick! Yay! It’s been a pain the past couple months because I got sick for a couple weeks, got better, then got sick again. Generally I would say that my immune system sucks, but this is the first time this kind of thing has happened to me.

           Back at home, and in Hawaii, I usually get sick for a couple weeks and then that’s it for a few months. Here, it is completely different. The problem? It definitely has to be the weather. In the middle of October the weather started to get a bit cold, but still a bit manageable so it was possible to still go with my normal attire: shorts, tank top, and slippers. From then on it just started to get colder and colder because winter is approaching. This obviously gave my body a huge shock because I’m used to hot and humid weather.

      

      Along with that, I was aware that there was a flu going around amongst the International students. Not wanting to be antisocial, I decided to ignore my weak immune system and continue hanging out with the sick foreigners. My initial thought was that I’d be fine and could power through it as long as I took as much vitamin C as I could and tried to sleep early. As expected, I ended up getting sick. What really kills me though is that I managed to get sick again. The funny part though is that everyone is getting sick again. So, I guess it’s not that bad. Still, I’m pulling through and trying to enjoy my days here in Japan.

            Now, I am dealing with a runny nose and it is seriously irritating. I cannot go a day without grabbing a tissue and blowing my nose every 5 minutes. I hope it doesn’t get worse, but with the current weather in Osaka, who knows what’ll happen. 

The Beginning of The End

After three months of sheer independence, I am hitting the time border. In less than twenty days I will be heading back for Honolulu. For many, this may sound like a dream. It sure isn't my dream, though. After traveling a great chunk of the world in less than four months, it's difficult to accept the idea that I'll be stuck on an island all over again for who knows how many years. Sure, the island is beautiful and so closely resembles the ideal-life us humans like to name "paradise", but for me, it's just the feeling of a jail-cell coated in breezy palm trees and beach waves.
Bottom line- I'm not looking forward to going back.
I've had the time of my life studying in Madrid and traveling Europe (including a trip to Africa)! In the month of November I spent more time out of Madrid than I did in. I turned 20 in the precise center-point of Spain. I walked castles. I've been on rooftops over looking Portugal. I road a bike all over Amsterdam. I've seen Van Gogh, Dali, Picasso, Miro, Pollock, Tanguy, Klein originals in multiple cities. I've walked  the streets of Africa, bargained with their people, been in the homes of their dead Kings and Queens. I've seen the graves and ashes of people such as Bram Stoker, Geoffrey Chaucer, J.R.R Tolkien, Rudyard Kipling, Sigmund Freud, and so many more. I've met fascinating strangers who have tangibly tested the fabric of life by jumping off a five story building. (Many might find this incredibly idiotic, but I didn't, to say the least.)
Bottom line- I'm not looking forward to returning to an island that takes hundreds and even thousands of dollars to leave.
I will return, though. I have to. There is no point in mourning over the final days of a well-spent semester.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that many people have the problem with missing home too much. They yearn for their beds, their comforting routines and boyfriends or girlfriends. I just don't feel any of that. I miss my parents, puppy, and most of all my little sisters, but that's where I draw the line. I haven't felt homesick once (unless we would like to change the definition of "homesick" to being "sick of home").
So if you're planning to study abroad and are afraid of missing home too much, just know that that fear can possibly turn inside-out.

Here are some photos of a few places I've been to so far...

- Bianca Marina Flores

 Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Lisbon, Portugal

Marrakesh, Morocco

Munich, Germany

Salamanca, Spain

Vienna, Austria

ps: proof that I've been having too much fun is that I haven't written one of these blog entries on months.