Japan, man.

こんにちわ！ Konnichiwa!

Hey friends, family, and fellow study abroad students, welcome to my attempted blog about all of my experiences here in Japan! I say "attempted blog" because I'm not the most avid or creative blogger, as I'm sure you could already tell by that cheesy introduction. Anyway, I've been living in Japan for about three months now and I think it's time for an update of what's been going down here in glorious Nippon.

Adventuring around Kamakura

Let's rewind back to September, when I first arrived in Japan. The fact that I'd be living in an entirely different country blew me away. Actually, I still find myself having random thoughts of "holy crap, I'm in Japan!" Trust me, it's a pretty awesome feeling. The transition from Hawaii to Japan was obviously a big one. Culture shock was only just a myth to me before coming here, and now I experience it everyday. Everything is different, from the way people speak (duh) to the way they walk (trust me, that's a thing). I actually experienced a bad period of homesickness during late September through October, as my excitement over Japan was replaced with an "I hate everything" phase. Add a huge language barrier to cold weather and no poke bowls or spam musubis and you get two months of me just being an extremely grumpy and frustrated person. #hawaiiproblems.

The Great Buddha of Kamakura is bae

But alas, I've finally come over the huge hurdle of homesickness, and it's scary to say that I don't think I ever want to leave this place. Besides a beach that doesn't have gross water or gray sand, Japan pretty much has everything. I've even found a little restaurant called "Hawaii Town," and they have everything from loco mocos, to spam fried rice, to MALASADAS. To top it off, there's a T.V. screen displaying all the awesome hikes and views of Hawaii. Let's just say I shamelessly cried in a restaurant while eating kalua pig. I probably gave all of the Japanese customers an interesting view of how all gaijins (foreigners) act in public- which is embarrassing.

At the famous Shibuya crossing

Of course, my life here wouldn't be as great if it wasn't for the people I've met here. Not to get all emotional via blog, but I've seriously met some of the coolest people here. It's awesome to have friends that are going through the same experiences as you, and are there to help you through anything, especially since we're all going through the same thing! Before leaving Hawaii, I've heard all sorts of things about how "you'll meet your best friends while studying abroad", or "you'll begin to find out who you are as a person," blah blah blah.. Well, it's true! There are so many things I've learned and am continuing to learn, and I can't wait to see what else is in store for me after the holidays/ these next few months!