musings of a future world-traveller
I'm going abroad next year. That's it, I'm just doing it.

I've been saying I'll go for a term but I want to go for the whole year. I know if I go for one term that it won't be enough. I'll simply regret coming home without the full language experience and having seen only half the places I want to go.

The program I'm looking at is Waseda University in the heart of Tokyo. It runs Fall semester (Sept 18- Feb 7) and Spring Semester (April 3- June 30th). There's also the option of fall term (Sept 18-Dec 20) but all people I've heard speak of the program say it's too short.

I'm so excited I can't stand it!! ... and I'm scared beyond belief. If I go away for a year, everything will have changed when I come back.Most of my friends will have graduated and will be moving on to new lives. But what about my relationship? Where would I put my STUFF? Would all the people I know now be GONE? So much will have changed and I'll be a different person when I come back. Will I have the same desires? Will I seek out the same people? Will my life be on a different level than everyone I know?

Eh, I know my life will change but the failures and lonliness are probably irrational fears. I can endure distance relationships. I have forever. I have made friends who I will keep with me always. And when I go, I will meet more friends for life and have an experience worth the discomfort of living in a completely alien culture.

My major concerns aren't all psychological. Many are practical and monetary. Simply, If I'm away for a year I'll be stuck at the UO another year longer to complete my journalism major and the honors college. Is it worth the sacrifice? It would bump japanese up to major status giving me a dual major. I just don't know if I could deal with the extra debt accrued from spending another year in school. It costs SO much for me to be here and I refuse to look at it whenever possible. Thankfully, study abroad tuition is *cheaper* for out-of-state students than it is for Oregon residents. Ha!

I think what it comes down to is that I'll consider spending a whole year abroad IF I can get adequate scholarship funding for my trip. I know once I'm there I'm sure to be contracted for colloquial english instruction or modeling, both jobs that demand little time and pay well. I've also been told that the program is language/culture intensive but academically laid back. What I wouldn't do for a travel experience AND a lightened workload! Huzzah! Going abroad to study is too extraordinary a chance to pass up.

I feel like a giddy schoolgirl. It sounds like SO MUCH FUN!!! And I'm so scared... so scared. But it's curious, I'm surprised by how appealing spending a YEAR in another country sounds- and I'm surprised by how reluctant I am to leave the place I've begun to call home.

In any case, the application for the program isn't due until February and, with luck, I should have time to negotiate financial aid and the length of my stay.

*deep breath* I'm going guys, I'm comitting to this and I'm going. Wish me luck.