New Years!

Happy New Years Eve!

So I am now in waiting mode as 2010 finally begins. AFS Japan will be taking applications early in the year! I am still pressing ahead with teaching myself Japanese(of course I will arrive in Japan only to find out I have been learning all the wrong stuff and I will probably start speaking Spanish XD) My friend, Megan, and I continue to talk in Japanese during school and our most common statements have so far been "Ichigo!" (Strawberry!) and "Atsui ne." (It's hot, isn't it?) About the second statement, we say it even when it's really cold (due to the fact that we are right in the middle of a rather bitter winter) because apparently talking about the weather is a great way to start a conversation!

I finally bought a camera recently, so I am now prepared to take lots of pictures over the summer! The camera takes around 850 pictures, but I have this funny feeling that all of that memory space will be filled up within the first 5 minutes of arriving in Japan :)

One Day Closer

My excitement is ever growing as today my application has been sent in to AFS! From here, I now begin the wait to hear back from them and find out if I have been accepted. Every day that I walk out the door for school, my dad always hollers after me "Remeber, this is one day closer to Japan!" The days never seem to go by fast enough, that's for sure. I am getting in a lot of language studying time during my study halls at least. I'm excited now as I am finding that there are more and more things I can say and understand in Japanese!

The First Step

My name is Sophia and for the summer of 2010 I will be on an AFS summer exchange program to Japan. While in Japan, I will be attending classes at a language school to learn more about Japanese and I just can't wait! There is something about languages that I just love and this is huge opportunity for me to really learn more about them. So, of course, I hope to bring away from this experience a new understanding of a language, but that's not my only reason for going. I also love the food, nature, and culture of Japan so much. This will be my chance to learn so much more about all of those things along with the chance to meet many new people and really learn more about the world.
My family has been very supportive of my decision to become an exchange student. When my principal first gave me the idea to do an exchange program, I was doubtful that I would be allowed to go, but to my surprise my parents were okay with the idea. I am so grateful to them for supporting me. And as for my friends, one of them is also applying for this program! We are both extremely interested in Japan and we're both looking forward to the experience of being exchange students. We even have random conversations in school where we speak in Japanese to practice and it is a lot of fun!