Wow Im really going! Japan countdown -11 days to go!

^ The title above seems like something taken from Naruto ( I will get back to you about that ;) )
Well, im finally up and writing again after a couple of months of silence. The reason behind this silence is uncertainty. I had yet to book my ticket and receive my Certificate or VISA, so I was walking in confusion throughout the month of July ! I went to work, ate, slept and wondered. So finally came my certificate in the middle of July and then came the second issue; getting the plane ticket, and with that followed the money issue. So basically I checked Finnair everyday to make sure the price would remain the same until I got my salary at the end of the month. It only cost me 10.000 kr for a round trip open ticket from Gothenburg to Helsinki and from there straight to Osaka KIX airport.

I was worried over how I should send my visa application form to the Japanese embassy in Stockholm, so I checked with some sources, and finally decided to do it through the post office. I called the embassy to make sure it wouldn´t take too long to get it. I ended up talking to a sweet Japanese lady who told me that it would only take them 4 days to send me my visa ! FOUR DAYS!!! :o wow....

One day I went to town and sent my passport alongside my certificate, a photo and application form. It was a busy day, I even managed to get a new ID, and a new bank card. I ran around town like crazy but I felt very efficient doing while so. I had so many papers in my bag that I had the guy at the post office helping me by handing me paper clips and arranging the papers in the right order :) but he was so kind that it didn´t bother him.
Now, present, I am busy emptying my apartment. I got my visa exactly one week after I sent it, alongside my ID and my bank card, now that´s what I call good karma ! A misunderstanding at work led to me having a week off, but it didn´t bother me, because I have things to take care of anyways.

Last weekend I had my last outing with my friends in a very long time. Amin is leavin for Gothenburg to live with his girlfriend so it was some kind of goodbye party for him as well.
I said goodnight to Maja who left for the US today, to visit her boyfriend. (With saying goodnight I mean that you should never say goodbye, but goodnight, because that way you will always have a tomorrow!)I won´t see her in I don´t know how many days. She is done with her masters degree so she is scouting for a job, so she might have left the country by the time Im back lol. It felt strange to leave her but Im sure we will meet again very soon.

A few days ago I had to decide which of the 4 Seminar Houses I wanted to choose as my living accomodation. I decided on number 4, since it´s the biggest one and they actually allow alcohol consumption there, but only on probation so let´s hope for the best!
A video of the building: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u23T4q6B_9Y&NR=1

The upcoming days, Im studying Japanese, meeting up with friends and taking care of some final matters such as packing! How can a person pack their whole life with only 20 kilos to spare?? Stupid regulations...
Departure date: August 22nd 5.40 train to Gothenburg airport. Plane leaves at 12.50 for Helsinki,arriving 15.15 and then from Helsinki at 20.20 nonstop to Osaka, arriving the next day at 11.45.
So ladies and gentleman, in 12 days from now, I will be writing from Japan!!!

Pictures:

Osaka city with the Osaka castle , the contrast of old meeting new is beautiful !



Osaka city Namba district
Hirakata City where Kansai Gaidai resides
Kansai Gaidai

Seminar House 4





Excited and nervous at the same time.. everybody is waiting for me, Yumi in particular... it hasn´t hit me yet that I am actually leaving soon...

Hottie of the day~

U-know Yunho truly is one of the hottest Asian guys I have ever seen.
Leader of Korean group DBSK - meaning Rising Gods of the East.
Speciality : breakdance and popping/locking
They have some good songs DBSK, even though they mostly have a teenage fanbase in Korea lol. However, they do work hard to accomplish their success so they are really inspirational..

I got in !!

I finally received my letter of acceptance from Kansai Gaidai. Kansai Gaidai or 関西外大、is the university in Osaka to which I am going to attend this fall.
Actually it is located in Hirakata City, not far from Osaka City.
The homepage for the Asian Studies Program: http://www.kansaigaidai.ac.jp/asp/

The university is private and international, with it´s main focus on studying abroad for the Japanese students as well as receiving international students from all over the world.
Basically I will be taking some courses about Japanese culture, foreign policy and history, alongside the courses in Written and Spoken Japanese.

I still can´t believe that I am going. Could be because I haven´t bought my plane ticket yet, or that I haven´t recieved my student visa either. To be able to obtain my student visa, I need to receive a Certificate of Eligibility that will indicate that I have been accepted to the university.
So im just waiting for the letter to reach me..

to be continued ~

" Why Asia ? "

Because of so many things, but mainly Im fascinated by it´s richness of culture and history.

You know when at a certain point in life, you discover something new that triggers your mind and gives a sense of excitement ? That was Asia for me when I "discovered it".

There are so many places I wanna visit, my priorities this fall however are Japan and Korea Republic ~