Finals and the Beginning of Spring Break

After the amazing Winter Break, we were greeted by Finals. These finals sucked. I had six "technical" finals -- three of which were Japanese related. First we had the oral presentation of Japanese which was a skit. The next day was Japanese Final Part 1 -- kanji and listening comprehension. The following week I had Japanese Part 2 and Religion and Society. Then two papers -- one 8 pages, the other 15 pages.

Overall, they kicked my ass. I have learned that I got an 89 on my Japanese final -- all three parts combined -- and I'm pretty stocked about that. I did shit on my midterm -- a 68 or high D -- and I'm glad that I could pull such a turn around. My Japanese, I believe, has indeed gotten better. Par the course for being in Japan, eh? I have yet to hear back on my other exams, but I did the best I could; ultimately, however, I am just glad to be done with them. I felt as if I never really caught up due to me being in the hospital. C'est la vie.

During this last month of the semester, we got to celebrate Evan, Noah, and David's birthday -- and we did it in style. Two friends, Takuya and Marina, set up this big meet up in Shinjuku where there'd be drinking and Karaoke. As the title bar above suggests, it was a great time. Two songs of great importance have entered our lives, one of which is Country Roads. That's right -- THE Country Roads, you know by John Denver about West Virginia. We as a dorm have taken this song and made it our own. The title bar above is of a picture taken during "Country Roads" -- specifically the "Roads" part. Did you know there is a Japanese version? Master film maker Hayao Miyazaki wrote the lyrics for the movie "Whispers of the Heart." You should check it out, it's pretty cool.

Here are some pictures from that infamous night.

Evan on Aaron's lap

David was very drunk...

This is called a Boat Race...

Jean-Claude and Johnny

With finals behind us, a somber moment hit us all. Some people were going home and not coming back... The people returning were Johnny Stowellman, Zach Chung, Jean-Claude Mueller, and Giuseppe Ingrilli. We, I'm speaking for the dorm here, will all and already greatly miss this "nakama" (comrades). We had a "Going-Away Party" for these guys... It was a very tough time... Our first stop was "Gut's Soul", our favorite izakaiya and nomikai place (Korean food and Drinking). We ate a ton. But, our rampage wasn't quite done. Next was another fan-favorite, "Alps." Although we aren't generally liked by the wait-staff, they tolerate us and we tolerate them -- a love-hate relationship. They hate us but love our money, we hate them but love their beer.

Myself and Noah

Australia flag (as it should be)...

We drank there until it was time to mosey back, making it before the trains stopped. We head back, but not without some mischief. Stowellman decided to represent Australia with Pride. See photo to the right then one below and draw your own conclusions...

It was a cold night, too...

 With that, the following week we said goodbye to all of these lads, no friends. You guys are awesome and helped make this semester the greatest of my college career and the best 5-6 months of my life. Thank you.




Spring Break officially started February 5th, and as today is technically the 15th, these 10 days have been WASTED. Well not wasted per se, but recovering. This break, a few of us have quite the agenda planned. On the 20th, an adventure begins. Aaron, Greg and I are heading to see Western Honshu (the main island of Japan) with stops in Kyoto, Hiroshima, Osaka, and Nagoya. We will be gone until the 10th of March -- with that said, I probably won't update again until after that. But, rest assured, I'll have plenty of pictures and great stories to tell.

Until next time, guys! Cheers!

-Gregor