Hello reader(s), Michael McLeod here. Originally, I was interested in learning Japanese while a junior in high school, but there were no such classes offered, and my other responsibilities as a student kept me from the pursuit of teaching myself the language. However, I was able to take Japanese classes in my first year of college at the Rochester Institute of Technology. It was from the Japanese professors I learned of the faculty-led study abroad program when it was the time of the year to advertise the program, so I applied the year after. Now, it is one day before I leave to study abroad in Kyoto, Japan.
A majority of people I had told about my trip were very excited for me, especially my family members, but I did not share the same feeling. I would say it was more of wonder to visit somewhere totally unfamiliar to me. The way I thought of it is that I have only read or watched anything that has to do with Japanese culture through various forms of media, but now I have the chance to experience it myself. I am sure the excitement will kick in once I actually land.
I’ll do my best to go about the Photo Scavenger Hunt and uploading any other pictures I think are cool (hopefully). I’m not a great shot, so you’ll have to bear with me.
See you all next week,
-Michael S. McLeod