I’ve done a lot of traveling in the past two weeks! To keep it simple I’ve separated it all out…

Well, I’m finally here: after years of dreaming and preparation, I finally find myself in Japan–which is kind of surreal to think about. I don’t know if it’s hit me yet; I feel more like I’m in a Katamari Damacy game than in an actual place (well minus the obvious lack of destruction and general terror at the hands of a pint-sized alien prince)

Well, another two countries under my belt: Belgium and the Netherlands! We had a bit of a break for Easter this past Friday-Monday, and a big group of my friends and I went to Amsterdam with a great organization called International Friends, which takes groups of students in London to a variety of different places in Europe, for a really good price. I highly recommend them to IES students wanting to travel!

Obviously a huge part of studying abroad is learning the language, culture and immersing yourself in something completely new!  The best part so far has been getting involved in different ways that foster interactions with Chileans.

Although right now I’m in Japan; I really should’ve written this post sooner (though there were some things I wouldn’t have known if I’d written this before I left)

My experience preparing for this trip is not a stellar example of what someone should do if they too are preparing to study abroad in Tokyo. So I will write this post not about what I did do, but about what I did not do, in the hopes that future generations will learn from my mistakes.

Here’s what I didn’t do, but you should:

I’m a writer.

I do writerly things (like being poor or picking out a box to live in). I never considered myself a poet, despite the fact I’ve had my poetry more recognized in various publications (mostly small and localized). Yet, in a short time here in Amsterdam, I’ve written over thirty poems, and a good half of them I actually — surprisingly — like.

A lot of people go to tropical islands for spring break.  They spend a week relaxing on the beach, treading the fine line between 1^st and 2^nd degree burns and drinking out of coconuts, and then begrudgingly climb back onto the plane and fly North to drearier, slushier lands.  They complain and drag their heels, but they always go.  When they ask aloud, “Can’t we stay forever?” even the youngest travelers don’t expect an answer because they know they have to go and that’s just the way it is.  All spring break