It has now been two months since I arrived in Japan, and compared to the first month things have become so much easier! That is not to say that I am not learning things every day that I am away from home. What I mean is that living here has become a new norm. Where the first month abroad was full of first-time experiences, this month has been more about settling into the routine of everyday life as a student and finding friends to make memories with.

One remarkable event that I enjoyed was experiencing Halloween in Japan. Against my expectations, they seem to take the holiday quite seriously! There are large gatherings of people in costumes all across Tokyo on Halloween night and they were all partying and having fun. Speaking of which, there is one event which has become rather infamous: Halloween in Shibuya! Almost certainly the largest gathering of Halloween partygoers, this event apparently began with just a few dedicated Halloween fans who celebrated here year after year. This event grew and grew to the point that tens of thousands of people are swarming Shibuya each year. It is so notorious that, in light of COVID-19 and other dangers of such large gatherings, the mayor officially banned the event. However, because it was never officially sponsored by the city of Shibuya to begin with, it seems like this only caused even more people to attend!

Sophia University also had its own school holiday at the beginning of November. It lasted for a few days and besides giving students a break from class, it was also an opportunity for student organizations to set up attractions for festival goers to enjoy and allowed the students to advertise their clubs. I went to the Sophia festival with a friend that I met in a student organization designed for international students and native students to have an opportunity to interact. I’m just getting to midterm exams at the time of this writing and I am hoping for everything to go well. I look forward to what experiences the next month will provide!

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Learn more about this blogger’s study abroad program: Sophia University