What a month. My first month here was wild, exciting and eye-opening, yet this one might have topped it. On Friday, May 3, I departed for Osaka and stayed in an Airbnb with seven other people, tatami mat style. The food there was some of the best I’ve ever eaten, especially from the street vendors. My favorite things to see were the giant Buddhist temple and Nara Park. It was crazy that the deer actually bowed for food. The best thing about the excursion, however, was the group I went with. I’ve been hanging with this group of students from the dorm since I moved in, but after this experience I feel like I’ve found friends I’m going to connect to beyond this semester. Each one is so open to trying to new things, go to new places and overall set aside their own preferences to experience Japan together as a group. I can’t wait to see what excursion we do next.

After that, I was very lucky to have the opportunity to see my friends from home. Two roommates of mine from Mizzou came and visited me for nine days in Tokyo, hanging out with me between and after my classes. They even attended one of my classes to see what it was like! I took them to all my favorite restaurants, which has consistently been seafood, and now also Yakiniku (BBQ is just so good with soy sauce and fun to cook yourself too!). We explored parks, a Shiba In Café, the Tokyo Skytree and many shrines. While I was in class, they loved going shopping for their family members back home in Ginza and Harajuku. Even with all this, unanimously our favorite activity was our day trip to Mount Fuji. We walked around Lake Kawaguchi and got a view of the mountain with clear skies and a beautiful waterfront at the base. Then we went on a few hiking trails around the area to complete our day in nature (I’ve been in the bustling city for the past two months so this felt so good). It’s so sad that they’ve already gone back home, but I’m so glad they got to see what I’ve been doing here in a country I’m loving living in.

Besides these events, my regular schedule has started to take shape. I have Japanese class every morning, and though the frequency of class is rough, it’s by far my favorite class. I’m starting to actually use what I learn, and it’s making my life much more comfortable here, particularly in common places like restaurants and stores. My other two classes only meet twice a week on Mondays and Thursdays. I end up staying on campus until 3 p.m. every day, though, because when I don’t have class, I have frisbee practice! Everyone on the team has embraced me and is so nice, despite my lack of Japanese knowledge. This is where I’m really starting to learn conversational phrases, but more importantly Japanese team culture. Everyone here is so dedicated to getting better and upholding each other to a high standard of showing up and working hard during every minute. I feel like our team at Mizzou is extremely competitive and hard working as well, but to put it into perspective, the Mizzou team practices officially six hours a week (three, two-hour practices and sometimes additional optional scrimmages or tossing). In contrast, the Sophia team practices four hours every weekday (which I go to most except when I have class), and a longer six-hour practice on Saturday. Six hours. I’m not lying when I say I will be in the best shape of my life when I return. Next month we have our first tournament and I can’t wait to write to you all about it!

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