I guess it's time for an update

So...

It's been about 2 months since I got my placement in Kyoto Prefecture. I was (and am) sooooo ridiculously excited because Kyoto is amazingly beautiful, and they have a cool dialect, and the train station is awesome, and etc, etc, etc.

But after the initial joy, I was like, "Hey, why don't I find OTHER students who are going to Kyoto? Then we could talk and make plans to meet at the airport 'n' stuff." And guess what? I have found precisely 0, count it, 0 other students who are going to D2650, much less Kyoto. You see, a great percentage of people who go to Japan get placed in bigger cities like Tokyo or its surrounding prefectures, Sendai, somewhere in Hokkaido, Hamamatsu, Fukuoka, Tochigi, or Osaka (which I think I'll be about 20 minutes from by train), but NOBODY gets Kyoto. If they get D2650, they go to Nara or Fukui or Shiga. Don't ask me why; I'm still trying to figure it out.

It turns out that when all of the future Japan exchangers' applications were sent to Japan, D2650 took particular interest in my history with music. Kyoto is the cultural & artistic center of Japan, so from what I hear they really liked that I play violin (and have for a VERY long time). But whatever it was that made them do it, the Rotarians placed me in Kyoto Prefecture. Which I'm more than thrilled about. And I'm sure they'll be other exchangers going there, only I haven't met them or they're not from USA/Canada/other English speaking countries, so I can't talk to them yet.

HOWEVER.

I have gotten in contact with many other Japan outbounds and rebounds. And they're so much fun to talk to. Seriously, I think Japan exchangers all have this weird thing about them that makes them all become good friends. I guess it's that we're all a little bit crazy :)

And I also had my first Rotary orientation! My district combined with one other district to bring a grand total of 10 exchangers to the day-long meeting. It was fun. We spent the whole day talking about exchange, and now I want to go more than ever!!! I especially liked talking with the inbound from Italy because she was so energetic and had so much to tell us about her experience so far. I was a little bit sad though; most orientations last the whole weekend, and have 30+ exchangers. And there were no outbounds or inbounds going to/from Asia, much less Japan. But, oh well, I'll meet some later.

At the meeting, everybody sort of gasped when I said, "(ramble ramble ramble)... and my host country is Japan!" All of the kids there kids are going to Europe or South America, so I was the odd one out. And people kept asking me about why I chose Japan, and why do I want to learn Japanese, and etc. It's funny; when I tell people about Japan, they all look at me like I'm either the bravest person alive or perhaps the most idiotic. Both of which I think every exchanger is, just a little bit :)

So that's about it for now. Not all that much to update. However, my Rotary Rep told me that in about 30 days, I should know my host school/family/club!!! So I'm beyond excited, and reaaaaaallllllllllllyyyyy anxious. My Rep told me that I've MOST LIKELY been placed in Kyoto city, but we're not entirely sure yet. GAH! I don't know how much longer I can wait after 2 months of no new information. Wish me luck!

And to all of the AFS and ASSE (I mean you, Rebecca N.!!!) and "insert organization here" exchangers who just left for Japan:

HAVE FUN IN JAPAN, AND I'LL SEE YOU IN FIVE MONTHS!!! でわまたすぐにね！