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Xamena Bangash
Hey I'm Xamena and I'm a junior at Maryville College. This spring, I'm getting away from Maryville and going out on my own for the first time...in another country! I'm studying at Kansai Gaidai University in Osaka, Japan and I can't wait to share all my experiences with everyone!xamena
Travel Blog Posts
The End (One Year Later!)
Published: January 30th 2009North America » United States » Tennessee » Knoxville
January 26th 2009
It's hard to believe that almost exactly one year ago I left for Japan... Since it's just around the time of my one year anniversary of departing, I have definitely been thinking more and more about my experience that semester at Kansai Gaidai. And do you know what I realized? That I never wrote anything to conclude my trip! I guess I just got really busy towards the end of the semester, having to pack everything up and get ready to go back home. It was a very stressfult time too, and I had so many different thoughts and emotions going through my head that I just forgot about my poor little travel blog! I thought I would finish it when I got home, but as soon as I was back I was busy spending time ... read more
June 4th 2008
After finals (which was the most studying I've done the entire semester!) I was really excited to be finished with school...and even more excited because my friend Masa was coming to visit me for a few days! Masa goes to school with me in Tennessee, but he was coming home to Japan for the summer. So of course we had to meet up while I was still there! Oh and Masa is really CRAZY so I knew we would have a lot of fun... On Thursday when he arrived, I met him at the bus stop in front of the Kansai Gaidai entrance in the morning. We walked around campus and I showed him what it was like to be a student at Kansai Gaidai. He had actually wanted to go to Kansai Gaidai, but he ... read more
May 14th 2008
Well now that it's almost the end of the semester, I guess it would be a good time to write about my room...and my very ummm, interesting, roommate. For some reason I just haven't had very good luck with roommates over here. At the beginning of the semester I had to change seminar houses because I didn't like my roommates, and all I wanted was someone normal. Well, I didn't get normal! But the one good thing is that because so many of my friends live in Seminar House 4, I don't have to be in my room all the time! But I will tell you more about my roommate later...gotta save the best for last! Well my room is a Japanese-style room with tatami mats. There's really not much to the room...just my closet, my ... read more
May 10th 2008
On our last day in Okinawa, we decided to go visit the Budokan, or martial arts center, in Naha since Lani is really interested in martial arts. Okinawa is actually where many forms of martial arts originated, so I was also excited to check out the Budokan! And it was conveniently located a couple of blocks from our hotel. So we set out in the morning around 10 AM and walked down to the park that led to the Budokan. We weren't exactly sure where we were going, but eventually we started to hear people yelling and it sounded like they were doing karate, so we just followed the sound. My first glimpse of the Budokan was somewhat disappointing...the building looked kind of old and it wasn't very impressive at all. But as we got closer ... read more
May 9th 2008
On Sunday, after learning our lesson the previous day about the ferry tickets, we were able to go to one of the small islands off the main island of Okinawa. We had called the day before and reserved our tickets for Zamami Island, which is part of the larger Kerama Islands. We were so proud of ourselves for planning ahead and were really excited about the island, but the funny thing is that we almost didn't make it to the port... We had gone down to the lobby that morning to eat breakfast and planned to leave the hotel at 9:00 since our ferry left at 10:00. But after breakfast we realized that we accidentally left our key in the room! Since the doors automatically lock, we were locked out. We went to the front desk ... read more
May 8th 2008
So I think I have found paradise...and it's OKINAWA! I went there for 5 days with Leilani for the Golden Week holiday, and it was the most amazing trip ever! I was really needing a vacation...and I mean a real vacation, not a crazy week of sightseeing and trying to do as many things as possible. I just wanted to go somewhere and relax and enjoy myself, especially since April was such a long and tiring month. So going to Okinawa was a good way to start off May! We left Friday morning, since it's an hour and a half bus ride from Hirakata to the airport, and went to KIX for our 2:30 PM flight. The flight was only about an hour and 40 minutes long, so I was surprised that we were on such ... read more
April 19th 2008
Hello everyone! So I just got done with the worst week of school ever...this past week I had 2 papers due and a couple of tests and quizzes too. It was not fun at all. The papers weren't even that difficult, but it was just hard for me to think...cause I haven't had to do much of that this semester! My classes are so easy and I haven't had to do much work for them at all. So this whole semester has been like a vacation to me...and my brain must have gone on vacation too! But I'm glad it's finally over and now I can go back to doing absolutely nothing once again ;) And speaking of doing nothing...I really haven't been doing much at all in April as far as travelling and sightseeing is ... read more
April 12th 2008
Spring is finally here!!! The past few weeks have been absolutely beautiful. Of course, it's the most beautiful time in Japan because of all the cherry blossoms. They're everywhere you look! Unfortunately they only are in bloom for about 2 weeks before they fall off...so I really had to make the most of those 2 weeks and enjoy them while I could. (and that's also the reason why I haven't posted anything lately, sorry!) First of all, you should know that I have a slight obsession with cherry blossoms, or sakura. That's one of the main reasons I decided to study here for the spring semester, so that I would get to see them! I think they're sooo pretty and they just make me happy :) Oh and just a warning...there A LOT of pictures of ... read more
April 6th 2008
Konnichiwa!! Well I finally got a little break this weekend from my usual busy schedule of traveling and other things. Leilani went to Tokyo for the weekend so I was left all alone here. But even though I didn't do any major traveling, it turned out to be an awesome weekend! But anyway, that's not the point of this post... I thought I would take some time to talk about Hirakata, the city in Osaka where I live and go to school. Hirakata is to Osaka what Maryville is to Knoxville...except that Osaka is about 10 times bigger and more fun than Knoxville! I usually don't go into downtown Hirakata City that much, except to go the bank and Hirakata station. We often complain about how boring Hirakata is, but me and Leilani actually found out ... read more
April 1st 2008
On Saturday, me, Lani, and her roommate Rachelle went to see the Himeji Castle, and it was one of the best "little" trips I've had this semester! Even though things didn't work out exactly as we had planned, it was still a lot of fun! And we learned an important lesson from that day...to always expect the unexpected! We planned on leaving at 11 AM Saturday morning. But let's be honest, this is me and Lani...so we took our time and had a nice breakfast in the dining room and got to talking about Okinawa and skydiving. By the time we had decided that you are more likely to die from skydiving than bungee jumping (Lani had jumped off the Macao Tower over spring break), we looked at the clock and realized it was already 12! ... read more
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