Blogs from Silver Spring, Maryland, United States, North America - page 3

I say “tadaima”. You say “what did you just call me?” Here I am. Doing all that I can. Maybe someone will understand. And that one will hold my hand. Humor me. Back to work. That's a clip from a blog entry of a former Kansai Gaidai exchange student; the rest for those who are interested can be read here, though I highly recommend any of you reading this to take a look. I can't say that I entirely understand his point of view since each of our experiences was different at that school. For me, I grew up a lot. I finally decided it was time to make some drastic changes in my life, starting from my looks and tomboyish exterior to the way I approach life and it's challenges. I became wiser, gentler, and ... read more

I am absolutely exhausted right this moment but with good reason at least; hopefully this entry will make some coherent sense and I apologize if it doesn't. But today has been wonderful in every sense of the word. I had my second Kansai Gaidai reunion with my friends Quill and Aurora. Quill flew in this week to visit her for a few days, and they asked me sometime back if I'd like to go sightseeing around Washington D.C. with them. Of course the natural answer was "yes"! I love them both so much, and it really felt good to feel like I was back at Kansai Gaidai again. We managed to fit in a full day of sightseeing and strolling the National Mall: we went to the White House, the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, the ... read more

I got a job? I got a job! Well, sort of. I signed on with a temporary hiring agency today, that promises they'll be able to find me a job very shortly. The sorts of work they hire out for are fairly basic, mostly clerical, data entry, receptionist sorts of positions. They did promise me a minimum wage as well as possible bonuses from themselves for stellar performance.. They also said that depending on the number of hours I work then I'll be elligible for extra things, like free health insurance and other benefits until I leave the country. And a promise for summer work next year while I wait for my visa approval! The people working there all seemed extremely friendly as well; they gave me the day before Sora's wedding off as well as ... read more

I had my doubts. ANA booked a flight for me from Osaka to the Tokyo Haneda Airport, and then another flight from Tokyo Narita Airport to Dulles. The transit time between Haneda and Narita is 75 minutes. Plus I gotta check in at Narita etc. The time ANA gave me between those two flights was 3 hours. So it seemed like a risky situation. I arrived at KIX, made a fuss, and so the ANA staff put me on a flight 15 minutes earlier than my original flight, and put me on first class to make me feel better. But the thing is, I never should have doubted the Japanese. The transit time from Haneda to Narita was exactly as they had told me, 1 hour 15 minutes. Everything was on time, just like all the ... read more

A little less than three weeks to go before I hop on the plane to start my new life. As scared as I am and as much as I'll miss everyone and the comforts of home, this will be the thing that saves me. I need something to shake me out of my comfort zone and reboot my mind and spirit. I need to pull myself out of this rut and come into who I've become. The dreariness of this past year has overshadowed me. The old Sara is long since gone, but I still can't see who this new Sara is. Of course we change all the time, so it's not like I just switched identities like switching a mask or a costume. It's more a matter of understanding the more salient aspects of ... read more