A Summary of the Month (With Many Tangents)

I've really been trying to limit my posts before I leave, pre-departure posts are boring, and if I didn't limit them, I would probably be blogging everyday about some shoes I bought, or some new vocabulary word I learned. With the arrival of the August mailing from SYA, however, I decided that another post would be acceptable. I don't really have anything super exciting to say, but I thought I would just fill everyone in on what has been going on with me and my preparation to leave for Japan. This blog entry turned out ridiculously long, and I apologize for writing so much nothingness. I promise I won't blog again until right before I leave.
August Mailing:
The August mailing from SYA (the last one before departure) included some helpful, and some terrifying information. The cover letter of the mailing included a warning for "picky eaters". As a vegetarian this obviously scared me a bit (more than a bit), but I know that I will be fine (and I am quite frankly a little tired of people telling me that I won't be). Next there was a montage of advice from SYA alumni (yes, I really imagined it as a montage). A lot of them had similar advice, it was mostly just don't be shy, put yourself out there, don't be rude, get involved, etc. It was obviously more helpful and well worded than that, but hey, you're not going to Japan, you don't need more than the gist of it. Next came the most helpful information they've sent thus far, advice about packing, luggage, and host family gifts. Also, they were all like "jk about figuring out who your host family is in L.A. btdubs, you'll probs find out in mid august" (not a DIRECT quote, but it's pretty close). Finally, they sent a schedule for everything that's going to happen on August 24th and 25th, which I don't feel like telling you right now. Maybe later, although it is dreadfully dull.
Advice:
So when people find out that I'm going to Japan for 9 months, their initial reaction is to think of anything they know about Japan, give me this little insight, try to give me advice based upon this prior knowledge (for better or for worse), and they ALWAYS end with this same phrase "you'll love it" Now I'm not writing this to bash on those people, they are very sweet, and I know they have nothing but good intentions. However, none of these people have ever been to Japan, and the extent of their knowledge is usually about as far as the mass media takes them. What strikes me about these people, is that they never seem to consider that I have done some background research on Japan, you know, considering that I had enough interest to want to live there for 9 months. I have found myself in many awkward conversations resulting from this situation, in which the speaker assumes that I don't know what they're telling me, and I pretend that this is new information that I am receiving. I just find this whole interaction incredibly amusing quite possibly solely because it has happened more than once. I also find their universally chosen last phrase to be quite intriguing. "you'll love it" this usually implies that 1. you have experienced the thing the listener will apparently love, and 2. you know the speaker well enough, to know what types of things they love. considering that neither of these are usually the case, I can't help but wonder how they came to (apparently subconsciously) agree on this phrase.
On to more helpful people-->a lot of my friends just got back from Japan, so I have been trying to get lots of advice from them, and it has been very helpful. Nathan has given me a lesson or two in Japanese slang, Gabby, Jordan, and Sarah told me a bit about fashion in Japan, and Adam and Anastasia have told me how to prepare for karaoke. In addition, Kelly (my step mom) spent a year in Sweden, and has been unbelievably helpful in helping me to prepare for my year abroad.
Studying:
So I found out that a lot of my fellow SYAers have decided to not do the summer reading. Of course, I didn't find that out until after I had finished about my 5th book... No matter, I'm on my 7th book now, and I am quite enjoying it. I have been reading library copies of most of these books, and have therefore saved some of the books I bought (I am a cat and snow country) to read during travel. I have also been intensifying my Japanese language study, and my studying for the SAT. I also have to keep up with both Japanese and American current events, and have been doing so. (Japan times for Japanese news, and the Daily Show and Colbert Report for American news. Laugh all you want, but these shows do inform as well as entertain).
Books I've read this summer for SYA: Learning to Bow: Inside the Heart of Japan by Bruce Feiler, Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Haruki Murakami, The Temple of the Golden Pavilion by Yukio Mishima, First snow on Fuji by yasunari Kawabata, Japanese Lessons: A year in a Japanese School Through the Eyes of an American Anthropologist and her Children by Gail Benjamin, and The Japanese Educational Challenge: a Commitment to Children by Merry White
Shopping and Packing:
I have been doing a lot of shopping recently, and my list has gotten quite a bit shorter. My luggage came in and it is red and beautiful, but I'm really not looking forward to fitting 9 months worth of stuff into two suitcases and an overnight bag. oh well, it will work out.
Excitement and Anxiety:
I don't really know what to say here. Most of me cannot wait to go to Japan, but part of me wants time to slow down so that I can thoroughly prepare. I guess all I can do is make the most of the time that I have, that's why I've intensified my studying, and have been trying to see my friends while I still can. I keep forgetting that I have to turn 17 before I leave. My birthday gets severely out-shined, in my mind, by what will happen shortly thereafter. When I realize how close my birthday is, my mind races, because after I turn 17 there will be no more major events between the present and the time of departure.