Vanish

It's been quite a long, long time since I've updated my main blog. The rave these days has been all about my 2nd blog according to the visitors worldwide, for those who aren't already aware, that blog is primarily for product reviews. To visit my 2nd blog which has been becoming more populated by visitors throughout the world by the day, please click here. I do apologize if it sounds pretentious of me to mention this, however, I am in no way 'bragging' at all by saying the rave is about my 2nd blog. It's just shocking to me as my main blog was once populated by thousands and how the audience base has completely shifted.

It's also come to my attention that I should take the time to inform you about my YouTube channel which recently launched, those videos consist of anything that I wish to upload, though I have more product review videos than anything else currently up. You may visit my YouTube channel simply by clicking here. You are more than welcomed to subscribe for immediate updates, which I am highly encouraging to stay up to date.

Well, let's begin. .

I'm going to Japan for the first time in my life! August 3rd is my official flight date, I will be staying in Tokyo for the first few days and moving around Japan accordingly.  

I haven't been out the house for a long period of time in, well, ever? I've yet to transfer from community college, so I don't have much of an option but to continue living at home. Though at times it can be quite refreshing, a majority of the time I'm stuck in this catastrophic dilemma that I'll never be out the house. On that note, I'm quite merry that soon I'll be transferring out of community college in such a timely manner. For the most part, I'm transferring much earlier than about 95% of the students I have spoken with. These days, I hear most people don't transfer in two years at all, most dismiss the thought of transferring earlier than that too. From what I've heard around campus and just many others, most student's are expecting 3-5 years in community college before they've finished their G.E courses to qualify for transfer. 

3-5 years?

Truth be told, I'm supportive of that choice too, perhaps it isn't even a choice and just the fact that school is forcing us into a corner of debt and constant responsibilities to attend to? 

What a shame, really. . These students (Yes, I'm including any age student, doesn't matter how 'young' or 'old' a person is. .) are already struggling because of all the expenses they've got to pay off, though there's many possible reasons behind that. 

I am fortunate to have just enough to attend school at the very least, as well saved enough money through various jobs so that I could afford this trip, in actuality nobody has any right to shame anyone for staying in school more than 2 years. 

I want to be independent, of course, I don't want to attend to any of the responsibilities in order to have that trait. I won't deny that life is quite a drag at times, perhaps that's just my personality that has influenced my mindset and perception.

I'll be staying in Japan for more than two weeks!

I figured if this was a dream vacation come true, I would gladly pour in a substantial amount of my own money to enjoy this trip to the absolute fullest. Expenses aside, I really have nothing to complain about since this is entirely my choice to go, of course I will be accompanied with a friend who will be coming from Korea and meeting me at Narita International Airport in the afternoon of July 4th. 

I never actually considered the possibility of not going to Japan alone for my first visit, additionally my friend cannot speak Japanese so I will be translating as much as I can for her during this trip. I don't mind at all, though I'm curious to see if many Japan natives will openly speak English. 

At the end of the day, I can read anything on the internet saying one thing or another, I've been told my Japanese natives that "not many people will openly speak English even to non-natives" and I've also been told by a Japanese native that "if you cannot speak Japanese fluently, many will be more than happy to speak English with you." My experience with natives of Japan have been nothing short of unbelievably pleasant. I have never once had a bad outlook on Japan or the Japanese natives, regardless of anything that says otherwise online, which on that note is very rare for me to come across. 

Culture shock

There's a lot of people that I've spoken with who aren't very open to the idea of culture shock, if anything they oppose the thought of it ever happening.

I have to disagree entirely though, I am actually more than ready and waiting for a drastic culture shock the moment I arrive in Japan. 

I've been living in the United States since I was born, soon enough my birthday will be coming up and I'll have reached the age of adulthood, I'll be turning 二十歳 (hatachi) though unfortunately I'll be leaving Japan a week before my birthday. 

Lately I haven't thought of much else than Han (my cat), transferring out of community college and this trip to Japan. Of course, this isn't to say I haven't put much thought onto anything else, those are just the main three things that I've really thought about entirely lately. 

I'm saying Han too because his birthday is on August 1st, so I'll be here to celebrate with him and I know he'll appreciate that. To be honest, originally my flight was suppose to be on July 30th, though dates changed because of my friend's trip to Jeju in Korea. It actually worked out in my favor though, I wouldn't dare miss Han's birthday, especially when he's just turning 1 years old. 

What kind of father would I be? lol. 

As well for school, I'm actually quite tired of being in a community college and just want to transfer and live outside of this area for a few years. And to be honest, except for my major prep classes, I really don't find any other classes all that interesting. 

That leaves me with just this trip, honestly. . I'm just ready to explore a new country for once, especially one that is of my complete choosing. 

I don't have any worries in the slightest with the trip, though I've been pondering a dilemma that could arise during my stay in Japan, what if. . I don't want to come back? 

ha ha, well. . That's a 'joke' to the few I've told here in the United States. 

Though, in actuality, it is a genuine thought worth pondering into. . 

Which has very much lead me to think about studying abroad once I transfer out of Community College, though that's more money that I currently don't have, so. . I'll wait and see after this long awaited trip. 

upcoming massive blog entry

I have decided already that this trip will not only be for myself, however, it'll be for all of those who have desperately wished to ever visit Japan one day - though, not able to for a variety of possible reasons. 

I will be creating a massive blog entry for my 2 week+ stay in Japan, as well I (may) be vlogging and uploading those videos to my YouTube channel. 

This will leave me with a lot of content as a whole, assuming my storage doesn't get backed up immediately.  

final thoughts?

I'm happy to be back blogging on the main blog that started it all, though I've put in a mass amount of effort into my 2nd blog which has been quickly expanding, I will never forget about my main blog and will continue to bring all my visitors from around the world new content. 

Please look forward to my next blog entry, I'll be back with a new blog entry as soon as possible. 

Thank you so much for the continued support, 

Tao