Spring reflections

Happy April to you. I sure hope this means Michigan is done with snow. The seasons have gotten so weird these last few years it seems, doesn't it? I think Al Gore is right: our planet is in big trouble. ):

Well, on a lighter note, I got to spend Saturday afternoon babbling on about my time at the Japan Center for Michigan Universities, or JCMU as we lovingly call it. I spent the summer of 2002 there, studying Japanese intensively (I earned 10 credits in 9 weeks!) and exploring Japan for the first time. This past Saturday, future students embarking on the JCMU adventure came to MSU for a pre-orientation of sorts. I've recently been in contact with Kate Simon, the program coordinator at MSU, and helped her out at the session, along with three other JCMU alum.

It was a lot of fun, and reminded me a bit of the other orientation I attended not long ago. It's so fun to see the students so excited and nervous about this new chapter in their lives. I got kind of jealous again! ^_^ I remembered my excitement, my nervousness, my fear, my joy. I remembered my new teachers and my new friends, and all of the places I went and things I did. I have been to Japan twice since I left for JCMU... but the feeling isn't the same, in a way. Now it's like I'm "going back"--instead of "going there." Maybe this doesn't make sense...? But then, to those of you who have studied abroad... it probably does. ^^;

I reflected, too, a bit on where my experience at JCMU may have taken me. I feel like it's had a great influence on my life, and my attitude towards Japanese and Japan. I wondered a bit, what my life would be like if I hadn't gone... And I wonder now where JCMU will lead its new students.