The Final 7 Days

Today is the start of my FINAL week in America, isn't that absolutely crazy!?!?

So to start of my last week of Japan, I had a, first of three, going away party with my family. Of course, as usual, with any going away event, I tend to freak out and stress over little details like entertainment and what not, even if it's family.

What I decided to do for this going away party was to have a picnic on the "green belt" in Green Valley, best pinic place EVER!

Once my sister arrived to the picnic area, we found several middle school/high school freshman all sitting around our area smoking. -______- Now, I don't really have to say much, I think you know what I was thinking, haha.

Anyways, as with almost any family, having a going away party start at 2 pm means that everyone will be there at 3, and my family was no exception. Once everyone finally arrived, we set up a volleyball net and brought out the amazing Vietnamese food... which somehow included KFC!?

The going away party consisted of the best game of Prisoner, football, great family moments, and most of all FUN! Getting to spend time with my family was the best going away present a guy could ask for.

THANK YOU FAMILY: DANGs, DOs, & TRANs!!!!

11:11

There's a saying that at 11:11 (am or pm) you can make a wish and it will come true. Did you know that some people even consider it good Juju!?

Well, enough with the randomness, on to actually blogging. Yesterday was another amazing, fun-filled day of going away shindigs!

I spent the majority of my morning and afternoon planning my going away picnic with my family (which I will post about next) and finally found sweet, sweet stress release once 5 o'clock hit!

I met up with my friends from my Japanese class for dinner at a sushi place called Sushi Sho. Seeing Minami, Vivi, Cindy (aka Kiinky), and Phil was so nice, it definitely brought back good memories of us goofing off in class and being scolded by 加川先生. Being able to reconnect with people you haven't seen for a long time is just something that is so special; it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside, haha! Oh, and the best thing about the night was when Minami gave me a card she had made for me as a going away gift. It was the most sweet and amazing card ever! She wrote it all in Japanese, however, so I am a bit slow on the reading... It is definitely good inspiration to start reviewing all my 漢字 again.



RANDOM PLUG: Sushi Sho is sooooo goood! I would recommend it to everyone! Ask for the Yummy Roll (I think that's what it's called), It's so amazing! Though, I will probably have even better sushi in Japan, haha!

Immediately after my wonderful dinner at Sushi Sho, it was off to eat with another group of friends at a truly American fast food chain, In-N-Out (yes, yes, too much eating >.<" I feel obese just writing this)!! This meal meet up also doubled as another going away gathering. This particular group of friends were friends that I met through the International Coffee Break that I, as well as my friend Miou, are regular attendees. Basically Coffee Break is where local students as well as international students attending CSUF are able to meet up and interact (SO FUN, by the way). Liz, May, Kelly (the crazy Malaysian girls, haha!), Isa, and Kevin all were there to greet me! It was such a chill get together, made even better with the delicious hamburger and ANIMAL STYLE FRIES that I had. Even after our meal, the fun didn't stop... right next to the In-N-Out, six firetrucks rushed to a house where, apparently, a small fire had broken out. I, of course, made it a point to mention that the situation reminded me of the movie "Quarantine," which made for quite an awkward moment, haha!



Our night ended with us reminiscing about "turty tree batrees" and hilarious online videos that we have watched together, good times for sure!

All these going away parties are reminding me that, with each passing day, Japan is that much closer! Though it will be bitter-sweet to leave everyone behind, what the future holds just seems too exciting to pass up.

P.S. - Even though I actually posted this at 11:12, don't diss the Juju.

It's Been a Busy Day!

Yup, yesterday was quite an eventful day for me.

I started off my day with a brunch meet up with my friend Bevis (pronounced Bev-iss). We went to this awesome place called Plums Cafe and Catering. It's a very homey, posh type cafe located somewhere in downtown Costa Mesa that offers delicious breakfast, brunch (on weekends), lunch, and dinner meals for pretty affordable prices!

It was nice just to catch up with my friend and have a nice meal. It was even nicer, however, when the food came! The portions are fairly big, but I guess that's what you can expect for paying $14 for a brunch meal. It looked so good, I started eating before I could take the oh-so-cliche food picture of my dish!

It was a great start to my day!

Afterwards, I met up with one of my best of best friends, Sally, for a late lunch at our favorite little hole-in-the-wall restaurant, Harbor House. We had planned for quite a busy day of eating lunch and then shopping together 'til the cows come home! After a delicious meal of a shared Avocado Burger and Fries, we were off to The Lab for some AWESOME SHOPPING!!!!!!!!!!

At The Lab we decided to hit up the coolest hat store around, Arth. Lucky for us, we ran into our old friend Christine, who was working that day. After about an hour long catch up session, both Sally and I bought some pretty sweet hats with a "family discount" from Christine <3 Isn't she awesome!?

To end our shopping spree Sally and I then went to Fashion Island!! We went to Urban Outfitters and boy were we LUCKY!! There was a sale on all jeans for just $39, plus sales on a lot of the other items in the store... so awesome! SHOPPING SPREE DAY ROCKED!

I then made my way to my weekly family dinner. I decided to take all my cousins to Yogurt Passion (another one of those frozen yogurt places) for some much needed dessert. On a whim, we decided we wanted to go ice-blocking!! Personally, I've never gone ice-blocking before, but I was so excited to do it!

It was the perfect ending to a practically perfect day.

Be Kind, Rewind

So it seems that I was a bit too eager with my last post, I forgot to tell you all about how and why I made this blog in the first place!

*Asian accent* A sto-lee lie myn haz neber been toed befo... (Translation: A story like mine has never been told before...)

So, it all started when this little Asian boy (me) decided that he wanted to study abroad in Japan...

I applied through the California State University International Programs to study abroad in Japan. After a grueling application process - consisting of the initial application form, a "Statement of Purpose" essay, an interview with my school's International Study Abroad Advisor and Faculty, and, when I was deemed worthy to go on to the next level, another application and essay - I was lucky enough to have been accepted into the program.

Now, I'm not gonnna lie, the Japan program, in particular, is a very competitive program: only accepting 20-25 students a year out of the entire CSU system! So, being accepted is not only a great accomplishment, but is a great honor. But perhaps one of the greatest things to come out of being accepted into my dream study abroad program (I truly mean that, it is such an honor) is that I am able to share my experience with my long time friend, Miou (pronounced Me-oh). As the only students from CSU Fullerton to be accepted into the program (only two accepted from CSUF, to clarify), we are ready to REPRESENT!

Check out Miou's blog: http://findingmiou.blogspot.com/

Really quick, I gotta say, Miou's blog title is pretty rad! Don't you agree!?

So, why make a blog? I made this blog in the hopes of becoming America's Next Top Mod... wait... in the hopes that I can keep you guys (everyone back home) up-to-date on what I'm up to in one of the coolest, most unique countries in the world; and, hopefully, along the way, you all might just learn something you didn't know before about studying abroad, the Japanese culture, or both!

Be sure to keep a look out for some of the most wild, wacky, and down right crazy things you'll ever see in Japan, here on my blog!

15日間

15 days.

I honestly can't believe it. 15 days left before I am off to Japan for an entire year. That's 15 days to plan some さようならのパーティ, 15 days to live it up OC style (whatever that means >.<"), and 15 days left with family.

The process of saying goodbyes has already started: I used to work at the "Happiest Place On Earth," until Thursday, August 27, 2009. Words can't describe how much the past year and 2 months at Disney has impacted my life and I will truly miss each and every person that I met throughout my time working for The Mouse. I will always be a Cafe Orleans/Animanisafetyacs/C.O. Crew Cast Member, believe it.

I can only imagine what the next 15 days will have in store for me, but I'm sure it'll include frantic packing, possibly losing important documentation (let's hope not), and many, many tears. Leaving all my loved ones behind will be hard, but knowing that I'll be in Japan with some of the coolest, most amazing people gives me comfort.

Being accepted into this program, so far, has been the best thing that has happened to me.

Recently, I have come to the conclusion that time is either going by way too fast or way too slow... either way, however, this whole experience is still all so surreal to me. I don't think reality will hit until I'm in that airport about to leave my family and friends behind.

So, for now, I will focus on making sure that all debts are repaid (though I have none... I hope o.O), loose ends are tied, and that I enjoy the time I have left with all my family and friends.

Marky Mark

Have You Met Mark?