Welcome to Gaia! ::

Konbanwa minna! Watashi wa Susan desu.

Hello everyone! I just arrived in Osaka, Japan a few days ago. I'm studying abroad at Kansai Gaidai University. KG is Japan's largest international school. They send about 1,400 Japanese students abroad every year and receive about 700 foreign students in return. I am here from the United States, which has the largest number of foreign students on campus (261/441).

I am going to be doing some travel writing while I am here, so keep an eye out in the forums if you're interested in some stories from Japan.

Feel free to ask me any questions. I'll do my best to answer. You can ask here or just PM me. Please keep in mind that if you're in the US, then it's 13 hours different from here. For instance, right now it's 6:15 AM in the US, but it's 7:15 PM here. So I may not get back to you until the next day. ^_^ Plus, I will be busy with school.

For this post, I'll just give you my class schedule so you have some idea of what going to school here is like:

Monday:
Spoken Japanese 2: 11-11:50

Tuesday:
Spoken Japanese 2: 10-10:50
Reading and Writing 2: 11-11:50
Love, Sex, and Death in Bunraku, Kabuki, and Opera: 2:30-3:50

Wednesday:
Reading and Writing 2: 11-11:50
Spoken Japanese 2: 12-12:50
Survey of Japanese Art: 2:30-3:50
Japanese Culture as Expressed in Architecture: 4-5:20

Thursday:
Spoken Japanese 2: 12-12:50
Love, Sex, and Death in Bunraku, Kabuki, and Opera: 2:30-3:50

Friday:
Reading and Writing 2: 10-10:50
Spoken Japanese 2: 11-11:50
Survey of Japanese Art: 2:30-3:50
Japanese Culture as Expressed in Architecture: 4-5:20

Ja ne!

Hi there, and greetings from Nara. ^_^

Wow, it's awesome that you get to study abroad! Are you here for a full year or just one semester? I would have liked to study abroad, but my school only does an internship program with Japan, so I'm here on that instead. How many years of Japanese have you taken? How are the classes? Is everything taught in Japanese? Do I ask too many questions?

Well, I hope you are having fun, and don't forget to get out and explore some when you have the chance. Nippon e youkoso!

xd I think Osaka dialect is ridiculously cute. *squee*

I'm so jealous of you, Susan! May I ask which American college you attend? Did it set up the study abroad program for you or did you have to do it through another college? I start college next fall so I'm trying to finish deciding which ones I'm applying to at the moment. I have 5, but I think all of them have programs in Kanto region rather than Kansai region.

Osaka was my favorite place in Japan, after Kyoto. smile

I hope you keep a good journal and tell us all aobut your stay. Are you there for a year or a semester?

Watashi no nihongo wa chotto... sweatdrop
大阪 - Osaka?!
でっでも、大阪、関西で - But Osaka is in Kansai!
あなたが大阪弁を習うのよね - Are you learning Osaka-ben?
ちょっとこわいな - A little bit scary.

Okay. sweatdrop

ガ―（゜Д゜川）―ン　<- Kore wa nandesuka?

Osaka-ben wa muzukashi desu. Demo, watashi no kurasu wa Osaka-ben janai. I think... that's right...