Alysse Abroad

This blog has been dormant for too long.  I've tried to write a few posts since returning back to America from Japan, but I couldn't figure out why I never kept up with it.  I love to travel and explore, and I love to write, so what was the problem? When I created this blog I did so partially to keep my friends and family in the loop while I spent a year of my life exploring a foreign country, but my biggest driving factor was providing information.  I researched every corner of the web before I set off on my year abroad in Japan.  I wanted to soak up every bit of information I could about life in Japan, the culture overseas, what my school would be like, and everything in between.  Looking at pictures, watching videos, and reading everything there was to read consumed me and heightened my excitement immensely.  So, I had decided that I wanted to make my trip informative for future study abroad students who would likely be doing the same scouring I had don...

aka: Ten Things You Should Definitely Pack, but Might Not Have Thought About In no particular order, all of these items need to find their way into your luggage or backpack no matter what type of adventure you are setting out on.  If you are camping, hiking, backpacking, road tripping, visiting a city, on a cruise, at an amusement park, going to the beach, or heading to the snow, I promise you will be glad you have brought these things with you. 1. The right socks - These are just as important to your comfort as the right shoe.  Moisture wicking and athletic socks are crucial if you will be wearing running shoes or doing a lot of walking. Some socks even provide extra arch support if you need it.  Quality socks can prevent blisters, keep you warm, and significantly increase your comfort.  If you will be wearing boots, high rise socks will prevent rubbing on your ankles or calves.  If you are only bringing sandals with you, a pair of socks can still be usefu...

For those of you who are here in search of information about either ICU or Japan as a whole, below are a few lists of posts that you may find helpful. You can find a complete list of the posts on this blog in the right sidebar, but I assume most of my visitors would rather not search through my personal posts in order to find information. Please let me know if there is anything you would like to know about that I haven't yet posted about, or if you have any questions at all. I want to be as helpful as possible!! Generally Useful Things Coping with Culture Shock 40 Things You Didn't Know Money Matters What Japanese Money Looks Like Getting a Cell Phone A Brief Lesson on Keigo Touring The ICU Area Entrance of the School Around Campus Global House Ginkgo House Dialogue House Honkan Library D-Kan and Bookstore A Day in My Life Nogawa Park (Near ICU) ICU's Surrounding Area Places Around Japan Imperial Palace Hiroshima and Miya...

Before I jump straight into this list, I want to clarify that some of these points may be generally incorrect, or could be exclusive to Tokyo.  I could also have some of my reasonings wrong.  This list is simply something I compiled based off of my own experiences throughout the year that I lived and traveled throughout Japan. This list is also not, in any way, a complete one.  I'm sure if you search the internet you can find many other very true facts about Japan that I have forgotten to list here. In urban areas there will, at any given time or place, be at least one コンビニ ("conbini" / convenience store) within walking distance. Japanese people don’t usually have  middle names . Japanese people are very interested in each others' blood type - it's like astrology in America, except people take it very seriously.  Expect to be asked what your blood type is at least once. Japanese deodorant supposedly doesn't work very well.  I brought my own deodo...

In this post I will summarize my budget and expenses during my year abroad.  Please note that general living expenses will vary based on a number of things, including the lifestyle of the person, the current exchange rate (during this time -2011 - 2012- it was between 70 and 85 cents to the 100 yen), the costs of things in general at the time, and personal preferences and ability to budget. These amounts are listed in yen.  They are approximate numbers. Living: Summer term room and board (Ginkgo House): 80,000 Autumn term room and board (Global House): 206,000 Winter term room and board (Global House): 206,000 Spring term room and board (Global House):  206,000 Bedding: 14,700 --- Required rented Noguchi Co. bedding (all bedsheets, blankets, pillows, futon, etc) for one year. NOTE: "room and board" includes the dorm living amount and extra dorm fees. One time expenses: Required insurance: 8,000 to 10,000 Bicycle: 10,000 --- I highly recommend buying a bicyc...

This is a long, extensive, and boring tour of the library.  I figured someone out there may be interested in seeing it, so I filmed it.  The library is multiple stories and has a lot in it, so it took me a while.  I began filming from the entrance/exit of D-Kan because: 1. I had just filmed my previous tour of D-Kan, and 2. to give some perspective on where the library is located.  Enjoy :]

This is a tour of Honkan, the main building for classrooms.  There are a couple other buildings that have classrooms in them, but they are specifically for certain subjects (such as science).  One thing I forgot to mention in the tour was that the UC center for UC exchange students is located on the second floor next to the left flight of stairs, and the campus clinic is located on the third floor next to the left flight of stairs. (When I say left, I mean if you are standing in the lobby by the elevator facing the windows, the way I was when I filmed this.)