Yesterday, after having packed everything up, I left my dorm, headed towards the station.

On my way there, I passed one of the judo guys from the club, and he invited me to come say hi to a few of the member who were eating in a restaurant nearby. I walked in and sure enough they were there. I congratulated them on the tournament, which they had just won and told them I was off to the hospital. They wished me good luck, and I left. After getting the last little things I needed, I walked up the stairs to the station and onto the train. Two stations later I walked off, and met my aunt who was waiting for me at the taxi stop. We rode the next taxi to the hospital and headed to the short term hospital stay part of the hospital, as I had been indicated.

In preparation for the upcoming summer training camp, I performed various activities. I obviously packed my bags and such, making sure I had enough shampoo, tooth paste for example. I also prepared my medicine for my throat, making sure I had enough. Since this was my first time going out to a training camp here with the team, I wasn't too sure what to expect, and with my father being worried, it only made me worried. So I contacted many fellow club mates and those in charge to make sure I had the right information. It took many messages back and forth since no one seemed to know anything...


Now one of the biggest parts of my preparation for this camp started two weeks before. In order to perform my best at this camp, and not get any injuries, I had to make sure I was in my best condition. I must say, since it was summer, it wasn't always easy to get myself motivated to go and kill myself doing chin-ups and such. But I managed to get enough exercise in to feel confident.

Yoooouuuussshhhh! Here I come training camp.

Almost one year has passed since I first set foot in Japan. Now on Friday, we had our closing ceremony for the Japanese Bekka Program. I didn't receive a certificate, which is weird, but I might get something later I guess. I think it's due to me not being an "exchange student", but we'll see. During this past week, I have had an exam every day, finishing on Thursday. I ended up with a good enough score as my final note, and according to the Japanese Language Proficiency Test we took in class, I have improved quite a lot since the beginning of this semester. Now if we compare where I am now to how I was when I first came to Japan, I have indeed come quite the way. Not only with my Japanese, but in many ways, I feel like this experience has taught me much more. After one year of hard studies, training, all while living in a completely different country, it is now time to look back on my journey.

Since September last year, the beginning of my stay in Japan, I would be a fool to say that I haven't changed. In fact, one might even say I'm a completely different person. My Japanese has evolved from being able to say a few memorized sentences to having complex conversations with friends, teachers, strangers as well as my family. With that being said, I realize that I have much more to learn, but I can say that I have given my best, and the best has paid back.

I have also being able to experience the Japanese culture. I had the chance to visit many world renowned places, participate in many Japanese activities, and of course, fill myself with succulent Japanese cuisine. I was able to see different aspects of the country and from different perspectives, from Tokyo's busy life to the quiet villages; a student's life and more, of one being part of a sports club. Now due to my progress in Japanese, I was also able to hear the opinion of many of my friends, and understand their perspective on life. That is probably the most incredible thing I was able to receive from this whole trip.

I also had the incredible chance to make friends from all around the world. Those I was studying with, whether they were from Thailand or Spain, showed me that life is such a wonderful thing. I realized that no matter where you are from, everyone has the same needs. We simply express those needs in different ways. I was able to see this with my own eyes. I was able to interact with them, see them smile and laugh, get mad or frustrated. I was able to share my ideas with them and listen to theirs. If I thought, before coming here, that I was the only one fighting a battle, these new friends of mine taught me differently.

My stay in Japan is not over just yet, but now that my studies are completed, I feel as if I have reached another chapter in my life. This next chapter will be full of changes, full of hard decisions. But thanks to my family, I was able to acquire this experience which has prepared me for this next step. And for that, I am beyond words as to how much I am thankful to them.

Almost one year has passed since I first set foot in Japan. Yet I feel like it was just yesterday.

As mentioned in my blog previously, I had caught a cold back in April, and in May I finally decided to go see a doctor since it was still persisting. I was sent to a first doctor, which I visited 3 times, bought a lot of medicine, with no apparent result. I asked at the university if they could find somewhere better, and they sent me to another clinic where I received more medicine, (all the while continuing the other), yet nothing seemed to work. Now at the beginning of this month, I decided to try out a clinic in Yokohama, recommended by my girlfriend, but I only ended up receiving more un-effective medicine, half of which I already had.

After a weekend out with my friends in Shibuka, Tokyo, it really started becoming a serious piece of concern, (as if it wasn't already after 3 months). At this point everything exploded. I was in contact with my mom and dad, and my dad contacted his aunt, who contacted a doctor she knew who worked at the University's Hospital. At the same time, I caught ringworm, which is a desease that many judo athletes get due to the moistness and body contact. Now with the family, doctors, judo club's secretary as well as others all involved, everything just reached another level. But we ended up getting me an appointment at the University's Hospital, located in Isehara (two stations away from Tokai.).

Now this hospital is nothing like the small little clinics I've been to. This thing is HUGE!! On July 23rd, I headed out by train at 7 a.m. to the Isehara station where I met my great-aunt Shizuko who had come all the way from Bunkyo-ku (close to two hours away) to help me. She apparently had woken up at 3 a.m. that day. So we waited inside the hospital until they opened for clients. We wrote my information on a paper, and waited till they made my card. (They make cards for all the hospitals in Japan. I now have like six...) Once that was done, we were sent to the nervous system's department to go meet doctor Haida, who had come to Tokai a week before to arrange this whole thing. Shizuko is a close friend to him, and this connection helped us have an appointment much faster. After explaining my condition to him, he sent us to the proper department, the oral and nose department haha, and there we filled more papers, and waited some more.

Finally, Shizuko and I entered another doctor's office, and after asking me a few questions, he inspected my vocal chords by entering a camera through my nose. What came next was... expected but unwelcomed.

I had polyps growing on my vocal chords, which explains why it hurts when I talk. One part is hard already, while another part is still soft, meaning it has a strong chance of fixing itself by taking pills. But if this gets worse, I will have to have a surgery, or so I was told.

Ever since I found out there would be another speech contest during the spring semester, I was determined to participate in it. Last time, it didn't go as planned, and so I wanted a chance to redeem myself. Therefore, during the spring break, I had plans to write my speech ahead of time. But just as any other goal I set myself for that spring break, it didn't happen. But I did find a topic on which I wished to write my speech.

This time around I wanted to write something funny. Soon came the time where the teachers started mentioning the speech contest in class. This time, it would be slightly different. I could just sign up to the eliminations, give a speech and get to participate in the university contest.

No.

This time, I had to first be in the top three of my class. Then the top three would compete against the top three of the third class, making us six in total, but only ONE would be allowed to compete in the university's contest.

When came the time to write our speeches in class, it was at the same time we had our mid-term exam as well as making our preparations to go to the middle school in Yokohama. I had already told myself that I was going to make it to the university contest, but the teacher didn't quite realize that. They gave us very limited time to write our speeches in our own words.

See, I wanted to first write my speech in English, then get my dad to translate it, then review it many times with my friends, obtaining a variety of opinions, then lastly, revise it all with my teachers. It did end up going through all those steps, but during a much shorter amount of time than I had planned.

Finally, came the day for the 4th class's contest. I performed my speech almost perfectly. Having learned from last time, nerves were not needed here. According to plan, I was selected to be among the top three of the class who would then compete the next day with the upper class.

Video: https://youtu.be/KvSFlynERPM

The next day, the nerve level was cool. I had prepared enough, I was relaxed. I was there, in the moment. I ended up being the first one to present. I stood up in front of both classes, and performed my speech. I missed two quite important lines in the middle of my speech this time, but I still felt good about it. I had learned to just go with it, and not show that I made a mistake... which ended up working.

After a short break, the professors returned to the classroom with the results in their heads. The first girl called up was Sara, a Mongolian women from my class who had spoken about her life as a young mother going to university. At this point, I wasn't sure if this meant she was the one to compete in the university contest, but my friend Nadi kept reassuring me. Next called up was Mai, a half-Japanese, half-Israelian girl from the third class, who's speech had been about gay marriages in her country.

This time, before calling the name of the next person, the teacher announced that this next student had performed the best speech, and would be the one to perform in the university's contest. Hopes high, heart beating, I waited.

...


...


...


My name was CALLED!

I walked to the front of the class, proud, ready to receive my certificate.

Now tomorrow, I'm going to perform my speech in front of many Japanese students for another chance to win this contest. I am prepared and ready to go. This time, I won't let the nerves get to me. This time, I won't hold back.

I performed my speech last Friday in front of all the Bekka students. I wore a purple dress shirt with grey suit pants. I was clean, ready and calm. I had practiced my speech enough. I knew what  I was going to tell my audience. When my turn came, I walked up to the microphone, took a deep breath, and let it all out. I ended up performing my speech a little too fast. I also unconsciously missed a few words here and there, but I still believe I performed well. I walked off stage a little frustrated but somewhat satisfied. By the time the last contestant had finished his speech, I was fairly confident I had a shot at winning the contest. While the judges left the room to consult, a few of the students had been asked to organize a few short skits to help pass time. I went over to my teachers, first Mrs. Nishiyama, who insisted I had performed well. After that, I spent a good ten minutes talking to Mrs. Miyagi. She told me that my intonation had still some work to do and perhaps the speech could have also been modified a little more.

Video: https://youtu.be/nUUFvv3yCQ4

The judged returned to the room, and the contestants were all called up on stage. The first girl to receive a prize was the girl from the lowest class. She had been first to perform, but yet had done it quite well considering her Japanese level. Next called up was... me. I was really hoping to win the contest, but I knew in that moment I had been placed in second. I received my certificate and bookstore-money-card-prize and returned to my place in line. The first place winner ended up being the student from the 5th class, one level below me. I personally had liked his speech, but I did find it a little cheezy. But if the judges believed it to be better, it must be so.

After the whole thing, how do I feel? Well, I do believe that I improved. Just as I say in my speech, my experiences (mistakes) of the past have brought me to a higher level of understanding and potential. I may not have won the contest, but I ended up being second out of all the Bekka students. That's quite an achievement if you ask me. I even beat many of those from the higher class.

This next semester has now already started. The first week was very easy for me. I had studied ahead of time and most of it I already understood. This gave me time to study extra on my own time with Miguel. We are studying an extra textbook on vocabulary which is made in such a way that we study a certain amount of words per day, take a small test, and do that every day till the 7^th day where there is a test of the past 6 days. It went well for the first week, but this second week has been too busy and we didn't get very far.

Besides that, our listening class is probably the hardest since Miyagi sensei seems very determined to force our ears and minds to adjust to the Japanese language. Nishiyama sensei is quite kind and gentle, and teaches us in a such a simple way so that we can all understand. Yamamori sensei is just as she was last semester, nice, clear, and funny!

I'm really going to push through this semester, because I think if I get to complete the extra two textbooks I'm studying as well as the course, it will go hand-in-hand to benefit me in everything. Already, some of the vocabulary and kanji I studied are coming up in class.

With that being said, I also plan on going hard in judo practice. I really want to rejoin the normal practice, which I have started since the beginning of April, but I'm still quite scared.

Finding a balance and working hard is what I plan on doing during this next semester. Here I go!

On March 25^th, almost a month ago already, I was able to attend the Tokai University Graduation Ceremony.

Now just to give you a little background on the Japanese culture, first of all, most students have a set time of 4 years of studies, with the first semester starting in April, the second one in September. They do this for four years, and as long as they passed all their courses, most of them all graduate at the same time. Also, it is very common for some people not to attend their own graduation ceremony. Some of them have already found a job and are working hard or being trained.

This day was a very special day. I would say that about... 80% of the friends I have made so far in Japan were now all graduating on this day. This meant that it would most likely be the last time I see them before I head back home. So I packed up some of the organic hand soaps I had brought from Canada into little packages, making one for all of my friends. I also printed out and framed a picture for Chipa and Anzu, who were the ones who helped me the most since I've been here.

Now I actually had to attend two ceremonies. Since they all had to graduate on that day (but there were too many students to fit the gymnasium), they needed to separate the arts and the sciences students. And still, the room was filled! First up was Chipa's graduation. He graduated from the Architecture Department. I watched the ceremony which lasted about 1 hour. Gift where given to those who excelled, speeches were made, a video was showed and it was then time to leave.



After that, I gave Chipa his gift, and he headed off to his department to receive his certificate.

Two hours later, I headed back to the gym to attend the art's ceremony. But this time, my friend Kenta who was a staff at the dorm, invited us to go down with him. Being a little crazy, four of us who aren't graduating headed with the graduating students to watch the ceremony from a student's perspective. It was quite funny, and it didn't bother anyone. Since I won't really be graduating from Tokai, this gave me the opportunity to know how it feels to graduate from a Japanese university. Besides that, the ceremony was exactly the same.


After it ended, I had to chase down all my friends to take pictures with them and give them gifts. They all had to head to their departments, so it was quite interesting to try and spot them out of the hundreds of students coming down the road. Here they are, all dressed up for the ceremony!







*I didn't get a picture with all of them since some of them took it on their phone and still haven't sent them over...*

Most of my friends were graduating from the International Department, so I followed them there, and ended up listening to the last speech they received from their teacher. I must say, it really felt like I was graduating. Many of them actually asked me if I was haha!

Random but funny, the judo guys that were graduating saw me at one point, and asked me to take a picture with them. Most of them had never spoken to me before, but I don't mind. I just don't think I'm never going to see that picture since I don't have them as friends on Facebook.

But yeah, after saying goodbye to everyone one last time, I headed back to the Kaikan. That night, we had a supper to celebrate Chipa and Kenta's graduation and departure from the dorm.



Feelings:
 - First, most of my friends are going to leave, which makes me quite sad. I had really built this family atmosphere with all these friends I would come across on the university campus. Many of them had helped me at least once and I was really thankful for them.
 - This means that next semester, I get to start "anew". Since most of my Japanese friends are leaving, this makes me anonymous again. Not a bad thing I guess.
 - Every single one of them said that their four years had gone too fast and they wanted to stay here. All I could think of, is how fast my own trip had gone so far, and it really just made me scared that I wouldn't be able to accomplish all my goals within the remaining time.

One thing you might notice, and that I also noticed that day, is that most of my friends are girls! Well, what can I say... haha, no I did not do this on purpose. It is because most girls' Japanese is quite easier to understand, and they actually teach me Japanese. Also, guys in Japanese simply approach me to have "international experience", and so I prefer to keep my distance, although I believe I might change this for this next semester, but we'll see. ;-)