This was the most stressful month I have felt here so far. I must say, classes here have been pretty lax on homework, so I (and most other students) got used to not having to do so much Uni work. But, come time to end the class, every single one of them gave a final project and final presentation, due all within one week of each other. Cramming to finish my over 15 final assignments was definitely the worst part of the semester. I was a hermit for 2 weeks but finally emerged alive at the end of it all. But wow, it was stressful.
Other than that, there was one seriously AWESOME thing that I got to do- don't laugh because it's actually been one of my dreams my whole life. I got to see a giant panda in person!! I couldn't believe it because there were no lines, it was during feeding time, and there was no heightened admission fee. But when my friends and I walked into the exhibit, I couldn't contain my excitement. I took so many videos and photos, and every little movement of the panda had me grinning even more. Honestly, it was a really great experience for me to be able to experience something that has been on my wish list forever. In America, we have Pandas, but they are few and far between, have crazy long lines, expensive admission fees, and have hard-to-view exhibits. Being able to see it so up close was really amazing, and it was a great way to end the month after successfully finishing all of my finals. On the same day, I got to experience a Japanese Chinatown! California's San Francisco has a Chinatown, but that's a Chinese American take on it. It was quite interesting to see how Japanese people view the Chinatown in Kobe. We went at nighttime around dinner, and it was extremely popular with people of every nationality. Many of the shop vendors were Chinese themselves, and had Chinese, Japanese, and ChineseJapanese fusion food. It seemed like a really lively place when we were there, so I can only imagine how popular it will be when the weather warms up. Next on the list, something I didn't even know existed until I heard it through the grapevine: Bunny Island! Otherwise known as Okunoshima or Usaginoshima, Bunny Island is an Island home to many rabbits who used to be used as test subjects for a poison gas production company. After the company got shut down, all of the rabbits got released and now inhabit the Island. Instead of just leaving it unknown, it's now become a tourist attraction, and you can even buy bunny food before you hop on the ferry to get there! Getting there was the hard part. We left at 8AM in the morning, and didn't arrive to the actual island until 1PM. But, once we got to the island, there was no where you looked that didn't have bunnies. They were everywhere! Everyone spent a good 2 hours roaming and feeding all the bunnies they could find. This was also a really fun way to end the month, and the semester. I'd definitely go again in spring if I get the chance.
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AuthorMarissa Armstrong Archives
June 2016
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