By Cyrus Johnson

Through Japanese Plus, I learned that I should be a little more open to things. I experienced things I probably wouldn’t have if I were to stay in my comfort zone. Starting even with the application, I had trouble thinking about what to write for the essays. Before then, I hadn’t really thought about what I wanted to talk about, because in school I would just pick topics just to fit the rubric and get a passing grade. After that was the interview. I tend to stay quiet in most situations, especially when around new people. Since the interview was a group interview, I sat through most of it without talking, but towards the end I had to say something. It was kind of unsettling, but I spoke and apparently it was good enough to get into the class.

Then came the actual class. Like I said before, I don’t really talk around new people. But as the class went, I made some pretty good friends. And then came the worst part: the blog writing. Like I said, I didn’t really think about things to write, so picking something “easy” to write about, I wrote about not liking writing blogs. I think it was bad, but Ms. Sally liked it so I guess it was alright… And then, more recently, we went out for lunch at a Japanese restaurant. Normally, I’d be just fine with cereal, and I don’t really eat meat. At the restaurant, I tried the chicken yakisoba, and it was really good! After all of that, and after learning a lot more about Japan, I think I’d be ready for my trip to Japan this summer.