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That's awesome! Funny that we lived in the same area for a while :)

I'm not sure if we have machines that sort through the books at our libraries. Since Americans hate paying taxes our libraries, schools, and other common resources tend to be poorly funded. My hunch is people still do it all by hand lol. That sounds like a cool job though, and it's a bonus that you're working to help libraries function smoothly. Better than lining some rich bureaucrat's pockets.

I wasn't an exchange student per se. My family had a son, but he was well into his 30's and was a pilot for JAL. They did have a grandson who lived in Kamakura though, and I got to hang out with him a few times. My host parents had been hosting students for almost 20 years, so they were pros. I had a hard time making friends at Waseda since most of the Japanese students were reluctant to get close to students who would be leaving in a year. There were a couple of international circles, but mainly they just wanted to go out drinking with foreigners. So I ended spending most of my time with my host family and their neighbors, which for me was great and probably the best and most productive part of my time over there. I was able to visit them again summer 2014 and they let us stay with them for half a week before we flew back home :) I hope to be able to go back again in the near future.

Germany and France seem to be struggling the most with the immigrant issue. The "open door" policy they have has certainly let things get a bit out of control. It will be interesting to see what happens with their agreements with Turkey and Greece, who have been taking in so many. They wont be able to take them all; Greece is especially worrisome considering how weak their economy is right now.

I have read some pretty alarming articles about increasing rates of assault and rape in Sweden, as well as other countries in Europe. I dont live there so I cant say for certain, but it does sound like the influx of immigrants is making waves to say the least. And yeah, with limited housing and employment opportunities a lot of immigrants will end up idle and frustrated with their situation, which may further lead to more unrest. In any case, I hope you feel safe wherever you are living.

I would love to visit Europe again. I never made to Britain and I still want to go to Rome (very bad). I hardly spent any time in Sweden so I wouldn't mind going back again too :) Traveling is great. I just wish it weren't so expensive..

That's so cool that you went to Shirakawa as well. Did you know about it from Higurashi or had you just heard about it as a tourist attraction?

Haha, that's great. I spent a lot of time in Ikebukuro. My homestay was in a town called Hoya which was maybe 10 stops out on the Seibu-Ikebukuro line.

Ahh, I gotcha. Even if you aren't doing it for work, as long as you still have your passion for music it's all good. What kind of technician work are you doing?

Glad to hear you were able to shift gears and dedicate yourself to studying the language. Having a host family is great, but I can imagine having a Japanese girlfriend may have helped you even more :) How does she like Sweden?

I had a little bit of interest in anime before I went to Japan, but mainly anime introduced me to the Japanese language. I ended up getting really into anime while I was in Japan, not surprisingly.

I agree, there's a sort of cozy feeling over there that's a bit hard to describe. Part of it is how clean and organized Tokyo is. Then there's the respect and regard that people have for others and their environment. Tokyo may be fast-paced and loud, but it also feels safe and efficient. Compared to the U.S. where people break and steal things and yell at each other all the time Japan is so peaceful, haha. Aah, donkihote. I definitely did more browsing there than buying, but that store is quite fun.

I didn't get to spend much time in Sweden, but I sort of imagine Scandinavia to be similar. The situation with all the immigrants may have changed things though..

I definitely have the feeling of coming back to a small city, since I am from Oregon and it's a mostly rural state. That said, Tokyo is the only big city that I really like. I prefer living in smaller cities where nature isn't far away.

I never made it to Mt. Fuji...so that's one. I want to hike to the top :) I was thinking it would be cool to look up some of the best hikes and travel across the countryside from one mountain to the next. I also want to spend a more time in Oosaka since I only spent one night there.

I had the opportunity to go to both Hokkaido and Okinawa, but I would like to go to Hokkaido again. I hear Hokkaido is absolutely beautiful in the summer. I went in the winter, so I had fun at the yuki matsuri, but it was cold...very cold...and everything covered in snow. Not that I dont like snow. I went to Okinawa in the summer too, so it was...very hot.

I traveled through Nagoya a few times. One place I was able to go last time I was in Japan is Shirakawago. It's the village that the village in Higurashi (Hinamizawa) is based off of and it was awesome. It's located up in the mountains north of Nagoya and can only be accessed by bus. The only regret I have is having gone there before the leaves changed color in the fall. I was just a couple weeks too early :(

In case you haven't heard of it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KXpV-nNZqI&index=186&list=LLLed6z_388bnWlUhr-HvaIw

Oh, very cool. What part of Japan were you in and were you there for school or work? You mentioned studying for a year but were there for two. I hope that means you found some good opportunities to further your music production career :)

That's great that you picked up a lot of Japanese while you were over there. Were you able to make a lot of Japanese friends? I was never very confident with speaking so I mainly did self-study of grammar and vocabulary. Kanji was always my strongest area of study :P

I took 1st year Japanese on a whim during my first year of uni and really enjoyed it. One of my friends in the class told me he was signing up to do a year-long study abroad in Tokyo and I decided to go for it as well. I mainly went because I wanted to get out of the U.S. for a while and was eager to experience the "real" Japan. I was and am still to some degree fascinated with their culture and find it a very cozy place to visit. I lived with a wonderful host family for the year I was there and still exchange emails with them. My affinity for the language peaked while I was over there, and though I graduated with a degree in Japanese I unfortunately lost my passion for it and have not used it much since uni.

I went back again summer 2014 with two friends, which was a very different experience since I was a tour guide rather than a student :) I would like to go back a third time as there are still places I would like to see. I feel like I've experienced enough of Tokyo and the big tourist areas and would like to spend more time in smaller towns and the beautiful countryside. Rent bikes and do some hiking etc.

Nice to see you again, and have a good weekend yourself!

Oh, hey welcome back :)

HEY HOW ARE U? *hUGS*
Hows japan???

Good ^^ I know me too, it has been so long, but I've been really slow with my comments lately. Everything is fine, what about you? we need to catch up

Haha, can't say the same about me xp

Its fine I'll take a long time to reply as well
rl is really busy and college is fina start back up also
I've been working a lot this summer on my break
wbu? how's japan?

how have u been??? *Hugs*

no problem ^^ missed you though, of course i am

ooh you bad ass XD

He did ^^ especially the candy XD

i like taking it easy as well, but i don't mind some alcohol xp speaking of alcohol, i still have a bottle with some malibu left in my nightstand XD

Happy Birthday Truls! x <3