Done with School!

I have finished my autumn term at ICU. I had two finals this week and a paper due. It feels good to be done with school for this term (and to begin the longest winter break I've ever had). I was sad when my last class was over, though. It was a fun and unique experience to go to school in Japan, even though all of my classes were in English. I learned a lot about Japanese students' lives in my classes, especially in my Sociology of the Family class, in which we often compared life in the US and in Japan. I'll miss my Eastern Art History professor repeating things in Japanese that he had said in English so some of the Japanese students could better understand important points. I just thought that was cool. I'll miss having all of my classes in the same building, and the small class sizes. It was easier to know my fellow students when there were only 30-40 people in my class instead of 70-150. I got to know some of the students I sat next to very well, as nearly everyone sat at the same desk every class (a practice that's also common in US schools, for some reason). 

I now have 12 (12!!!) days until I return to San Francisco. I'm going to South Korea next week from Monday-Friday, which means I only have seven full days (including today) left in Japan. I've made a list of the things I still want to do and see, and I'm trying to decide what to do on each day I have left. The list includes seeing Mt. Fuji, which I think I'll do tomorrow because it's going to be a clear day, going to an ukiyo-e art exhibit (we learned about ukiyo-e, which is like pop culture art from the Edo period, in my Eastern Art History class), visiting the nearby city of Yokohama, going to the Tsukiji fish market early in the morning, and visiting the Edo-style town of Kawagoe. These next 12 days are going to be very busy. 

I am going to miss my campus. I like its small size and its simplicity. I like to walk all the way around campus (1 mile per loop) to get some exercise during days I have class. I often see cats roaming around campus. I've seen a black cat, and black and white cat, two orange cats, a gray striped cat, a calico cat, and some kittens. I also love all of the autumn colors that have recently sprung up in November. 

Beautiful yellow leaves.

Red, orange, yellow, green.

Reds, oranges, yellows, browns, and light and dark greens surround campus. It's beautiful. I especially like the leaves that have turned yellow - their yellow is like the yellow of a golden apple, and it's a color I've never really seen before. They look particularly beautiful when the sun shines through them. California doesn't have many deciduous trees, or trees that change with the seasons. It was nice to experience a real autumn here in Japan. I'm going to be sad to leave.

A real autumn.