Life as a 留学生 (Foreign Student) in a Foreign Country

After so long, I finally decided to come back to use my blog spot. And what better way than to use it for the better of MANKIND (my ass!)
Anyway, currently situated in Sapporo, the central of Hokkaido, Japan. For people wanting or considering the thought of furthering your studies in a foreign country, ask yourself the following:

1. What are you doing now and what do you wanna do in the next 5yrs?
2. Do you want to learn a new language? [Like in my case I'm taking Japanese]
   
3. If yes to the above, what language?
4. If not, what do you want to study?
   
5. Are you going to support yourself on this trip, or someone else is? [Feeling rich?]
6. For how long do you want to achieve this goal? [Like myself, I'm doing a 1yr langauge course]
   
7. What do you wanna do after that time frame is over? [Work, settle down, play/ tour etc...]

Maybe there are more questions to this list but I think essentially you should do these questions first then consider other questions that pop out along the way.

Now as mentioned, I'm doing a 1yr Japanese Language course in a country that is foreign and everything is different from home. Be it weather, the food eaten, sight, sound, smell... the list goes on. But understand this. It is important for you to bring your mind to a state to want to accept these changes. Especially if you are taking on a new language.
I'm not asking you to throw away years of culture and language of your native hometown, but like in the land of Japan, don't expect anyone to speak in the same tongue. Same goes for countries that have their own native languages (e,g France, Spain, Italy, China etc).
I think many times people who tend to leave after a short time and not perservere to the end are the people who can't adapt to the new environment. True, 'a leapord can't change its spot' but 'a dog can always learn new tricks'. Being human, we tend to compare one thing to the next. But I think, stop comparing for a moment, and look at the new surrounding. Find out the things that you can never find back at home and have fun. Go hike a mountain or sing Karoke... whatever it my be.

Time and time agin, we will start to get homesick, miss our beds, miss the food, miss this & that, but the thing about living away from family & friends is so as to find new families & friends. It's like playing a RPG (role playing game), being the hero, and exploring new unfound places.
And with the development of technology, you are just a phone call away from home. (Honestly I do miss home, but with Skype, sometimes it's hard to miss my family & friends... Haha)
Well anyway, if you ever decide on studying abroad, consider the things you wanna do and how you plan to do it. Do it with a bang and don't live to regret it.

Experiences are one of the hardest things to earn in life. Learn with you eyes, ears and heart, for you never know when you might need them.