Life update: I am going to Japan

This might be a little bit unexpected for some, but as the title says already, I am going to live in Japan for one year starting this Sunday. I didn’t want to announce it before I was 100% sure that I was going. I wanted to announce it officially after I arrived in Tokyo, but I am unsure about whether I will have reliable Internet access that soon and since I still have a little bit of time, I decided to write about it while I am still in Germany. So what am I going to do there? I will attend an university in Tokyo, a partner university of my university in Düsseldorf, of course to study Japanese and to do some other interesting and exciting things hopefully. The last semester was incredibly busy, not just because of my studies, but because I had to prepare so many things for my year abroad. I had to fill out a stack of papers, apply for a room in a dormitory in Tokyo, get a health certificate from the doctor, get my visa, book a ticket to Japan and so on. So many things had to be done, while I was still busy with my daily university stuff.
I am one of the few people of my semester who got the chance to study at a Japanese university the following two semesters. I have known since last Christmas that I was chosen to go to a university in Tokyo, but I had to pass the last two Japanese language exams in order to be allowed to go. That is why I kept my mouth shut about it until now. The people who are going to go to Japan were notified at the beginning of this week, that they passed the exam. It was a huge relief for everyone, since we all dreaded the last Japanese exam.
I got back from Düsseldorf last week and I had less than two weeks to do the rest of my preparations. I packed two of my suitcases with some clothes and skincare products. I have to bring all my electronic devices and I am afraid that there won’t be enough place for all my things and that I will forget something important, but I think that it’s normal to feel this way before such a big change. I always have to remind myself to pack light, since there is no need to bring everything I own, as I can get everything I need in Japan. Because I was so busy the last months, I didn’t really have the time to realize that I am really going to Japan. My parents once wanted to take me there on a short trip as a high school graduation gift while we visited our homeland Vietnam, but it would have been too expensive. It has always been my dream to go there. For a long time I thought that it would stay a dream. None of us would have thought that, 4 years later, I would stay there for one whole year, to study at a university. I am really grateful for this opportunity and for the people who are making this possible.