JUMPing to my dream! ^^

Hi, everyone! ^^

Welcome to my blog, JUMPing for JAPAN! Yay! *throws confetti*

I started to blog because I decided to jump (no pun intended) onto the bandwagon of what my other study abroad friends are doing and use it as a means of keeping people updated with what I'm doing while I'm away this upcoming semester. :)

However, before we get into that, let's have a mini-introduction! :D


Hi! I am Jessica, a college student who is studying abroad in Japan for the Fall 2012 semester. I have had a great appreciation for East Asia and its cultures. Perhaps part of it is my Taiwanese-American background, but whatever it is, I have an undeniable bias toward that part of the world, despite being born and raised in the US of A. Hence, I was ecstatic when I learned that I had been accepted into the study abroad program at a university in Akita, Japan that I had applied for! :3

My reaction when I first learned the news.

Which then turned to this...

And this. XD

In case you were wondering, Akita, Japan is here:

Yeah, there. Not near Tokyo. There. 

While going to a university in Tokyo would have been an experience and a half, the college in Akita was the one affiliated with my home college. So, being the thrifty college student that I am, I took the chance! I'm still looking forward to experiencing life there, despite it being in an apparently super rural area. 

After all, my new school's mascot is simply adorable!

His name is "One"! ^^

Anyways, as a way to make up for this, my friend and I (we're both studying abroad in Akita) decided to try living it up for a week in Tokyo, where we will do all the touristy things! XD We plan on visiting Harajuku, Akihabara, the Imperial Palace, and the Tokyo National Museum, just to name a few destinations. :) 

Meanwhile, this blog will be there every step of the way, so make sure to keep up with my Japan adventures! :D

Also, if you're wondering (I'm sure you are!) about the title of my blog, the "JUMPing" part is a reference to Hey! Say! JUMP, my favorite J-pop boy band. <3 

And I thought Chinen was deathly afraid of the color orange...

Who's bright idea was it to stick him in THAT outfit??

Hence, the "random" Asian boys in my blog's header. XD Come on, knowing me, did you seriously believe that I could leave the Johnny's boys out of a blog about my experiences in JAPAN?? 'Tis the very LAND of Johnny's! :D

Anyways, I hope you stick around for my ramblings! I look forward to continuing this blog and sharing my experiences! ^^

Bye-bye for now!