In the last couple of posts, I’ve mentioned a few times that I will be going abroad this September. I’ve been keeping it pretty quiet so far, but now I feel I am ready to finally reveal where I will be going, and what I will be doing.
Firstly, I get a lot of people asking me what I study. I’ve been reluctant to reveal this previously because I wanted Minimal Student to apply to everyone studying anything. I feel that I’ve accomplished this by not focussing on a particular subject, and by giving tips, tricks and hacks that anyone can incorporate into their lives as they wish.
But many of you have been so supportive of me that I no longer feel I have to hold back. So here it is, drumroll please…
what I study
I am currently studying Japanese and Management at the University of Leeds, UK.
The reason why I talk about happiness so much is probably because of my awesome degree. It gets me up in the morning to go to uni and I love every minute of it. I love learning the language, reaching new levels and finding out new things about myself, my own language and my country that I’ve previously taken for granted. I love being able to communicate with people from the other side of the world. I love sharing ideas, opinions and cultural views on universal subjects. And most of all, I love the challenge of taking on a completely foreign language and building it up completely from scratch.
Thus far, I’ve been holding back this piece of me because I know that not everybody would share a love for Japan as I do. I think it’s an absolutely fascinating country, and many things from Japan has manifested itself onto this blog, such as Zen Buddhism and what makes an ideal minimalist diet.
year abroad
On September 6th 2010 I will be flying from London Heathrow to Kansai International Airport (with a stop in Rome).
I will spend the year studying at Konan University in Kobe, Japan.
In Japan, my academic year will run from September to May. After which, I plan to stay in Japan for a few more weeks before going travelling around Asia and Australia for 3 months.
I will most likely be meeting a friend from my home-town whilst I’m in Japan, then flying to all or some of these places:
- other places in Japan
- Soeul, South Korea
- Hong Kong
- Austrailia
- New Zealand
- Thailand
- Taiwan
- China
- Vietnam
Given that it is a little while away, we haven’t solidified our plans yet but it will happen. I will have about 12-15 weeks to spend exploring Asia and hopefully having an amazing adventure.
minimalist travel
Even though I will be very busy (and have been for the last couple of weeks) preparing for my trip and sorting myself out after I arrive, Minimal Student will of course continue. I have no intention of stopping MS in the near future. It really helps me stay on track of my goals and the support that I get in the comments from you guys is so encouraging.
In lieu of much travelling to come, I’ve started a new category, ‘Travel’ which will group together posts mostly about minimalist packing, freedom and travel. I have a few posts in the pipeline which I will probably schedule to publish in the future.
So please don’t be alarmed if MS is off schedule every now and again, I will still be writing as much as I can, but there may be occasional Wednesdays and Sundays that I miss. Please understand that I love writing, and I will be doing the best I can. Hopefully once I settle down, everything will be back on track.
I will still be a student, and I will still be writing about minimalism, so even though there will be new subjects I will be able to talk about, Minimal Student will still be here, as always.
101 things in Japan
A once in a lifetime trip to Japan would be wasted if I didn’t blog about it, so I will! If anyone shares their love for Japan with me, please check out my new blog 101 things in Japan. It is a much more personal blog than MS – it’s more chatty, with a dash of humour and sarcasm. It’s a blog about a list of 101 things I want to accomplish whilst I’m in Japan, from sushi to sumo, from Harajuku to Hokkaido, almost anything worth doing in Japan. Somehow, I get the feeling I’m going to have a lot of fun trying to tick everything off.
Right now, I’m ready to start a new chapter. I’m really excited about all of the massive changes that will come into my life. I’m ready for my fresh start, for the highs and the lows and for all the things I’m going to discover about the world on my travels. Wish me luck!