Prepping to go pt. 2...should I still be prepping to go...?

I am down to about two weeks to take off...I wish I could say that I am absolutely bubbly with excitement and anxiety but instead, most of my excitement has been muted by stress and worry. In regards to school, I have three weeks worth of work left to cram into just under a week.  Most of my professors are understanding  and helpful, though I am hitting a few speed bumps that I should have been informed of much earlier. And then there's the earthquake and tsunami.

Last Friday, I woke up at seven in the morning, opened my laptop and found out about the disaster that hit. I was glued to my seat, watching news clip after news clip on cnn and bbc, until it really sunk in just how serious an event this was. I've been sending out e-mails and checking facebook regularly to find out how my friends and family are. Thus far, I've heard from almost all of my friends (most of whom are in Kansai) but my extended family in Ibaragi-ken have yet to reply. My dad talks about spheres of influence and that I shouldn't worry about what I cannot effect and I'm trying really hard to take it to heart. It's hard to think about how quickly everything happened and how many people were impacted but I have faith in the resilience of the Japanese people. Avoiding news websites is helpful but torturous. On another note, though, I feel so grateful for all the people in my life who have given me their sympathies and been supportive, but more than that, it really raises the spirits to see how many people care about the Japanese people and are organizing to raise money to help out relief aids.

First thing I do after I settle into my dorm at Doshisha is register with the Canadian embassy....if my program is still on. I can't shake this heavy dread that I'm going to open my email and have a note from Doshisha pop up declaring that my exchange has been canceled. The last time I was in Japan in 2009, I was enrolled in a summer program at Konan University in Kobe. Anyone remember anything significant occurring in 2009 in Asia? Yesssss, swine flu.

In my experience, Japanese people are generally cautious about germs, and compound that with a general wariness of foreigners and you have a good mix for some rather uncomfortable experiences. And a canceled summer exchange program.

Well, nothing to do but wait, influence what I can and try and finish this term strong.

<3
Rocketfrog