That's what dreams are made of.

 I was born in New York and spent my teen years being raised in Puerto Rico. Before we moved to Puerto Rico, however, I lived on GOVERNORS ISLAND. Had the island not been closed in '95, I probably would have been raised there. The island was re-opened to the public in 2003, but being overseas, I wasn't able to go and re-visit. So, imagine my excitement when I mentioned the place to R-san, and he said he wanted to go ♥ It's only open Friday-Sunday. Hopefully, we'll be able to go the Sunday we arrive because it's the only chance I'll have to go unless I extend my trip. 

I'm just....aaahhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!! (((o(゜∇゜*)o)))めっちゃめっちゃめっちゃワクワク★★★★

The other day I was complaining about M-san calling me every day. I said I wouldn't be able to miss him if he didn't stop. Well, I haven't talked to him since Wednesday and now I'm like "WHERE ARE YOU SIR?!"  Oh Zia, you're really too silly. You can't have your cake and eat it too.
I've decided to put my focus on preparing for this trip to NY instead on what M-san is up to. There are still two weeks left until I leave but I'm the type of person who can never decide what to take and end up packing, un-packing, then re-packing my bag about five times. I'm the type of person who needs to pack an entire house for a three day trip. I pack everything I might-possibly-could need. This time however, I want to travel light. I want to take only what's necessary. My plan is to take a single medium sized bag.  

Hopefully, on the way to New York, I'll be able to get some major reading in! I late March, decided to try and read 神様のカルテ. It's my first attempt at reading a full Japanese novel. Unfortunately, I've been so busy that I haven't had a chance to read past page 28. I want to try and finish this novel by the end of the year.  If I can do this, I'll definitely tackle the JLPT 3級. My friends believe that I have the ability to pass that exam now, but I don't have confidence in my own abilities. 
I guess part of me still feels insecure since I've never taken a proper Japanese lesson. People always ask me how it's possible when I attended a Japanese university, but basically, I entered the university as an international exchange student. The classes my adviser chose for me according to my major were all taught in Japanese. But we weren't aware of this, since the class book we had received had been completely in English. 

Basically, I sat through classes taught in Japanese, recorded lessons, then spent hours with an electronic dictionary and heavy tutoring. I passed all my classes the first semester. I was then offered a spot as a 4-year student since the university was breaking the contract with my home university. I accepted the offer and continued to take courses in a foreign language. I learned Japanese by simply living there and doing course work, which is why I can understand some difficult kanji but often miss simple grammar points. I don't have a steady foundation. Even though this doesn't keep me from being independent, it does make me feel insecure. Getting through this book will help me over-come that insecurity.