The visa waiting game, e-Pals and the uncontrollable desire to shop

If there was anything past study abroad students told me regarding pre-departure, it would be the ridiculously long wait for getting your student visa. We submitted our Certificate of Eligibility on June 1^st and we won’t be able to mail in our student visa application until we get that back. It’s nearing August and still no word. They say it only takes a week to process but it is cutting quite close. Once I receive it, I’ll have to mail it to the Japanese consulate in NYC. Hopefully all goes well!

In the meantime, two Japanese students from Mekai University have already contacted me! At first I felt uneasy since I didn’t know what they liked or if they would even like me. What if I didn’t meet their expectations? After taking intensive Arabic for the last four weeks, I completely forgot my Japanese! I really need to review over my grammar =_=.

But despite my worries, the girls are really sweet. One of them is actually going to school in Florida for a bit! It would be great to show her around FL.

As the date for departure nears, my excitement heightens! I’m already emptying out suitcases, getting rid of old clothes, and just calculating what I’m going to bring. I’ve heard past study abroad students tell me to pack light, but I really, really don’t know how to do that. Firstly, I’m a girl who not only packs clothes but hair products, heels, sneakers, DVDs, electronics, and all that good stuff. It’s essential I swear! Secondly, if I’m going to stay for 4 months in one of the most expensive cities in the world, I want to bring things that I already have rather than buying it. Is my reasoning plausible? There has to be some other way ;-;.

Today I sent my boyfriend off at the Megabus station. Today was the last day we will be able to see each other until another 5 months. Hello long distance relationship! I don’t want to blurt every aspect of my personal life on the internet but I will truly miss him *sniffles.* Here we are headed to the diner downtown:

This is slightly irrelevant but I bought this awesome vintage purse from the 70s for 15 bucks online! If you want one, the seller has 2 more left at Bonanzle.  It’s a hand tooled leather purse with acorn engravings. It’s definitely a steal since I’ve seen these in vintage clothing shops for up to $60! Get on it! It goes well with these boots I bought for $10 at Charlotte Russe. I’m a proud bargain shopper >:D 

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my bootsies:

日本の雑誌: nihon no zasshi: Japanese Magazines

     There are a plethora of things that I am looking forward to in Japan. From the people I will be meeting to the food I’ll be eating, the study abroad experience will be something completely new to me. One of the things that I am fascinated with is Japanese fashion. If you’ve ever seen me, I’m no fashionista. I own plenty of earrings, belts, headbands, bracelets, and other things that add a flare to one’s outfit but I hardly wear them. Perhaps it’s because I don’t know how to assemble it all together or maybe it’s because I’m lazy (I definitely choose comfort over style!)

     I tried my best with this outfit. Here I am with my boyfriend at a banquet. That day I went to multiple stores trying to find a nice dress but they were soooo expensive. So I took a trip to walmart and bought this baby for 12 bucks!! 

     I remember I went through multiple fashion phases throughout my adolescence. Oh goodness, I get red just thinking about it. I went ghetto fabulous for my entire 8^th grade for reasons so absurd that I can hardly comprehend. Once high school started, I tried to go for a cute, jock style but gave up when I didn’t know how to assemble my outfit and when I couldn’t afford Abercrombie and Fitch. I went décora for my sophomore/junior year of highschool (for those who don’t know, think of lots of color, accessories and cuteness). Did I pull it off? HECK NO. The clothes were not flattering to my round face and those hot pink fishnets I wore once did not make me look good at all (LOL). I gave up once I heard from my little cousin that my aunt hated my style and told them never to dress like me (ouch!). So for my senior year, I started off very safe, casual, and more comfort geared and made my way from there. 

(decora fashion)

     So anyways, I had a bunch of Japanese fashion magazines as an early teen including Scawaii, Nicola, and my favorite, ViVi. I was always envious at how these girls looked and dressed. In addition, I was amazed at how no matter when I pulled out ViVi, everything was still in fashion. What I enjoy most about Japanese fashion is the diversity of it. You have different styles including, Lolita, ganguro, yankii, kogal, gothic, punk, and a bunch more that I cannot recall.

Here are some characteristics about Japanese fashion, beauty, hair and health that I find interesting:

Fashion: 

Ranging from cute to classy, the pieces are arranged very nicely and compliment their figures. 

Here, Kumicky (model best known in Popteen Magazine) looks super kawaii and fresh.

These outfits are the, ‘I want to reach this level but I don’t think that’s possible!’  I don’t know if I could handle those heels and wedges XD. 

I really like these simple, natural looks. It’s more for an older audience but it’s so cute.  

Oh yes, we can’t forget about this! Don’t you get envious and wish that your school had uniforms as cute as these?! Schoolgirl outfits have inspired many things (leg warmers, blazers, and mini-skirts).

Beauty: 

Japan is well known for their eye makeup and they have certainly started a trend for the rest of the world (I read in the NYT that lady gaga inspired the circle lenses craze…ha!)

Here’s a makeup tutorial of Kumicky. As cute as she looks, I get saddened when I see these girls with huge eyes, pale skin, an oval face and bleached hair because many young Asian girls may feel like their natural features aren’t good enough.

Whew! So many false eyelashes to choose from! Oh yes, some are wearing circle lenses

Here, the Japanese Seventeen Magazine featured a more natural looking girl

   

+o+! She looks like a manga character!!

Hair:

What I noticed throughout the years of reading Japanese fashion magazines are how similar all the hairstyles and haircuts look. I remember I tried bangs countless times thinking it would look just as good as Lena Fujii's (another famous model) but…it never worked out lol.

Doesn’t this look adorable?! This style has been around for quite some time and is still popular. (Anyone reminded of Parfait Tic?)

Erika Sawajiri’s hair and everything else looks amazing as always

Health: 

I’m always intrigued when I browse the back of Japanese magazines and find pictures and diagrams on weight loss programs. Girl, you look fine as you did before! She actually looks healthier in her before picture.

Love it or hate it, Japanese fashion is unique and inspirational. Hmmm…actually, it is sometimes inspired by other countries (In this case the US) but nevertheless, they turn it into something fun and different.   

*Most of these scans were from whole magazines. I just clipped them and put in a watermark to the original owner if there wasn't one already.*

初めまして！ (Nice to meet you!)

Hi and welcome to my blog! My name is Christine and I am currently a junior in college. I enjoy many things including  makeup, video games, comics, and bargain shopping. I will be studying abroad in Japan starting on August 31st (which is only about a month away!) and I will be documenting my stay there. 

Yes, I know a lot of people studying abroad make blogs and vlogs and promise to update often but end up preoccupied in their program that they stop updating. BUT! I won a scholarship called Gilman Scholarship in return for making a blog+vlog so I can promise you that there will be many posts :). 

My family is also excited to see some footage of Japan so I won't let them down. 

Here is some other random things about myself:

• Favorite place to shop: Aerpostale, ross, and most recently, WALMART!
• Favorite music genre: hip hop and RnB
• Ethnicity: Laotian, Thai, and a bit of Vietnamese
• Languages I know: English, Japanese (I suck at Kanji but I've taken 4 semesters of Japanese so far), Arabic (1 semester) and Lao (I wish I was more fluent in this one...it would make my parents and all the old Laotians proud of me *sigh*)

I'll be running my youtube account soon so please stay tuned~

どうぞよろしく！

(pronounced 'douzo yoroshiku,' this expression is often used at the end of an introduction with someone also meaning, 'nice to meet you' or 'please take care of me.')