A long time has passed since the last post of this blog; not only missing are the daily posts from my trip in 2010, but I actually returned in Japan to do a similar trip in November 2012 and am now waiting at Lester Pearson Intl. Airport for yet another departure to my seemingly beloved Narita Airport, but this time around not for tourism as my last two trips: Study will be the main purpose of my -extended- stay in Japan. I will attempt to wrap up what has been going on for the last two years regarding my travels in Japan and whatnot.
First of all, it would be rather difficult for me to recall what happened after the last time I write something down back in 2010. I stopped after day 9 out of a trip that lasted 24 days in total, so remembering the subsequent event might prove difficult. Let's just say I had a lot of fun and everything went well. That should wrap up the first chapters of my travels in Japan.
Obviously, this wouldn't be the last time I went to Japan. I mean, how can somebody say with perfect confidence that this will be the last time they visit Japan (assuming you liked the actual country of course, which isn't too hard to do) ? In the midst of my then newly began undergraduate studies in Physics back home in Montreal, I managed to plan another trip in November 2012, but this time around I dragged a very good friend of mine with me. Fun fact: not only the arrival and departure dates were identical to my first trip in 2010, but the very hours and flight numbers were identical as well. The places we visited were slightly different this time though. Unlike my first trip, where I visited many places for a short time, we stayed a bit longer in places I deemed to be more worthwhile (we still did move a lot though). No surprises here, we had a blast. His father even met us over there and considering I get along very well with him as well, he was more than welcome. It would probably take me the whole upcoming 13h flight to write down everything we did, so I'll simply link you to the photo album that was mostly shot by my friend, Colin L. Racicot, who, among other things, has a particular talent for photography.
Japan 2012 on Flickr by Colin L. Racicot.
Upon my return from this second trip and after the, so terrible, traveler's blues had passed, I started my fourth semester at University and while doing stuff that any regular physics university students do, I stumbled upon the possibility of doing an study-related exchange to many possible university around the world, including Japan. Fast forward to February 2013 and my application form was on the hand of the Universite de Montreal and Nagoya University to review.
The assembling of my application form wasn't a simple task. From the pictures that had to be a few millimeters close to the demanded size (gotta please the meticulous Japanese) to waking up at 4 in the morning to take the bus that would take me other side of town taking the TOEFL test. Anyhow, the process wasn't made of pure fun. But as all good things you invest time in, the results were, nonetheless, pleasing (well not all of them, if you're unfortunate). I received the confirmation I was selected around mid July I believe, along with the news that I was also offered the JASSO scholarship. I then started arranging every aspects of my incoming stay in Japan, which would span almost 6 months. When I think about it, there wasn't THAT much work to get prepare, if you rule out the obvious stuff like getting travel insurance, pre-dormitory accommodation, plane tickets, etc. The main concern was probably getting Student Visa once I had received my Certificate of Eligibility from Nagoya University, which is one of the most important document in this whole deal. The accommodation was mostly taken care of by the NUPACE office, so no worries here (I will be staying at the International Ohmeikan).
As I'm typing this in Toronto, I have absolutely no idea how the coming week is going to be, although I expect a whole lot of paperwork to be filled and getting to know the fellow NUPACE students. Like I have said many times to those who know me, I won't rest in peace until me actual classes are registered. You see, being in the Physics department in Montreal, which is a rather specific major, restricts me to, well... physics related classes, and I had to pick up those classes very carefully for them to be credited at my home university. So carefully that I believe I HAD to get the classes I submitted in my application form, which are by the way all Global 30 classes that are apparently also open to exchange students. To quickly summarize what Global 30 is; it is a program initiated by Japanese government a few years ago to implement a good diversity of English-taught undergraduate as well as graduate programs (because, let's be frank, there's no way I could understand what the hell is going on during a physics lecture in Japanese; my Japanese which is functional at best). If I can't get all the classes I initially asked for, I will have to find replacements classes, which might prove difficult. Let's hope for the best here.
I plan on updating this blog more or less frequently; I'll be studying after all and not every day might struck you at being interesting. But you should definitively look forward what interesting -or not- stories I'll be reporting here. And if you happen to be a prospective NUPACE student searching some advice, from the Universite de Montreal or anywhere around the world, let this blog be a "Ask a NUPACE student Anything" and I'll answer to the best of my capacities.
Finally, I must apologize to all my French speaking entourage for making this in English; I'm hoping to reach a broader audience by writing in English.
On this, see you after (or during?) my flight.
Sebastien
