Hello family, friends, and hopefully many others. This is – clearly – the first post of my blog which I am writing both for fun and obligation for a scholarship (more on that later in its own post).

For those tuning into my life for the very first time, allow me to introduce myself. I am Winter, a student at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and I am spending my junior year studying abroad at Nanzan University (南山大学) in Nagoya, Japan.

This year is very exciting for me – not only will it be highly influential in my area of study, Japanese language, but it is also something I’ve been working towards for most of my life. I have been interested in Japan’s language and culture from a young age, and finally being able to come to the country and study both of those is a feeling of such gratitude and happiness I struggle to put it into words. I look forward to sharing this year with all of you!