What is the Kakehashi Project?

I know my last post was a bit of a blur.  I'm just too excited to be very coherent.

So you're probably wondering, what is the Kakehashi Project?  Well, according to the official website, the Kakehashi Project is "a fully-funded, large-scale youth exchange program between Japan and the United States."  The purpose is to pretty much promote Japan-US relationships and increase international understanding of the nation's strengths. As it says, it is fully funded, so it's almost as if I've gotten a scholarship to visit Japan for a brief period of time.  I can definitely do that.

I've always been interested in Japanese culture, ever since I was introduced to manga and anime.  That probably sounds bad, since weeaboos, also known as otakus and generally explained to be people obsessed with their limited exposure to Japanese culture, are looked down upon and viewed as annoying.  While there I hope to be very respectful.  I'm kind of glad that I won't be having a host family on this trip, as I'd hate to insult them in any way.  During the weeks prior to the trip I'll probably be reading up on a lot of Japanese culture, since it's painfully obvious I'm not going to have a great grasp on the language (I can introduce myself, say my year and major, talk about very vague interests, and ask what/where is that, but that's about it), but if I know more about the culture I'll probably be able to avoid a lot of embarrassment, right?  That's the idea, anyway.

Still, I'm so excited that I'll get to be able to go!  It's always been a place I've wanted to visit, so to be given this opportunity is a real honor, and I'm definitely going to make the most of it.