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Most of my artwork/photos will be public, but all personal posts will be for friends only. Please comment to be added. :)

Okay, This Seriously Cannot be Good for Me

 

Recently I have been addicted to Downton Abbey, so much that I felt compelled to string together a couple screen shots from the first two episodes and call it a graphic. The colors and scenery are so beautiful in the drama. I gush over the colors in the landscape scenes every time I watch them. The greens are so green! The yellows pop! Everything pops! I watched a behind-the-scenes episode that went into detail on the production process of making the episodes. The costume department alone spends hours just finding vintage clothes or adding vintage details onto clothes. The furniture needs to be or look authentic, it's insane how much effort goes into each small detail, just to ensure that the viewer is completely immersed into the Edwardian era. 

( why is it so addictive )

Moving to Dreamwidth

I've decided to jump on the bandwagon and switch over to Dreamwidth. I'll be cross-posting everything though, so I won't be completely dead on Livejournal, although to be honest, I wasn't quite alive here either. 

Just a small heads up, nonetheless. I don't want to get rid of this account simply because I've had it for so long!

But yeah, please follow me on yuji.dreamwidth.org

:) 

Let the Journey Begin

So it's 10pm, and I'm finally done packing everything. I have both a love and hate relationship with packing. I like the mindless activity of neatly stuffing everything into a suitcase, but I hate thinking about everything that I need to bring. I'm just really nervous that I'll forget to bring something Incredibly Important. 

I remember that when I packed for my freshman year of college, I routinely forget v. necessary items, thus requiring me to Bart back to Fremont the first few weeks to bring things like contact solution (how sad is it that I forgot that?). Alas, I won't have the luxury of coming back home whenever I want.

As excited I am for exploration and traveling (and studying...I guess), the idea that I won't have a comfort zone to return to for six months is a bit daunting. This will be the furthest away from home I've ever been for such an extended amount of time. Also, taking 4 semesters of French means nothing in college. I'm nowhere near fluent. I am hopefully mildly comprehensible when I speak. And um...let's not get into my listening skills. But, we all have to start somewhere I guess. All my classes will be taught in French, so we'll see how that works out. (I am both happy and sad that nothing I take will probably count toward my major). 

I'm actually going a bit earlier than I need to, since my program (University of Bordeaux; Spring) doesn't officially start till the 3rd. But I'll be spending two days with Y. at her apartment. <3 


Anyway, to anyone who is thinking about or preparing to study abroad:

• Think about getting your ticket from STA Travel. They have incredible deals for students. :) I was scouring online looking for the cheapest deals, and I think STA has some of the best ones. Also, you can get an International Student ID card from them, super helpful if you plan on traveling a lot during your stay abroad.
• Do some research on your bank! I actually primarily use Wells Fargo for banking, but had to start an account at Bank of America because Wells Fargo doesn't have an international presence. I did some research on other banks, but I think BoA has the best deals for college students. Also, BoA has partnerships with BNP Paribas (France), Barclays (UK), Deutsche Bank (Germany), and BNL d'Italia (Italy), so you can withdraw money from their ATM's without the ~$5 service charge (though there will still be an exchange rate, I believe). Also, don't forget to call your banks to set up a travel advisory, so they don't think you're getting scammed when charges show up overseas. :)