The Set Up

Visiting Japan was my dream since I was a little kid. That is why; I could not believe that in my last year of my Bachelor I was given the opportunity to spend a semester studying in Nagasaki, Japan.  The preparations were intense since I have never been on a flight more than 3 hours at a time and now I was flying alone across the world having 2 layovers in Vienna and Taipei. I arrived at the end of August when the weather was extremely hot and humid. It was the first time I actually felt like I could not breathe the air properly. The accommodation with the climate took me a couple of days but the jet lag lasted for almost a week. Even if I thought I was going to explore the whole place right away, the first day I spent it sleeping and the ones after I was practically a zombie, going to bed shortly afternoon trying to adjust to their time zone.

After the transition period, I actually started to enjoy my experience in Japan. I was living in Nagasaki at the Nagasaki University dormitory named Hortensia. It was located in a charming and silent area, upon a hill, surrounded by nature and local shops. We had two buildings and a little courtyard between them where cats were often visiting us. Inside, everyone had their own, private bedroom but you would share the rest of the apartment (bathroom, living room and kitchen) with three other roommates. Usually, the university would try to place one international student in an apartment with three other Japanese students so you can interact more and practice your Japanese. The place was extremely clean and everything was provided including the furniture. The new appliances I was absolutely excited about and never used at home were the rice cooker, the dryer and the original Japanese toilet which had buttons and could warm up in the winter. I still miss it! 

For all of this, I was paying around 180 euros per month but I didn`t even mention the best thing yet! My favourite room was the common room located in one of the buildings which was free to use by all students living at the dormitory (from morning to evening but we would use it non-stop). There I lived my best memories from movie nights (as you can see in the picture) to funny parties for Halloween or Christmas or just for having nice dinners with friends. The room also had a big kitchen so we could always prepare big meals for all the students but let`s not forget about desks, whiteboards and a projector in case you need to study for the next day. 

Somedays, we would climb the hill right next to our dormitory, climb the stairs (a lot of them) and reach the top from where we had the amazing views that you can see in the pictures. Before the cold hit the region, we would spend our nights up there with junk food and sweet soft drink from the store below us. The way the lights were sparkling at night is still hard to forget!

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