My last few days in Japan were spent in Kobe saying goodbye to my Japanese friends and foreign exchange student friends. I met up with friends for lunch and dinner, and every time I would eat with someone, they'd always ask me what kind of food I wanted to eat in case there were any foods I wanted to taste one last time before I headed back to the U.S. and was no longer able to indulge. But I always answered "washoku," which means Japanese food in general. I will definitely miss eating white rice and raw fish and seaweed on a regular basis once I return home.

Saying goodbye to my friends was difficult. I know I can keep in touch easily with the Internet, but who knows when I'll return to Japan, it may not be for another few years! However, I am determined to return after all the language study and culture study I've put in over the past nine months. It would be a shame to not utilize my knowledge, and there's still much more to learn!