I write to you today with mixed feelings. It is 7 p.m. on Sunday, April 15, here in Japan. I have five days left in this place called Tokyo. Many different events have transpired throughout my time spent here. Crazy all-nighters, annoying roommates, castles, onsens, threats of being kicked out of the program, making new friends and missing old ones are just a few highlights of my past three and a half months. I guess before I conclude the series I should update you on my most recent happenings.

School: Instead of hardly working, I've been working very hard on my finals. All of my four papers are completed and my exam is tomorrow morning at 9 a.m. Most definitely by 11 a.m. tomorrow my junior year of college will be officially over. Not so sure how I feel about that yet, but nevertheless that's the reality of it. Out of all the aspects of my trip, academics were very close to lacking the most in what I wanted, but it gave me more of a chance to explore Japan and enjoy the time I had in other ways.

April 13 and 14: On Friday, a large group of us found our way to Shibuya. Walking through the crossing, we all decided it would be a great idea to scream a line from "300." Apparently a group of foreigners shouting "THIS IS SPARTA!" at the top of their lungs is a scary sight to many Japanese people. I found it quite amusing. We trekked through the city and found ourselves at a karaoke bar. This one happens to be somewhat special. For those of you who have seen "Lost in Translation," you should remember a scene with Bill Murray singing karaoke in Japan. We sang in that exact room (room 601 for those who care). It was a great time full of off-key singing and lots of laughs. Unfortunately, it cost 1200 yen for an hour. Considering the little bit of that money I have is supposed to get me back home to America, I decided that one hour would be sufficient.

Saturday was an extremely lackadaisical day for me. Getting up at 1 p.m., I walked around my town searching for food and other interesting sights at which to gander. The only interesting thing about Saturday was the temperature. It was 73 degrees in Tokyo, which is slightly different from the 30s that were hovering over the East Coast at that time. Once again, I found that pretty amusing. Later that night, a small group of friends made our glorious return to Gut Soul, where my friends had taken me for my birthday. All you can eat restaurants really need to become popular in America. Sometimes I don't want to have to choose what to eat, I just want everything. Gut Soul provides this for me, and I couldn't be happier. Although I am a lot smaller than when I originally entered this country, I was still able to pack away a decent amount of food. My last bite was the sweetest. I took my time in saying goodbye to the place, maybe because I was too full to move quickly. Thankfully I had enough energy to catch the last train home.

Ultimately, I find myself extremely lucky to have the chance to study abroad. I know I have missed a lot of things at home, but I've gained so much from this ridiculous adventure. I randomly decided to pack today, just to make sure I could still fit everything that I had. In the middle of this process was my actual realization of my departure. It saddens me to think about leaving such great friends and good times behind. On the other hand, I'm more than ready to get back home. Something tells me I'll do just fine in the presence of family and friends upon my return. For those of you who don't know about my plans and want to, I'll be heading back to Amherst after I get back. The tentative date of my arrival is April 22, so I'll be back in the A' in full effect very soon.

Thanks for enjoying this experience with me and I'll be seeing y'all real soon.

Homeward bound,

Black Man in Japan