Hey, it is technically a foreign country, even though it's so close to where my family lives (about a half hour away) that my rec league soccer team played over there.

I first went with my family in 1993, when my relatives lived there on an army base. I also passed through several times on trains in 2003 when I was studying in Europe.

My first visit was a side trip to Paris in 1993. I then returned for three months in spring 2003 to study in Strasbourg, which is a city in the Alsace region, very close to Germany. (Pictures)

I've been several times. In 1999 I went through the Michigan-Shiga Student Exchange Program. In 2004 I went to study at the Japan Center for Michigan Universities in Hikone, Shiga. (Michigan and Shiga are sister states.) I went home for 12 days after that, only to come straight back for most of 2005 to work as a US Pavilion Guide at the 2005 World Exposition in Nagakute, Aichi. (Pictures)

I'm currently living in Japan for two years (2007-09) as part of the JET Program.

I went on a study tour August 2-23, 2002. We went all over the place, from Beijing to the Gobi Desert. Some wealthy, generous person gave a grant to our school and told them to take 12 students to China, and I was one of them. Lucky me! (Pictures)

We passed through it going from France to Italy and back. Hey, we had to change trains there—we were in the station in Basel for 3 hours, so we actually did use Swiss francs and walk on Swiss ground. I guess that counts!

I went in April 2003, for 10 days of our Easter break while I was studying in France. We went to Rome, Florence, and Venice. I was really thrilled to see the ancient Roman ruins, and Venice is spectacular! (Pictures)

It's recognized as a country by the UN, so I get to count it on my list!

We went for a weekend trip to Vienna in May 2003. There are lots of cool palaces there, and some scary catacombs.

This was another weekend trip in May 2003. It's a little country that most people forget about, but if you ever get the chance, go to Luxembourg City. With big valleys and bridges and lots of trees, I found it really striking.

I stayed overnight in Copenhagen twice in June 2003, because the train didn't go all the way from Strasbourg to Uppsala, Sweden in one day. I wish I could have stayed longer, though; it seemed like a cool city.

A friend of mine was studying in Uppsala while I was in Strasbourg, so I went to visit her. Wow, the sun sets really late there in June! (Pictures)

I have always wanted to visit the Land Down Under, and on April 26, 2008, I finally made it! I have officially now visited the top three countries I wanted to visit as a little kid! :D (Those were France, Japan, and Australia. But it's no time to rest now, 'cause I've added some new ones to the list!) I went scuba diving in the Great Barrier Reef, saw a performance at the Sydney Opera House, and glimpsed the Southern Cross and Alpha Centauri in the sky above me. It was one of the most exciting weeks of my life!

I went as a vacation while working on the JET Program in Japan. I have a massive album of photographs from the trip here. You can also read about my trip in my LiveJournal archive from May 2008 and also a little bit from April.