Hello there!

My name is Lisa. I'm a third year Sociology major and Japanese Language and Culture minor at UC Berkeley. In a little over a week, I will be heading across the Pacific Ocean to the big bustling city of Tokyo. That’s right, I’m going to Japan!

I'll be attending a course through a program run by the International Alliance of Research Universities (IARU). The IARU is made up of UC Berkeley and nine other research universities around the world. Each summer, the IARU holds the Global Summer Program (GSP), a program in which member universities offer classes that students from IARU universities can attend. This year, I was accepted into a GSP course at Tokyo University called “Japan in Today’s World”. In this course, I will learn about Japan's involvement in the international realm. I was even fortunate enough to have received a scholarship from the Friends of Todai, Inc. to help pay for program expenses. All in all, the rest of my summer is going to be awesome.

Here’s a little more about me:
- I am half Japanese. I can speak a little Japanese, but of course I am always striving to improve and learn as much as I can. - I have an identical twin sister. She also goes to UC Berkeley, and we spend a lot of time together.
- I named my blog after UC Berkeley’s mascot, the golden bear.
- I love cats, even though I am allergic to them. The best cats are large and fluffy because they are nice to hug.

That's all for now. Until next time!